Macbeth Metaphors and Similes Quotes

Fair is foul, and foul is fair

Fair is foul, and foul is fair:
Hover through the fog and filthy air.

– William Shakespeare

Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 1. This couplet is chanted by the three Witches when they get together during a storm to talk about their future meeting with Macbeth. The incantation “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” is synonymous with the Macbeth drama. It sets the scene and tone for everything that follows in the play. It means that appearances can be deceiving and it foreshadows what will happen in the course of the play. What seems good will be evil, and what appears evil will be good. The words “fair” and “foul” are each a metaphor for the other. The “fog and filthy air” bad weather that accompanies the Witches suggests the moral uncertainty in Scotland and how characters are unable to distinguish between what is “fair” and “foul.”

The merciless Macdonwald –
Worthy to be a rebel, for to that
The multiplying villanies of nature
Do swarm upon him…
For brave Macbeth – well he deserves that name!
Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel,
Which smoked with bloody execution,
Like valour’s minion carved out his passage
Till he faced the slave;
Which ne’er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him,
Till he unseam’d him from the nave to th’ chops,
And fix’d his head upon our battlements.

– William Shakespeare

Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 2. The Captain tells King Duncan how the brave Macbeth led the Scots to victory against the King of Norway and executed the traitorous rebel Macdonwald. We see how Macbeth had the ability to defy fate and fortune with his sword. The quote shows that he is loyal to the King. We also witness his ruthlessness and propensity for gruesome violence. The battle “hero” is introduced as a bloodthirsty killer, who slices his opponent open from naval to jaw. This foreshadows Macbeth being a killer during the rest of the play. The passage uses metaphorical language to emphasize Macbeth’s heroic and bloody role in the battle – his sword “smoked with bloody execution.” We see simile and personification when Macbeth is likened to “valour’s minion” – the servant of courage. Macbeth is initially presented as a patriot in the play.

Why do you dress me
In borrowed robes?

– William Shakespeare

Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 3. When Ross hails Macbeth Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth’s reaction comes in the form of a clothing metaphor. He tries to conceal his ambition to be king by making light of the news, and jokes about being dressed in borrowed robes. He doesn’t understand how he can have that position while the Thane of Cawdor still lives. He learns from Angus that the former Thane has been stripped of his title and sentenced to death for treason.

And oftentimes, to win us to our harm,
The instruments of darkness tell us truths,
Win us with honest trifles, to betray ‘s
In deepest consequence.

– William Shakespeare

Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 3. Banquo shows himself to be much more cautious than Macbeth in reacting to the Witches’ prophecies. He calls attention to the danger of acting on the predictions of the evil “instruments of darkness,” as he metaphorically describes the Witches. They may be telling a little truth in order to gain their confidence, so that they can deceive and betray them into causing harm, he warns. This is foreshadowing of Macbeth’s fatal decision to kill King Duncan. This passage raises the question: do the Witches control people’s fate, or do people have free will to decide their own fate, regardless of what the Witches prophesy.

Two truths are told,
As happy prologues to the swelling act
Of the imperial theme.

– William Shakespeare

Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 3. Macbeth uses a metaphor to compare the Witches’ statements about his thaneships of Glamis and Cawdor to the prologue of a play. He speaks these lines on realizing that their prophecy about him being Thane of Cawdor has come true. The final act of the drama he sees as having a royal theme, when he becomes King of Scotland – the Witches’ second prophecy. The passage tells us of Macbeth’s ambition and desire for power and is foreshadowing of his later ruthless actions to acquire that power.

Our eldest, Malcolm, whom we name hereafter
The Prince of Cumberland; which honour must
Not unaccompanied invest him only,
But signs of nobleness, like stars, shall shine
On all deservers.

– William Shakespeare

Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 4. Duncan confers the title of Prince of Cumberland on his son Malcolm, making him first in line to the Scottish throne. Using a “stars” simile, he says that new noble titles will be conferred on other deserving people also. Duncan’s act of elevating his son to this position and not Macbeth costs the King his life in Act 1, Scene 5.

