Here are the top 30 Lady Macbeth quotes to show how ruthless and strong-willed she is!
In William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth comes across three witches who give him a prophecy: one day, he will be crowned king. However, the witches were evil.
In their encounter, Macbeth doesn’t realize that the prophecy is self-fulfilling. It was their way of tempting Macbeth to commit evil deeds so they could get a hold of his soul.
Lady Macbeth is greedy and ambitious. So, when she heard about the prophecy, she immediately jumped into action and schemed to kill the current king, Duncan, so her husband could ascend the throne.
Macbeth still had some sense of kindness and morality about him, and Lady Macbeth saw this as a weakness. So, she manipulated Macbeth into murdering the king.
Though they were successful, in the end, Lady Macbeth was driven mad by guilt and killed herself. Gain lessons from her through this collection of the best Lady Macbeth quotes from the different acts of Shakespeare’s play!
And don’t forget to check out these Scarlett O’Hara quotes.
Best Lady Macbeth Quotes
1. “Bear welcome in your eye, your hand, your tongue. Look like th’ innocent flower, but be the serpent under‘t.”
2. “Things without all remedy should be without regard: what’s done, is done.”
3. “‘Tis the eye of childhood that fears a painted devil.”
4. “Here’s the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.”
5. “My hands are of your color, but I shame to wear a heart so white.”
6. “Out! damned spot! One, two—why, then ‘tis time to do’t.”
7. “Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here. Fill me from the crown to the toe, top-full of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood, stop up th’access and passage to remorse, that no compunctious visitings of nature shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between rh’effect and it.”
8. “Glamis thou art, and Cawdor; and shalt be what thou art promised. Yet do I fear thy nature; it is to full o’ th’ milk of human kindness. To catch the nearest way: thou wouldst be great.”
Famous Lady Macbeth Quotes
9. “And when goes hence?”
10. “O never shall sun that morrow see! Your face, my thane, is as a book where men may read strange matters. To beguile the time, look like the time.”
11. “Be bloody, bold, and resolute. Laugh to scorn the power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth.”
12. “What’s to be done?”
Lady Macbeth Quotes About Ambition
13. “That which hath made them drunk hath made me bold; what hath quenched them hath given me fire.”
14. “Art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it. What thou wouldst highly that wouldst thou holily; wouldst not play false, and yet wouldst wrongly win.”
15. “Screw your courage to the sticking place, and we’ll not fail.”
Deep Lady Macbeth Quotes About Guilt
16. “Hell is murky. Fie, my lord, fie, a soldier and afeard? What need we fear who knows it when none can call our power to account?”
17. “To bed, to bed. There’s knocking at the gate. Come, come, come, come, give me your hand. What’s done cannot be undone. To bed, to bed, to bed.”
18. “Whatever in your sightless substances, you wait on nature’s mischief.”
19. “I have given suck, and know how tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me. I would, while it was smiling in my face, have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you have done to this.”
Lady Macbeth Quotes to Give Insights Into Her Manipulation
20. “Thou’ld’st have, great Glamis, that which cries, ‘Thus thou must do,’ if thou have it, and that which rather thou dost fear to do than wishes should be undone.”
21. “Only look up clear; yo alter favour ever is to fear.”
22. “What cannot you and I perform upon the unguarded Duncan? What not put upon his spongy officers, who shall bear the guilt of our great quell?”
23. “Would’st thou have that which thou esteem’st the ornament of life, and live a coward in thine own esteem, letting, ‘I dare not’ wait upon ‘I would,’ like the poor cat i’ th’ adage?”
Lady Macbeth Quotes That Zoom in on How Duncan Was Killed
24. “Yet who would have the thought the old man to have so much blood in him?”
25. “I laid their daggers ready; he could not miss ‘em. Had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done’t.”
26. “The raven himself is hoarse, that croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan, under my battlements.”
27. “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!’”
Powerful Lady Macbeth Quotes to Reflect On
28. “Come to my woman’s breasts, and take my milk for gall, you murd’ring ministers!”
29. “What beast was’t then, that made you break this enterprise to me?”
30. “Hie thee hither, that I may pour my spirits in thine ear and chastise with the valor of my tongue all that impedes thee from the golden round, which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem to have thee crowned withal.”
In Your Opinion, Which Quotes Perfectly Describe Lady Macbeth?
Though not the title character of William Shakespeare’s play, Lady Macbeth played a vital role in how the story unfolded. Without her, there’s no saying whether Macbeth will fulfill the witches’ prophecy or not.
After all, Lady Macbeth believed that Macbeth had a weakness: he was too kind. Macbeth was ambitious but did not have the guts to murder the king.
Conversely, Lady Macbeth is strong-willed, brave, and greedy. She manipulated her husband to commit a grave sin so that they could hold more power and influence.
Lady Macbeth, in some ways, can serve as an inspiration to many—especially girls. After all, she was powerful in her own right, knew what she wanted, and didn’t back down in front of a challenge.
Even so, what we should take away from her best quotes and experiences is that the end will never justify the means. You could have good intentions, but if you’ll be hurting others along the way or if you’ll be committing crimes just to reach that goal, then it isn’t just.
Let this list of the best Lady Macbeth quotes remind you of the dark side of power. Consider the greater good before jumping into action, especially when pursuing your goals!
