Summary Of Quotes From Macbeth '

Word Tracing Act 1

1. a. Quotation and Speaker: CAPTAIN: “Like valor’s minion, carved out his passage / Till he faced the slave; / Which ne’er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him, / Till he unseamed him from the nave to th’ chops, / And fixed his head upon our battlements.“ (1.2.21-25)

b. Paraphrase: Like a servant of bravery, he fought through a road of enemies until he finally got to the evil enemy Macdonwald. Whom he never shook his hands since Macbeth was too busy already ripping him from the stomach to the jaw. Finally, Macbeth placed Macdonwald’s head on the battlefield.

Clarification: Duncan encounters a bloody captain who was there to recount the scenes from the battle for the king to listen.

c. Conclusions: Hands are used

a. Quotation and Speaker: MACBETH: “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.” (1.4.57-60).

b. Paraphrase: Stars, stop shining brightly; do not bring light to my dark and massive wishes. Do not let my eye see what my hand does, make the one eye that sees my actions be blind. But make it so that my eye is afraid to see when the gruesome action is completed so it can forever be blind to it.

Clarification: Duncan declares Malcolm as his heir to the throne and Macbeth realizes that it is another thing he must overcome to be king like the three sisters’ prophecy.

c. Conclusions: Similar to the passage where Macbeth is introduced in, hands are used to show action. Being conscious of the crime being committed elevates the level of guilt and he hopes that his eye ( his remorse) will ignore his misdeeds like killing Duncan to become king. While it was valiant for Macbeth’s hands to be covered in blood in the battlefield, this time, it will be seen as a horrific crime, and even he is unsure on whether he can murder his king. The actions of hand in this passage contrasts with the first since the hand of Macbeth is now viewed in a negative

He considers his desires to be shameful and wishes he could hide them away. Further emphasized when his wife wants his hands to act kindly, something that is difficult because those are not his true intentions.

Power is shown with hands in act 1 where Macbeth is introduced as the brutal soldier that has executed the enemy and was too busy with killing him to greet him. Macbeth’s hands want power and his hands want the power of Duncan, who with the simple gesture of holding someone’s hand, can seem significant.

Oddly, hands are described to be detached from the user in the passages. Macbeth detaches his hand by referring to it as “the hand” rather than “my hand” which lacks the personal attachment one would have for their own body. The hand, its actions and desires are viewed negatively which is why Macbeth wants to dissociate himself from his own hand.

Hands are shown to be linking and holding which represent unity. The witches hold hands to perform a charm, they are all on the same side. While it is ironic when Duncan expresses trust and unity by holding Lady Macbeth’s hand thinking they are on the same team when the reader knows that Macbeth is going to stab Duncan in the