

Before my body / I throw my warlike shield. Though Birnam Wood be come to Dunsinane, / And thou opposed, being of no woman born, / Yet I will try the last. #16: I will not yield, / To kiss the ground before young Malcolm’s feet, / And to be baited with the rabble’s curse.

#15: But swords I smile at, weapons laugh to scorn, / Brandished by man that’s of a woman born. #14: Ring the alarum-bell!-Blow, wind! Come, wrack! / At least we’ll die with harness on our back. #13: I ‘gin to be aweary of the sun, / And wish th’ estate o’ th’ world were now undone.
LADY MACBETH QUOTES FULL
It is a tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / Signifying nothing. #12: Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage / And then is heard no more. #11: Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, / Creeps in this petty pace from day to day / To the last syllable of recorded time, / And all our yesterdays have lighted fools / The way to dusty death. #10: I’ll fight till from my bones my flesh be hacked. Techniques: Imagery, figurative language.Macbeth has become so greedy and selfish that he doesn’t care what happens to other people, so long as his demands are fulfilled. Meaning: Macbeth insists that the witches answer his questions promptly, even if their power to control the weather ruins churches, ships, trees - just as long as he gets the answers he needs.#9: Though you untie the winds and let them fight / Against the churches, though the yeasty waves / Confound and swallow navigation up, / Though bladed corn be lodged and trees blown down… / Even till destruction sicken, answer me / To what I ask you. Techniques: Imagery, figurative language, characterisation.Essentially, Macbeth is desensitised to killing people and believes it’s impossible for him to go back to his old self. Meaning: From all the murders he has committed, Macbeth has become accustomed to the act and can’t see himself stopping as it would be harder to return to the person he used to be.#8: I am in blood / Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o’er.


Two key characters who are tied to ambition throughout the play are Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, which can be seen through the quotes below. As you study Macbeth, you will come to see how different characters experience the feeling of ambition.
