Macbeth: key quotations

16 short quotations from Macbeth by William Shakespeare for Pearson Edexcel GCSE English Literature, with who says them, where, the themes and why they matter. Learn a few for each theme.

“Fair is foul, and foul is fair”
The Witches, Act 1, Scene 1 · the supernatural, appearance and reality
The witches' chant flips good and evil, warning us that nothing in the play will be what it seems.
“Stars, hide your fires! / Let not light see my black and deep desires.”
Macbeth (aside), Act 1, Scene 4 · ambition, guilt, appearance and reality
Macbeth already wants to hide his murderous ambition in darkness, showing he knows it is wrong.
“It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness”
Lady Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 5 · ambition, masculinity
Lady Macbeth fears her husband is too gentle to seize the crown, treating kindness as a weakness.
“look like the innocent flower, / But be the serpent under't”
Lady Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 5 · appearance and reality, ambition
The serpent links her plan to the Devil in Eden, and she tells Macbeth to hide evil behind an innocent face.
“Come, you spirits / That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here”
Lady Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 5 · the supernatural, masculinity, power
She calls on evil spirits to strip away her femininity, suggesting cruelty and power were seen as male.
“I have no spur / To prick the sides of my intent, but only / Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself”
Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 7 · ambition, guilt
Macbeth admits ambition is his only reason to kill Duncan and pictures it as a rider who jumps too far and falls.
“When you durst do it, then you were a man”
Lady Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 7 · masculinity, power
Lady Macbeth manipulates her husband by attacking his manhood, linking being a man with daring to kill.
“Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand?”
Macbeth, Act 2, Scene 2 · guilt
Right after the murder Macbeth feels his guilt is so huge that a whole ocean could not clean it away.
“A little water clears us of this deed”
Lady Macbeth, Act 2, Scene 2 · guilt, appearance and reality
Her calm dismissal of the murder is ironic, because later she cannot stop trying to wash her hands.
“O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!”
Macbeth, Act 3, Scene 2 · guilt, power
Becoming king has brought Macbeth torment, not peace, and the scorpions show his poisoned, restless mind.
“I am in blood / Stepp'd in so far that, should I wade no more”
Macbeth, Act 3, Scene 4 · guilt, power
Macbeth feels he has waded so deep into blood that going back is as hard as going on, so he keeps killing.
“By the pricking of my thumbs, / Something wicked this way comes.”
Second Witch, Act 4, Scene 1 · the supernatural
Even the witches now call Macbeth wicked, showing how far he has fallen since Act 1.
“Out, damned spot! out, I say!”
Lady Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 1 · guilt, power
Sleepwalking, she scrubs at imaginary blood, proving that the guilt she brushed aside has broken her mind.
“What's done cannot be undone.”
Lady Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 1 · guilt
She echoes her earlier words, but now they show despair: the murders can never be reversed.
“Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player”
Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 5 · power, ambition
After his wife's death Macbeth sees life as empty and meaningless, the bleak result of his ambition.
“Of this dead butcher and his fiend-like queen”
Malcolm, Act 5, Scene 8 · power, guilt
Malcolm's final verdict reduces the Macbeths to a butcher and a devil, restoring order and judging their crimes.

Every quotation was checked word for word against Macbeth, Project Gutenberg eBook #1533. Editions differ slightly in punctuation, so use your own copy in class. Practise using them in a long answer with the essay planner and Correct my answer.

Source: Pearson Edexcel Level 1/Level 2 GCSE (9-1) in English Literature (1ET0) Specification, Issue 2 (June 2019). Checked 23 October 2026. GCSE-ready is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by Pearson.