Macbeth character quotes

This theme is developed over the course of the play

• Fair is foul, and foul is fair

The witches suggest things aren't what they seem.

• Macbeth and Banquo repeatedly ask questions:          
• "Wither are they vanished?" 
• "Were such things here as we do speak about?
• "Have we eaten on the insane root" 
• "went it not so?" 

This shows their confusion, they can't believe what they've seen

Ducan describes Macbeth as "a gentleman on whom I built an absolute trust"   

He says that people may seem trustworthy but they might not be. Ironic- he misjudges Macbeth

"bear welcome in your eye" 

"look th'innocent flower, but be the serpent under't"

Lady Macbeth encourages Macbeth to decieve Duncan by pretentding to be something he's not.

The serpent links Lady Macbeth to Satan who tempted Eve in the garden of Eden.

"Mine eyes are made the fools o'er the other senses"

Macbeth isn't sure wether the dagger he sees is real or not. It's not clear to the audience if the witches have created the hallucination or if he is imagining it. 

"Tis' not for you to hear what I can speak. The repetition in a womans ear would murder as it fell"

Macduff thinks that as Lady Macbeth is a woman she is too vunerable to hear about the mudrder. Ironic - she wanted to cast off her femininity in Act 1 scene 5 (when she cursed herself), to make her capable of the murder. 

"Help me hence"

Some productions she pretends to faint to dic=stract everyone from Macbeths actions, in others she faints from shock after Macbeth changes their plans and kills the grooms. 

"There's daggers in mens smiles" 

Donalbain says people hide their true intentions. This echoes what Lady Macbeth says earlier in scence 5. 

"cheif geust" - Macbeth flatters Banquo to make him feel safe.

"Ride you this afternoon?" - but also wants to know his wheareabouts so he can have him                                                     murdered. 

Macbeth attempts to  "play the humble host"

He'll pretend to be a good host while hired murderes kill one of his geusts. 

"Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell"

Malcom says it's hard to tell who's good and who's evil. This echoes Duncan in previous act. 

Appearances can be deceptive. Characters often hide their thoughts and pretnd to be something they're not. People can be deceptive but the play shows their true natures come out at the end. 

At first, Lady Macbeth has no trouble disguising her evil behaviour. She pretnds to faint in shock when Duncans death is discovered. However her guilt becomes too much to hide and she starts sleepwalking.

"False face must hide what the false heart doth know"

Macbeth knows he needs a false face to hide murderous acts. But when he seees Banquos ghost, his face is "the very painting" of his fear and betrays his feelings. 

Meanings of words are unclear

Witches chant "Fair is fould, and foul is fair" to suggest things that appear good are actually evil.

They use language to trick Macbeth and convince him of a false reality, "none of woman born" will harm him, which gives him false confidence to fight to protect his reign. 

Other characters speak in paradoxes. Macbeth says "Nothing is / But what is not". They create uncertainty and shows nobody can tell whats real. 

Some characters trust too much in their appearances and suffer when they trust in them too much

Duncan trusts Macbeth and dies for it, even though he made the same mistake by trusting the disloyal Thane of Cawdor. He says "There's no art/To find the minds construction in the face" - he thinks there's no way of telling what some's really like. 

Macbeth knows reality and appearances don't always match up, but he trusts the Witches prophecies which leads to his downfall. Although apparations and visions seem real to the characters who see them, they're a sign the character can't tell reality from appearance.

However Malcom is immediately scepitical that Duncan was murdered by his servants - he suspeacts one of the Thanes :

"To show an unfelt sorrow is an office/ Which the false man doeseasy" His awareness of what "false" men can do causes him to flee and probably save his life.