Stars, hide your fires;
Let not light see my black and deep desires:
The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be,
Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see.

– William Shakespeare

Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 4. Just after King Duncan names his son Malcolm his successor, Macbeth asks the stars to hide their light so that his disloyal desire to take the throne cannot be seen by anyone. He means to achieve this goal by killing Duncan if necessary. A metaphor is used to describe his evil desires as “black and deep.” In this passage the stars are also personified. Macbeth speaks these lines in an aside, because he wishes to conceal his ambitious intentions from other people. Among the themes in play here is appearance vs reality, also fate and free will. Macbeth is not prepared to leave it to fate for the Witches’ prophecy of him becoming king to come true. He decides to act on his own free will and commit regicide to ensure his ascent to power.
the milk of human kindness - lady macbeth

Yet do I fear thy nature;
It is too full o’ the milk of human kindness
To catch the nearest way.

– William Shakespeare

Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 5. Lady Macbeth fears that her husband is too compassionate to be able to murder Duncan to make the Witches’ prophecy that he will be king come true. A metaphor likens human kindness to “milk,” conjuring up a feminine image that is maternal and nurturing. Lady Macbeth’s words are ironic, since it suggests that Lady Macbeth is a lot less full of that milk than her husband. The passage also suggests that Macbeth is not totally evil at this point.

Thou wouldst be great;
Art not without ambition, but without
The illness should attend it.

– William Shakespeare

Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 5. Lady Macbeth accepts that her husband is not lacking in ambition. But she is afraid that he doesn’t enough wickedness – “the illness” – to achieve greatness. Determined that Macbeth will be king, she doesn’t know if he has the killer instinct to do what needs to be done – kill Duncan. “Illness” is a metaphor for the ruthlessness needed to commit regicide.

Hie thee hither,
That I may pour my spirits in thine ear;
And chastise with the valour of my tongue
All that impedes thee from the golden round,
Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem
To have thee crown’d withal.

– William Shakespeare

Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 5. In her soliloquy Lady Macbeth bids her husband to hurry home so that she can set in motion her plan to spur him to usurp the crown. She uses the metaphor “pour my spirits in thine ear” to describe how she will whisper words of evil and transfer her spirit into Macbeth, as if to possess him. She will use the courage of her woman’s tongue to rid him of everything that holds him back from the crown. Here we are seeing Lady Macbeth aligned with the Witches as the Fourth Witch. In a nod to the weird sisters she says that Macbeth has already been crowned by “metaphysical aid” and “fate.” Now that she views herself as future queen, she will stop at nothing to achieve her goal.

Come, you spirits
That tend on mortal thoughts! unsex me here,
And fill me from the crown to the toe top full
Of direst cruelty; make thick my blood,
Stop up the access and passage to remorse,
That no compunctious visitings of nature
Shake my fell purpose.

– William Shakespeare

Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 5. This soliloquy spoken by Lady Macbeth after reading her husband’s letter is one of the most famous quotes in the play. The passage is an elaborate extended metaphor. Lady Macbeth appeals to the evil spirits from hell to fill her with cruelty and to metaphorically thicken her blood. She wants to block the flow of natural feelings of conscience and remorse, so that she can carry out the unthinkable deed of murdering the king. Calling on the spirits to strip her of her femininity and compassion, she desires to be transformed into the stereotypical ruthless male. Her ambition for power has set her on a course for evil.
take my milk for gall, you murdering ministers - lady macbeth

Come to my woman’s breasts,
And take my milk for gall, you murdering ministers.

– William Shakespeare

Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 5. Lady Macbeth’s words touch on the theme of femininity and masculinity. She pleads with the evil spirits to take away her nurturing nature. She believes that womanhood hampers her from acts of violence and cruelty. Attempting to summon up the courage to kill King Duncan, she begs the spirits to metaphorically turn the milk inside her breasts into something poisonous. She wants nothing to stand in the way of her husband being king.

