Grade 8-9 Quotes for Macbeth
Could someone provide me with the grade 8-9 quotes, the best ones.
This is what I currently have prepared, but not yet memoried.
Note: I am in Year 11
Macbeth Revision Sheet
Context:
Macbeth is a tragedy. We can tell this as Macbeth (the protagonist) has a large ego (fatal flaw). This flaw is made worse by Lady Macbeth (external pressure) who exploits this to get what she wants. Macduff is the antagonist (Macbeth’s opposite) and there is a catharsis (the audience feeling horror and regret).
In the Jacobean era people believed that Kings were chosen to rule by God so they had divine right to rule. To kill a king was considered to be a crime against God.
In the Jacobean era, England was heavily Protestant and so was scared of witches. They were believed to have made a pact with the devil in exchange for supernatural powers. 1563 Witchcraft Act: Legal to kill witches. King James 1 was superstitious about witches.
Quotes:
Macbeth:
“Why do you dress me in borrowed robes?”
“let not light see my black and deep desires”
“I have no spur… only vaulting ambition”
“trammel up the consequences”
“sceptre… to be wrenched with an unlineal hand”
“rancour’s in the vessel of my peace”
Lady Macbeth:
“Come you spirits… unsex me here and fill me… of direst cruelty”
“plucked my nipple… dashed the brains out”
“Take my milk for gall, you murd’ring ministers”
“look like the innocent flower… serpent underneath”
“hands of your colour… shame to wear a heart so white”
“all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this hand”
Banquo:
“merciful powers, restrain in me the cursed thoughts”
“wisdom that doth guide his valour”
“win us with honest trifles, to betray’s in deepest consequence”
“royalty of nature… under him my genius is rebuked”
“True, worthy Banquo, he is full so valiant”
The Witches:
“Fair is foul and foul is fair”
“Thunder, lightning or in rain”
“Melted, as breath into the wind”
“supernatural soliciting”
“show his eyes and grieve his heart”
Macduff:
“lest our old robes sit easier than our new”
“I have no words, my voice is my sword”
“medicines of our great revenge, to cure this deadly grief”
“I must also feel it as a man” as he mourns his family “most precious to me”
Other important quotes:
“silver skin lac’d with… golden blood” -> description of King Duncan.
“heaven’s breath” -> Façade of the Macbeth’s castle.
“destroy your sight… new Gorgon” -> Macduff on Duncan’s death.
Structure:
Short scenes speed up the action, making the play more exciting. Long scenes explore the characters’ emotions and reveal their true characters.
Act 1 and Act 2 are structured around Macbeth’s rise to power. Acts 3 to 5 show how things fall apart for Macbeth.
The witches speak in rhyme which emphasises they are different to the other characters as they speak in blank verse. This sounds like they are casting a spell and exist outside the natural order of the world.
This is what I currently have prepared, but not yet memoried.
Note: I am in Year 11
Macbeth Revision Sheet
Context:
Macbeth is a tragedy. We can tell this as Macbeth (the protagonist) has a large ego (fatal flaw). This flaw is made worse by Lady Macbeth (external pressure) who exploits this to get what she wants. Macduff is the antagonist (Macbeth’s opposite) and there is a catharsis (the audience feeling horror and regret).
In the Jacobean era people believed that Kings were chosen to rule by God so they had divine right to rule. To kill a king was considered to be a crime against God.
In the Jacobean era, England was heavily Protestant and so was scared of witches. They were believed to have made a pact with the devil in exchange for supernatural powers. 1563 Witchcraft Act: Legal to kill witches. King James 1 was superstitious about witches.
Quotes:
Macbeth:
“Why do you dress me in borrowed robes?”
“let not light see my black and deep desires”
“I have no spur… only vaulting ambition”
“trammel up the consequences”
“sceptre… to be wrenched with an unlineal hand”
“rancour’s in the vessel of my peace”
Lady Macbeth:
“Come you spirits… unsex me here and fill me… of direst cruelty”
“plucked my nipple… dashed the brains out”
“Take my milk for gall, you murd’ring ministers”
“look like the innocent flower… serpent underneath”
“hands of your colour… shame to wear a heart so white”
“all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this hand”
Banquo:
“merciful powers, restrain in me the cursed thoughts”
“wisdom that doth guide his valour”
“win us with honest trifles, to betray’s in deepest consequence”
“royalty of nature… under him my genius is rebuked”
“True, worthy Banquo, he is full so valiant”
The Witches:
“Fair is foul and foul is fair”
“Thunder, lightning or in rain”
“Melted, as breath into the wind”
“supernatural soliciting”
“show his eyes and grieve his heart”
Macduff:
“lest our old robes sit easier than our new”
“I have no words, my voice is my sword”
“medicines of our great revenge, to cure this deadly grief”
“I must also feel it as a man” as he mourns his family “most precious to me”
Other important quotes:
“silver skin lac’d with… golden blood” -> description of King Duncan.
