Macbeth Quote Analysis

After confirming Banquo's death, Macbeth reflects on the threat posed by Fleance, who has escaped the murderers.

Macbeth recasts Banquo and Fleance as a 'serpent' and a 'worm,' using scale to manage his fear—the adult threat is neutralized, the juvenile one dismissed as toothless 'for th' present.' Yet the phrase 'will venom breed' admits futurity: the metaphor contains its own undoing, as worms grow. Shakespeare lets Macbeth rationalize away danger even as his own words acknowledge it will return.

Use this to argue that Macbeth's language betrays him—even when he tries to downplay threats, his imagery reveals the inevitability he's trying to deny.