Leeshi
Hiya! Some tips for memorising Macbeth quotes so you don't end up feeling as silly as King Duncan spending all of Act 1 like "oh brave Macbeth, what a great guy, he'd never do anything bad!" 😅
1. Memorising quotes will happen with time, so don't stress out too soon! The more you analyse, think about, and write about the play, the more mental associations you'll form between key ideas and key quotes.
2. Prioritise 'flexi' quotes that serve more than one function. For example, let's look at two quotes:
- "I fear thy nature. It is too full o'the milk of human kindness" [Lady Macbeth about Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 5]
- "Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse the curtained sleep" [Macbeth in Act 2 Scene 1]
That first quote is great when talking about the characters of Macbeth & Lady Macbeth, as well as themes of gender, ambition, good vs. evil, deception, etc. No matter what exam question you got, I can 100% guarantee this quote could be useful to you. By contrast, that second quote is very interesting for the theme of nature (i.e. how the natural world seems 'dead' or unnatural because Macbeth has killed Duncan), but can't really be used for any other characters or ideas. So, although you could memorise that second quote, the first one is a much more efficient use of your time! So when going through the play and making notes, try to find quotes that are 'flexible' enough to work for a variety of character and theme analyses to make your life easier!
(Later, once you've got a core bunch of quotes to cover the big ideas, you can add some of those extra ones about more 'niche' themes like nature, loyalty, hope, etc.)
3. Pick small quotes, and memorise analysis, not raw text chunks. There's no point rote learning the entire "life is but a walking shadow" soliloquy if you don't know what to say about it. That just means you'll be sitting in an internal/external assessment with a bunch of quotes in your head but no ability to use them. Plus, Shakespeare is hard to memorise!! There's a bunch of weird grammar and poetic forms (hence the "full o'the milk" stuff!) so of course reasonable humans can't easily commit it to memory! Instead, be SUPER SPECIFIC about what evidence is important within a quote.
For example, I probably wouldn't memorise the whole quote mentioned above: "nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse the curtained sleep." The important idea there is "nature seems dead" - I'd just memorise those three words! And I'd pair that with an idea like:
When Macbeth kills Duncan, he remarks that "nature seems dead," suggesting that he is fully aware that his regicide has subverted the laws of nature and permanently altered the world.
^^ THAT is the kind of think you want to memorise because if you can learn a sentence with evidence + analysis, it'll be waaaaay easier to avoid that 'writer's block' feeling you're describing where you get nervous and forget what to write.
But like I said, it takes time, and you've got ages, so just work on little bits at a time! I'd start by picking out the most important quotes and then shortening + coming up with some analysis for each one. Some suggestions below! (And shortened + analysed versions in the spoiler 😉
- “Away, and mock the time with fairest show! False face must hide what the false heart doth know”
- "Methought I heard a voice cry, ‘Sleep no more! [...] Glamis hath murdered sleep - and therefore Cawdor shall sleep no more. Macbeth shall sleep no more!’ "
- “It will have blood, they say, blood will have blood.”
Macbeth's declaration that his "false face" must hide the murderous intentions of his "false heart" highlights his deliberate deception and foreshadows how his sense of self will later fracture and descend into madness.
Likewise, him referring to himself in the third person when he cries "Glamis hath murdered sleep" and "Macbeth shall sleep no mode" perhaps hints at his desire to mentally separate himself from his sinful murder of Duncan.
The psychological toll of murder can be seen in Macbeth's ominous chanting that "blood will have blood", which serves to foreshadow his bloody demise that is set in motion by his own bloodthirsy actions.
There are a few more tips in this article here if you want!
Hope you're enjoying Macbeth so far - it's honestly a really fun play once you get past the Shakespearean weirdness 😄