“heaven’s breath” -> Façade of the Macbeth’s castle.
“destroy your sight… new Gorgon” -> Macduff on Duncan’s death.
Structure:
Short scenes speed up the action, making the play more exciting. Long scenes explore the characters’ emotions and reveal their true characters.
Act 1 and Act 2 are structured around Macbeth’s rise to power. Acts 3 to 5 show how things fall apart for Macbeth.
The witches speak in rhyme which emphasises they are different to the other characters as they speak in blank verse. This sounds like they are casting a spell and exist outside the natural order of the world.
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Is this what GCSE English literature has come to now, then? Basically 'learning' a load of dismembered quotations, sorted by GCSE grades, ready to vomit them up in the examination? Do you just ram them in to fit, regardless of the question or suitability of them?
I'm not having a go at you, @realboss_sh - it just seems incredible that this is what is expected from a English lit candidate now.
I'm not having a go at you, @realboss_sh - it just seems incredible that this is what is expected from a English lit candidate now.
Original post by Reality Check
Is this what GCSE English literature has come to now, then? Basically 'learning' a load of dismembered quotations, sorted by GCSE grades, ready to vomit them up in the examination? Do you just ram them in to fit, regardless of the question or suitability of them?
I'm not having a go at you, @realboss_sh - it just seems incredible that this is what is expected from a English lit candidate now.
I'm not having a go at you, @realboss_sh - it just seems incredible that this is what is expected from a English lit candidate now.
I've only experienced doing GCSE English is lit at my school(in 2020) and I'm not an expert at the qualification but I don't recall having "graded" quotations
Although, I do personally recall being encouraged to memorise some quotations that could be used in a variety of contexts.Sorry, OP I could not be any help, the most I've done with Macbeth is watch the play !
but you do seem to have quite an extensive list there 
Original post by Reality Check
Is this what GCSE English literature has come to now, then? Basically 'learning' a load of dismembered quotations, sorted by GCSE grades, ready to vomit them up in the examination? Do you just ram them in to fit, regardless of the question or suitability of them?
I'm not having a go at you, @realboss_sh - it just seems incredible that this is what is expected from a English lit candidate now.
I'm not having a go at you, @realboss_sh - it just seems incredible that this is what is expected from a English lit candidate now.
Basically yes, though I don’t know what you mean by the text in bold. You won’t get the highest marks for essentially spamming quotations; it depends on how well you analyse said quotations and how well you can link it back to the question. However, you won’t know what question you get and you can’t use an empty version of the book in the exam so it’s basically a memorisation game, hence why OP has loads of quotations - they can use specific quotations for specific questions.
Judging by how surprised you seem in your last sentence, you probably had a different criteria to doing well in English lit when you did GCSEs. If so, could you explain what was expected from a top candidate back when you did english lit? I’m curious.
(edited 2 years ago)
Original post by realboss_sh
Could someone provide me with the grade 8-9 quotes, the best ones.
I got a 9 doing gcse english lit (incl Macbeth) in 2019 imo memorising 'grade 8-9 quotes' really isn't the best approach. Specific quotes won't make an essay worthy of a high grade, but how you go about analysing the quotation and working it into your essay. This comes from knowing the text well, and practicing a variety of essays and essay plans. Rather than searching for lists of 'a* quotes', you could look through the play critically, find ones that stand out to you and think about how you could make a decent point in an essay using it - examiners might like seeing a quote that most candidates wouldn't have considered. The most important thing is the analysis though - pretty much any quote could be analysed to grade 9 or grade 2 level depending on how you go about it. With closed book exams, you will need to learn some quotes, but your priority for the first part of year 11 at least should be seeing which quotes work well to make developed, intelligent arguments in essays (and ideally can be used for several themes so you have less to learn). But just to reiterate, it's the analysis and overall ability to argue that counts, not the quote itself!
ps you don't just have to rely on quotes - stage directions etc can also be analysed really effectively!
(edited 2 years ago)
Quotes aren't graded. It's how you use them that is graded.
What you should be looking for are grade 8/9 inferences, not quotes (because there is no such thing!). Detailed/insightful inferences into the quotations are far more important than picking niche ones (which I’m presuming you categorise as grade 8/9). 
You don’t get penalised for using common quotations (“for brave Macbeth…”, any of the dagger soliloquy etc.)
If you’re set on memorising quotations then I’d choose ones that could be applied to a range of questions.
You don’t get penalised for using common quotations (“for brave Macbeth…”, any of the dagger soliloquy etc.)If you’re set on memorising quotations then I’d choose ones that could be applied to a range of questions.
You only need 7/8 quotes for each character that you can analyse well. Analysis and being perceptive and contextual is what gets you top grades, not the amount of quotations you can remember. I got a 9 in my mock and I only used about 10 quotes in 5 paragraphs (including ones from the given extract)
Original post by 0ptics
Judging by how surprised you seem in your last sentence, you probably had a different criteria to doing well in English lit when you did GCSEs. If so, could you explain what was expected from a top candidate back when you did english lit? I’m curious.