Come, thick night,
And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell,
That my keen knife see not the wound it makes,
Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark,
To cry, “Hold, hold!”

– William Shakespeare

Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 5. There are many examples of light and darkness symbolism in Macbeth, this passage being one of them. Lady Macbeth calls on the night to cover up the sight of the knife when she carries out the murder of Duncan. The metaphor of a blanket is used to signify the dark. Personification is also employed – “knife see” and “heaven peep.” In her terrifying soliloquy the ambitious Lady Macbeth shows herself to be more ruthless than her husband. Her evil and her link to the Witches is emphasized by her reference to “hell.” Her ambition and desire to be queen know no bounds.
look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under 't

Your face, my thane, is as a book where men
May read strange matters. To beguile the time,
Look like the time; bear welcome in your eye,
Your hand, your tongue: look like the innocent flower,
But be the serpent under ‘t.

– William Shakespeare

Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 5. Lady Macbeth reveals her true nature as an evil woman who goads her husband into regicide. She coaches him on how to act when he greets King Duncan as a guest at their castle. To beguile the people of their time, he must look like them, she advises. She warns him not to let facial expressions betray his murderous thoughts and uses a simile to compare his face to a book that can easily be read by others. Using simile and metaphor, she tells him to put on the appearance of innocence to deceive those around them and hide their evil intent from their victim Duncan. Her instruction “be the serpent” is an allusion to the Biblical story of the devil as a snake tempting Eve to eat the apple in the Garden of Eden. This is one of the most memorable quotes from the play.

This guest of summer,
The temple-haunting martlet, does approve,
By his loved mansionry, that the heaven’s breath
Smells wooingly here: no jutty, frieze,
Buttress, nor coign of vantage, but this bird
Hath made his pendent bed and procreant cradle:
Where they most breed and haunt, I have observed,
The air is delicate.

– William Shakespeare

Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 6. If the audience didn’t already know that Duncan was walking into a deathtrap, they would think Banquo is describing some kind of paradise as they approach Macbeth’s castle. Banquo paints an idyllic scene: the martlet or martin chooses to nest and breed on the castle, the air is sweet-smelling, and a metaphor compares the soothing breeze to “heaven’s breath.” Summer is personified, it has the martlet as its guest, while a number of other rich metaphors – “pendent bed and procreant cradle” – complete the deception of appearance. There is heavy irony in this inviting description of Macbeth’s home, for it is the castle of a regicide.

If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well
It were done quickly: if the assassination
Could trammel up the consequence, and catch
With his surcease success; that but this blow
Might be the be-all and the end-all here,
But here, upon this bank and shoal of time,
We’d jump the life to come. But in these cases
We still have judgment here; that we but teach
Bloody instructions, which being taught, return
To plague the inventor: this even-handed justice
Commends the ingredients of our poisoned chalice
To our own lips.

– William Shakespeare

Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 7. In Macbeth’s second soliloquy he is plagued with self-doubt over whether he should kill King Duncan and the consequences for him if he does. If he carries out the assassination, he believes that it must be done quickly. But he fears the retribution he will face, both in this world and the next. The killing might not bring an end to the whole affair, his violent deed could return to haunt him and trigger a cycle of violence that could destroy him. Using the metaphor of a “poisoned chalice,” Macbeth foresees that justice could ensure that he drink from the same cup that he himself poisoned. In other words he may end up dead like Duncan. The dark imagery of “bloody instructions” and “poisoned chalice” suggests that Macbeth knows the King’s murder would unleash a dark and evil period in Scotland. And it does. The passage foreshadows that and Macbeth’s eventual death. An ocean metaphor is used to compare time to a bank or shoal (a shallow part of the ocean). Shakespeare uses another metaphor to compare the murder to bloody instructions being taught.

