Macbeth quotes
Use the quotes to help explain and discuss the characters themes, social political context and the
language used by Shakespeare to create meaning.
Characters
You will be asked to discuss and argue how a character develops or changes throughout the play and
what motivates them to do the things they do. For example: why does Macbeth kill Duncan? You
will need quotes to support your ideas in the essays you write.
Main characters could be:
Macbeth
Lady Macbeth
Banquo
Duncan
The Witches
Duncan
Macduff
Themes
Themes are ideas in the play that Shakespeare wants the audience to think about. They reflect parts
of the play that can be applied to the wider society. In Macbeth possible themes are:
Ambition
Reality and the Supernatural
Sleep
Guilt
Social and historical context
This is how the play is set in the time it is written. Macbeth was written in 1606 and although it is set
in 11th century Scotland it reflects certain ideas and customs of England in 1606.
The current King of England had survived a plot to kill him by Gut Faukes who tried to blow up the
House of Parliament
Witches and witchcraft were a big part of life. Witches were thought to be real and a danger to
society. Laws were passed that led to people thought to be witches to be burnt at the stake.
Shakespeare relied on King James’ support as a playwright, therefore he needed to write plays that
the King would enjoy. This could account for the scenes mentioning the King as a great healer of
people
Language
This covers how Shakespeare uses language and structure to create the play. An example is the use
of soliloquies to inform the audience about the thoughts of the actors. For a play it would also
include stage direction, lighting, facial expressions and music. The actual language also conveys
meaning, for example the witches speak mostly in rhyme – what is the effect of this?
All the above elements are important to know when discussing and writing essays about the
books/plays/films we study in English. To be able to do this you need to do a ‘close reading’ of the
text. This means reading it 2 to 3 times in order to have a very good understanding of the text.
Understanding is best illustrated through the use of quotes.
Quotes can be arranged in various ways
1. Chronologically, in the order that they appear in the play
2. By character, either who says it and/or who it is about. For example Duncan says “O valiant
cousin, worthy gentleman” which is about Macbeth
3. In the other categories, ie quotes that can be linked to the themes, social/political and
language parts of the play
The best way is probably is by matching key quotes to each of the areas above which may ,mean
writing the quote more than once. For example the quote by Duncan above could be matched to
Macbeth’s character, Duncan’s character and the theme of ambition
When matching a quote against a character theme etc, the most important thing you MUST do is to
interpret the quote. What does the quote tell us about the character theme etc.
Again taking the Duncan quote we could interpret it like this:
Macbeth – Macbeth is a ‘valiant’ man who the King believes to be ‘worthy’. It shows us that early in
the play that Macbeth is hero to his country and well liked.
Duncan – King Duncan feels very highly of Macbeth as he is a ‘valiant and worthy gentleman’ This
shows the trust and faith he has in his thane of Glamis
Ambition – we see very early in the play that Macbeth has already reached a high position in the
eyes of the King and that he is a hero. He has achieved success in his life through his bravery on the
battlefield and this brings him more reward. Why then is he not content with this high level of
recognition and success?