Without being boastful, I did do rather well at English so I suppose I can comment on my experience of it
I don't remember 'learning' a single quote, never mind a big long list of them. You just watched the play several times and then read it comprehensively, so you knew it inside out. You could then pull out any 'quote' from memory, as and when the question required it - but answering the question didn't revolve around vomiting up quotes in an exam. Does that make sense?Original post by Reality Check
Without being boastful, I did do rather well at English so I suppose I can comment on my experience of it I don't remember 'learning' a single quote, never mind a big long list of them. You just watched the play several times and then read it comprehensively, so you knew it inside out. You could then pull out any 'quote' from memory, as and when the question required it - but answering the question didn't revolve around vomiting up quotes in an exam. Does that make sense?
I don't remember 'learning' a single quote, never mind a big long list of them. You just watched the play several times and then read it comprehensively, so you knew it inside out. You could then pull out any 'quote' from memory, as and when the question required it - but answering the question didn't revolve around vomiting up quotes in an exam. Does that make sense?Yes, and well done on your English grades
Original post by 0ptics
Yes, and well done on your English grades
Thanks, it was rather a long time ago though
Original post by Reality Check
Without being boastful, I did do rather well at English so I suppose I can comment on my experience of it I don't remember 'learning' a single quote, never mind a big long list of them. You just watched the play several times and then read it comprehensively, so you knew it inside out. You could then pull out any 'quote' from memory, as and when the question required it - but answering the question didn't revolve around vomiting up quotes in an exam. Does that make sense?
I don't remember 'learning' a single quote, never mind a big long list of them. You just watched the play several times and then read it comprehensively, so you knew it inside out. You could then pull out any 'quote' from memory, as and when the question required it - but answering the question didn't revolve around vomiting up quotes in an exam. Does that make sense?I did the gcse in 2019 and would say this is still the encouraged approach (at least by the teacher I had). When revising I did come across lists of 'grade 8/9 quotations' but generally stuck to the quotes I thought worked best in essays, no matter which ones they were. Best advice to OP would be, like you say, knowing the text inside out > memorising lists of quotes
Original post by bluemoon03
I did the gcse in 2019 and would say this is still the encouraged approach (at least by the teacher I had). When revising I did come across lists of 'grade 8/9 quotations' but generally stuck to the quotes I thought worked best in essays, no matter which ones they were. Best advice to OP would be, like you say, knowing the text inside out > memorising lists of quotes
I'm glad to hear this is still the case
To me, 'memorising quotations' sounds like a bit of a crutch; a fallback option when you haven't actually ruminated and digested the actual text, so to speak. English GCSE By Numbers. I can imagine an answer which shoehorned in pre-learnt quotations with little regard to their suitability could end up awfully mechanistic and not score particularly highly.Original post by Trinculo
Go get him, surgeons.
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Original post by realboss_sh
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You egg
Original post by Reality Check
I'm glad to hear this is still the case To me, 'memorising quotations' sounds like a bit of a crutch; a fallback option when you haven't actually ruminated and digested the actual text, so to speak. English GCSE By Numbers. I can imagine an answer which shoehorned in pre-learnt quotations with little regard to their suitability could end up awfully mechanistic and not score particularly highly.
To me, 'memorising quotations' sounds like a bit of a crutch; a fallback option when you haven't actually ruminated and digested the actual text, so to speak. English GCSE By Numbers. I can imagine an answer which shoehorned in pre-learnt quotations with little regard to their suitability could end up awfully mechanistic and not score particularly highly.That is only the play section however
We also have to learn 15 poems off by heart (which turns into memorise the quotations only) to write an essay on only about 2 of them
Also since a few have taken to spitting out CPG guides so the teachers have told us that the examiners have them to hand.
As well as this my teacher herself as said our current English Lit course is too hard and too narrow-minded (the lack of Non-English, as in not from the UK means a lot of meaningful texts and messages aren't covered)
(edited 2 years ago)
I don't remember the exact wording but there was one i liked about macbeth being in a sea of blood and return is as tedious as to go over or something like that
Original post by AmIReallyHere
That is only the play section however
We also have to learn 15 poems off by heart (which turns into memorise the quotations only) to write an essay on only about 2 of them
Also since a few have taken to spitting out CPG guides so the teachers have told us that the examiners have them to hand.
As well as this my teacher herself as said our current English Lit course is too hard and too narrow-minded (the lack of Non-English, as in not from the UK means a lot of meaningful texts and messages aren't covered)
We also have to learn 15 poems off by heart (which turns into memorise the quotations only) to write an essay on only about 2 of them
Also since a few have taken to spitting out CPG guides so the teachers have told us that the examiners have them to hand.
As well as this my teacher herself as said our current English Lit course is too hard and too narrow-minded (the lack of Non-English, as in not from the UK means a lot of meaningful texts and messages aren't covered)
Interesting post - thanks
That all sounds very involved!Quick Reply
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