“The Prince of Cumberland: that is a step on which I must fall down, or else o’erleap, for in my way it lies. 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.”

The Prince of Cumberland is the kings son, who is the heir to the throne. When Macbeth says he needs to fall down on it or overleap, he means that Malcolm (the heir) is in his way to the throne and Macbeth is probably going to kill him. The next sentence is a metaphor. The stars represent heaven and god. Macbeth doesn’t want God to see his “Black and deep desires”. This proves that he wants to kill the king and his son, because he doesn’t want god to judge him. The fact that Macbeth says black and deep desires, shows that he realises what he wants is wrong. It also shows that Macbeth is quarrelling with himself wether he should go ahead and fulfill the witches prophecy. This is enforced when Macbeth says that his eye winks at his hand. He is trying to persuade his body to partake in the action of treason. The last sentence though, suggests that Macbeth fears