| “Fair is foul, foul is fair.” | Paradox, external appearance hides the inner truth. |
| Macbeth “shalt be King hereafter!” | The Third Witch’s prophecy. |
| “The instruments of darkness.” | Metaphor for the Witches. |
| Macbeth is fearful at the “horrible imaginings” that go “against the use of nature.” | Macbeth is anxious, knowing he can only attain the crown through the murder of King Duncan. |
| “And nothing is, but what is not.” | Nothing is what it seems to be. |
| “There’s no art/ To find the mind’s construction in the face.” | External appearance hides the inner truth. (“There’s no art…”) |
| The King himself is deceived by Macbeth, describing him as “O worthiest cousin!” whom he has “absolute trust” in. | Appearance VS Deception. (“O worthiest cousin!”) |
| Macbeth’s plan is to conceal the truth and “Let not light see [his] black and deep desires.” | Appearance VS Deception. (“black and deep desires.”) |
| Macbeth lacks power and hardness, being “too full of the milk of human kindness,” and the only way for him to change is if Lady Macbeth “pour [her] spirits in thine ear.” | Lady Macbeth manipulating Macbeth’s state of mind. |
| Lady Macbeth’s megalomaniacal ambitions need to be fulfilled, “fill me, from the crown to the toe, top full/ Of direst cruelty!” | Lady Macbeth’s power hunger, megalomaniacal ambitions. |
| Lady Macbeth doesn’t want her feminine emotions to interfere with her plans, “Unsex me here… Make thick my blood.” | Lady Macbeth depriving herself of femininity, becoming powerful, greedy and manipulative. |
| Lady Macbeth doesn’t want Macbeth to convey his true intentions, “look like the innocent flower,/ But be the serpent under it.” | Appearance VS Deception (“look like the innocent flower”) |
| In order for Macbeth to succeed in his ventures, he needs “to beguile the time/ Look like the time.” | Appearance VS Deception (“to beguile the time”) |
| Macbeth is unsure on the murder of King Duncan, as he is “his kinsman and his subject,” however, his “vaulting ambition” overrules all. | “Vaulting ambition.” |
| “False face must hide what the false hearth doth know.” | Appearance VS Deception (“False face must hide…”) |
Act 1 Macbeth Quotes + Appearance and Deception
July 7, 2019