Characters & Quotes
She is the character who cries, “Out, damned spot! Out, I say!”
Who is Lady Macbeth??
These supernatural figures appear at the start of the play, and this is one thing they prophesy.
Who are the three witches, and what is “They predict Macbeth will be Thane of Cawdor and later king”?
This recurring symbol most directly represents Macbeth’s guilt.
What is blood?
This is what Macbeth hallucinates before murdering Duncan.
What is “A floating dagger leading him to the chamber”?
This is one way the play questions traditional masculinity.
What is “It shows manhood being wrongly equated with violence, exposing its moral cost”?
Characters often define “being a man” as being violent or brave.
Lady Macbeth pushes Macbeth by saying he’s “not a man” if he won’t kill Duncan.
The play shows this idea is harmful and leads to bad choices.
Real strength can mean doing what’s right, not just being aggressive.
He speaks the line, “I dare do all that may become a man; Who dares do more is none.”
Who is Macbeth?
This is the event that happens to Banquo and the person responsible for ordering it.
What is “Banquo is murdered on Macbeth’s orders”?
The line “Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it” illustrates this theme.
What is deception / appearance vs. reality?
This is the role the witches’ prophecies play in Macbeth’s decision-making.
What is “They inflame his ambition and push him toward violent action”?
This is how Lady Macbeth challenges gender expectations in Act 1.
What is “She calls on spirits to ‘unsex’ her and embraces ruthlessness instead of expected femininity”?
She rejects the idea that women should be gentle or soft.
She asks spirits to make her more cruel (“unsex me here”).
She takes charge of the plan to kill Duncan.
Shows ambition and power aren’t just qualities for men.
He is the character who publicly reacts to seeing Banquo’s ghost at a banquet.
Who is Macbeth?
This is what motivates Lady Macbeth to push Macbeth to murder Duncan.
What is “Her ambition for power and fear Macbeth is too kind to seize the crown”?
“Vaulting ambition” is a warning about this consequence.
What is “Unchecked ambition leads to destruction”?
This is how the prophecy that ‘none of woman born shall harm Macbeth’ deceives him.
What is “It gives him false confidence because he interprets it too literally”?
This is what Macbeth’s ‘Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow’ soliloquy reveals about his view of life.
What is “He sees life as meaningless, empty, and fleeting—a ‘tale told by an idiot’”?
Macbeth feels life is empty and pointless after Lady Macbeth dies.
He says life is short and repetitive (“a brief candle”).
He thinks people’s actions don’t really matter in the end.
Shows how hopeless and exhausted he has become.
These are the two characters who flee after Duncan’s murder and their destinations.
Who are Malcolm (to England) and Donalbain (to Ireland)?
This is what happens when Birnam Wood ‘comes’ to Dunsinane and what literally causes it.
What is “Malcolm’s soldiers carry branches to disguise themselves, fulfilling the prophecy metaphorically”?
This is how blood and darkness imagery contribute to Macbeth’s atmosphere
What is “They symbolize guilt, violence, concealment, and the moral darkness that overtakes Scotland”?
This is what the porter scene contributes to the mood or pacing of the play.
What is “Comic relief and ironic commentary on sin, guilt, and equivocation”?
This is a comparison of Macbeth’s and Lady Macbeth’s responses to guilt, with an example each.
What is “Macbeth becomes paranoid and violent (ordering further murders), while Lady Macbeth collapses under guilt and sleepwalks before dying”?
They are the speakers of “Fair is foul, and foul is fair,” and this is how the line sets the tone of the play.
Who are the witches, and what is "it established moral confusion and a treacherous, deceptive atmosphere"
This is the character who kills Macbeth and the special circumstance that fulfills the prophecy.
Who is Macduff, and what is “He was born by caesarean/c-section, not technically ‘of woman born’”?
These are two examples of unnatural events in the play and how each reflects disruption of nature.
What is “Darkened daytime and screaming winds after Duncan’s murder, and horses eating each other—both signs of nature revolting against regicide”?
These are three symbols (besides blood) and a one-sentence interpretation for each.
What are “The dagger (temptation/guilt), sleep (innocence lost), and darkness (concealment of evil)”?
Pick one - Analyze Shakespeare’s use of blood, darkness, and unnatural imagery and how it shapes themes and atmosphere.
What is Blood
Represents guilt that can’t be washed away.
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth both imagine blood on their hands.
What is Darkness
Represents evil and hiding wrongdoing.
Many murders happen at night or in darkness.
What is Unnatural events
Strange events happen after Duncan’s murder (day turns dark, horses eat each other).
Shows the world is out of order because the king was murdered.
What is Overall
These images make the play feel tense and spooky.
They highlight themes like guilt, ambition, and chaos.