Act & Scene	Character	Quote	Meaning
1.4	Macbeth	“Stars, hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desires.”	Macbeth wants to hide his murderous ambition from the world (and God).
1.5	Lady Macbeth	“Come, you spirits… unsex me here, and fill me… top-full of direst cruelty!”	She wants to be stripped of feminine “weakness” to become cold enough to kill.
1.5	Lady Macbeth	“Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under ’t.”	She tells Macbeth to act like a perfect host while planning Duncan’s murder.
1.7	Macbeth	“I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition.”	He admits that the only thing driving him to kill is his own hunger for power.
2.1	Macbeth	“Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand?”	A hallucination of a weapon that represents his mental state and impending crime.
2.2	Macbeth	“Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?”	He feels that no amount of water can remove the guilt and sin of his actions.
2.3	Donalbain	“There’s daggers in men’s smiles.”	He realizes that those closest to them are hiding murderous intentions.
3.2	Macbeth	“O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!”	Macbeth is suffering from paranoia and mental torment after becoming King.
3.4	Macbeth	“I am in blood stepped in so far that… returning were as tedious as go o’er.”	He feels he has committed too many crimes to stop now; he must keep killing.
5.1	Lady Macbeth	“Out, damned spot! out, I say!”	Her guilt has manifested as a bloodstain on her hands that she cannot wash away.
5.5	Macbeth	“Life’s but a walking shadow… a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”	After his wife’s death, Macbeth views life as a meaningless, brief performance.
5.8	Macduff	“Macduff was from his mother’s womb untimely ripped.”	Macduff reveals the loophole in the prophecy that allows him to kill Macbeth.

In Act 1, Scene 4, Macbeth’s aside, “Stars, hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desires,” marks the moment his internal ambition becomes a deadly plan. Through the personification of the stars and the use of alliteration with the “d” sounds, Shakespeare emphasizes the weight and darkness of Macbeth’s thoughts. This connects to the theme of Ambition and Conflict, as Macbeth is terrified that his “light” (his honor and morality) will be overtaken by his “black” desires to kill King Duncan.

As the plot moves to Act 1, Scene 5, Lady Macbeth instructs her husband to “look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under ’t.” This line utilizes a simile for the “flower” and a metaphor for the “serpent” to demand a total split between public appearance and private intent. This is a central piece of the Appearance vs. Reality theme, showing how the couple adopts the Witches’ “fair is foul” philosophy to hide their treachery behind a mask of loyalty.

The psychological toll begins in Act 2, Scene 1 with the famous hallucination, “Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand?” By using a rhetorical question and symbolism, Shakespeare illustrates Macbeth’s mental instability. The dagger acts as an omen or a manifestation of his guilt before he even commits the murder, linking the themes of Madness and the Supernatural. It suggests that once a person chooses an evil path, their own mind begins to betray them.

Immediately after the murder in Act 2, Scene 2, Macbeth’s guilt turns into physical horror as he asks, “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?” This uses hyperbole (extreme exaggeration) and a classical allusion to the Roman god of the sea to show the magnitude of his crime. The Theme of Guilt is at its peak here; the blood is no longer just a liquid but a permanent spiritual stain that no amount of water can ever remove.

By Act 3, Scene 2, the crown has brought no peace, leading Macbeth to cry, “O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!” This vivid metaphor compares his paranoid thoughts to stinging, poisonous creatures. This highlights the Theme of Mental Decay, showing that power gained through evil is a trap. Macbeth’s mind is “poisoned” by the fear that he will lose the throne just as violently as he took it.

In Act 3, Scene 4, Macbeth accepts his fate as a villain, stating, “I am in blood stepped in so far that… returning were as tedious as go o’er.” Through this dark imagery and simile, he views his crimes as a literal river of blood. This connects to the Theme of Tyranny, as Macbeth decides that seeking forgiveness is too much work. He chooses to keep moving forward into more violence because he believes he is already “damned” beyond repair.

The descent concludes in Act 5, Scene 1 with Lady Macbeth’s frantic “Out, damned spot! out, I say!” Her use of imperative verbs (commands) shows her desperate, failed attempt to control her conscience. This symbolizes the ultimate victory of Justice and Guilt, as her earlier claim that “a little water” would wash away the crime is proven false. Her mind breaks under the weight of the “foul” reality she helped create.

Finally, in Act 5, Scene 5, Macbeth responds to his wife’s death with the nihilistic speech, “Life’s but a walking shadow… a tale told by an idiot… signifying nothing.” Using a series of metaphors comparing life to a bad actor or a meaningless story, he expresses the Futility of Ambition. He realizes that by following the Witches’ prophecies, he has traded everything meaningful for a crown that now feels empty.