Besides, this Duncan
Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been
So clear in his great office, that his virtues
Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against
The deep damnation of his taking-off;
And pity, like a naked new-born babe,
Striding the blast, or heaven’s cherubim, horsed
Upon the sightless couriers of the air,
Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye,
That tears shall drown the wind.

– William Shakespeare

Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 7. In this soliloquy Macbeth is struggling with the idea of murdering Duncan, a good man who has been an exemplary King. He recognizes Duncan’s virtues and uses a simile to equate them to angels crying out against his murder. A complicated simile and metaphor follows, likening the pity for the murdered King to a newborn baby or angel riding the wind to spread news of this horrible deed throughout the land. Shakespeare also personifies “virtues” and “pity” in this passage.

I have no spur
To prick the sides of my intent, but only
Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself,
And falls on the other.

– William Shakespeare

Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 7. Ambition is one of the strongest themes in Macbeth. In the final words of Macbeth’s soliloquy, he reveals that the sole reason for his murder of Duncan is his ambition. An extended equestrian metaphor explains that he has no other motivation to spur himself to commit regicide than ambition. Shakespeare also personifies ambition as overleaping and falling, which also foreshadows Macbeth’s downfall.

He hath honour’d me of late; and I have bought
Golden opinions from all sorts of people,
Which would be worn now in their newest gloss,
Not cast aside so soon.

– William Shakespeare

Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 7. Clothing symbolism and imagery play an important role throughout the play. Macbeth uses a clothing metaphor to say that he should enjoy the new honor of Thane of Cawdor bestowed on him by Duncan and the praise heaped on him by people. This shows that he is changing his mind about killing Duncan.

Was the hope drunk,
Wherein you dress’d yourself? hath it slept since,
And wakes it now, to look so green and pale
At what it did so freely? From this time
Such I account thy love.

– William Shakespeare

Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 7. Lady Macbeth counterattacks after her husband refuses to carry out the plan to kill the King. Using a clothing metaphor and personification, she asks if his earlier hope was drunk when he dressed himself in it. Lady Macbeth proves to be even more ambitious than Macbeth for him to be king. She employs emotional blackmail when she equates the level of her love for him to his commitment to killing Duncan.

There’s husbandry in heaven;
Their candles are all out. Take thee that too.
A heavy summons lies like lead upon me,
And yet I would not sleep: merciful powers,
Restrain in me the cursed thoughts that nature
Gives way to in repose!

– William Shakespeare

Macbeth, Act 2, Scene 1. An uneasy Banquo observes that the lights of heaven are shut off, foreboding the horrible crime that is about to happen. He uses the metaphor of “candles” for the stars. He also uses a simile to compare sleep to a heavy lead summonsing him, a sleep that eludes him because of “cursed thoughts.” He asks the powerful supernatural spirits to curb these thoughts. He doesn’t reveal what these thoughts are, but they are likely connected with the Witches’ prophecies. Banquo seems suspicious that something bad is about to happen. The passage foreshadows Duncan’s murder.

That which hath made them drunk hath made me bold,
What hath quenched them hath given me fire.

– William Shakespeare

Macbeth, Act 2, Scene 2. Lady Macbeth has played an active part in the murder of King Duncan. She drugged Duncan’s guards’ drink, enabling her husband to kill him. The success of the criminal enterprise has given her confidence, a kind of Dutch courage, as she experiences a feeling of empowerment. It has metaphorically given the ambitious Lady Macbeth “fire,” or strength.

It was the owl that shriek’d, the fatal bellman,
Which gives the stern’st good-night.

– William Shakespeare

Macbeth, Act 2, Scene 2. Lady Macbeth hears an owl shriek at the time her husband is meant to be murdering Duncan. In a metaphor she compares the owl to a bellman or town crier. The “fatal bellman” was the night watchman who rang a bell at the door of a condemned prisoner to summon him for execution. According to medieval folklore, the owl’s screech foretold the death of a person. This passage is foreshadowing of Duncan’s death. It is also an example of the use of supernatural animal imagery to signal a disruption in the natural order of things.
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