Key quote: "I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, only vaulting ambition" Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 7

Analysis Macbeth openly acknowledges his tragic flaw of unbridled ambition as his sole motivation for planning to murder King Duncan.

Key quote: "When you durst do it, then you were a man" Lady Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 7

Analysis Lady Macbeth attacks Macbeth's masculinity to manipulate him into committing murder, displaying her power through deception .

Key quote: "Life ... is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing" Macbeth, Act 4, Scene 4

Analysis Macbeth's pessimistic view reflects his realisation that all his ambitious actions were ultimately meaningless and will lead to his defeat.

Key quote: "Stars hide your fires; let not light see my dark and deep desires" Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 4

Analysis Macbeth commands the natural world to hide his evil intentions from God, suggesting awareness of the blasphemous consequences.

Key quote: "The dead butcher and his fiend-like queen" Malcolm, Act 5, Scene 9

Analysis Malcolm disparages Macbeth as a murderer and Lady Macbeth as demonic, showing their fall from grace .

Key quote: "Come you spirits ... Unsex me here" Lady Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 5

Analysis Lady Macbeth commands evil spirits to strip her of feminine traits, subverting gender roles through unnatural means.

Key quote: "Look like the innocent flower but be the serpent underneath it" Lady Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 5

Analysis Lady Macbeth instructs Macbeth to practise deception, using the biblical metaphor of a serpent, a symbol of treachery.

Key quote: "Out, damned spot: out, I say!" Lady Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 1

Analysis Lady Macbeth's desperate pleading and hallucinations symbolise her loss of power and mental instability due to her guilt .

Key quote: "Fair is foul and foul is fair" Three Witches, Act 1, Scene 1

Analysis The witches' paradoxical language warns of deception and upheaval , foreshadowing the corruption of natural order.

Key quote: "Macbeth does murder sleep!" Macbeth, Act 2, Scene 2

Analysis Macbeth's exclamation and the personification of sleep suggest both his guilt and his realisation that murdering the king has robbed him of peace and perhaps eternal rest.

GCSEEnglish LiteratureAQAFlashcards

Macbeth (AQA GCSE English Literature)

Flashcards

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FrontMacbeth: Key Quotations
Key quote: "I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, only vaulting ambition"
Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 7

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Cards in this collection (10)

Key quote: "I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, only vaulting ambition"
Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 7
Analysis
Macbeth openly acknowledges his tragic flaw of unbridled ambition as his sole motivation for planning to murder King Duncan.
Key quote: "When you durst do it, then you were a man"
Lady Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 7
Analysis
Lady Macbeth attacks Macbeth's masculinity to manipulate him into committing murder, displaying her power through deception.
Key quote: "Life ... is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing"
Macbeth, Act 4, Scene 4
Analysis
Macbeth's pessimistic view reflects his realisation that all his ambitious actions were ultimately meaningless and will lead to his defeat.
Key quote: "Stars hide your fires; let not light see my dark and deep desires"
Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 4
Analysis
Macbeth commands the natural world to hide his evil intentions from God, suggesting awareness of the blasphemous consequences.
Key quote: "The dead butcher and his fiend-like queen"
Malcolm, Act 5, Scene 9
Analysis
Malcolm disparages Macbeth as a murderer and Lady Macbeth as demonic, showing their fall from grace.
Key quote: "Come you spirits ... Unsex me here"
Lady Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 5
Analysis
Lady Macbeth commands evil spirits to strip her of feminine traits, subverting gender roles through unnatural means.
Key quote: "Look like the innocent flower but be the serpent underneath it"
Lady Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 5
Analysis
Lady Macbeth instructs Macbeth to practise deception, using the biblical metaphor of a serpent, a symbol of treachery.
Key quote: "Out, damned spot: out, I say!"
Lady Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 1
Analysis
Lady Macbeth's desperate pleading and hallucinations symbolise her loss of power and mental instability due to her guilt.
Key quote: "Fair is foul and foul is fair"
Three Witches, Act 1, Scene 1
Analysis
The witches' paradoxical language warns of deception and upheaval, foreshadowing the corruption of natural order.
Key quote: "Macbeth does murder sleep!"
Macbeth, Act 2, Scene 2
Analysis
Macbeth's exclamation and the personification of sleep suggest both his guilt and his realisation that murdering the king has robbed him of peace and perhaps eternal rest.