Lady Macbeth Flashcards
you lack the season of all natures sleep
“The Thane of Fife had a wife. Where is she now? What, will these hands ne’er be clean?
No more o’that, my lord, no more o’that. You mar all with this starting,”
panicking about their growing body-count to scolding Macbeth for being jumpy in an instant. The
random, disjointed structure of her speech reflects how she’s torn between her ambition and
her guilt.
“fiend-like queen”.
, this summarises who Lady Macbeth
wanted to be at the start, suggesting she will be remembered for her villainy and cruelty. On the
other, the use of “queen” presents her as Macbeth’s sidekick and wife, reducing her to the back
bench as all women were in Jacobean society. She has no individual identity, and is known only
by her relation to Macbeth
“Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be / What thou art promised; yet do I
fear thy nature, / It is too full o’th’milk of human kindness / To catch the nearest
way.” (A1S5
By fearing Macbeth’s kindness, she implies that morality is a
frightening, threatening thing. Alternatively, “fear” reveals how desperately
Lady Macbeth wants to become queen
The noun “nature” alludes to
Macbeth’s mortal soul and shows that she is referring to Macbeth’s true identity,
the parts of himself that he can’t change.
The phrase “too full” again suggests his
nature will be an obstacle to her plans, and might also be interpreted as a sign
of corruption
Alternatively, “milk” connotes breastfeeding, and so
associates “human kindness” with femininity. This presents
compassion as a weakness, something that emasculates Macbeth- metaphor
In ancient medicine, people believed that your health depended on
having a balance of four different fluids, or ‘humours’. B
“Hie thee hither, / That I may pour my spirits in thine ear / And chastise with the
valour of my tongue / All that impedes thee from the golden round.” - Lady
Macbeth, (A1S5)
Lady Macbeth summons Macbeth with a “hie thee hither” in the same way
that the Witches summoned their familiars (animal companions) in the opening
scene. This suggests she views him as a means to an end, or a tool to help her
get her way
to “pour [your] spirits” would be a masculine action, while the one
receiving those “spirits” would be seen as the female. However, in this case,
Lady Macbeth wants to take the masculine role, reflecting how she
consistently strips Macbeth of his manliness.
Come, you spirits / That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here / And fill me
from the crown to the toe topfull / 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 / Th’effect and it. Come to my
woman’s breasts / And take my milk for gall, you murd’ring ministers.” (A1S5
The use of anatomy, such as “the crown to the toe” and “breasts”, makes
her speech feel very invasive and uncomfortable, as well as illustrating how
Lady Macbeth is trying to mutate into something else.
\
of “blood” and “gall” could be an allusion to Jesus’ crucifixion.
Jesus’ side was pierced to prove he was dead, and blood came gushing out;
before he died, the Roman soldiers offered him a wine laced with gall, or
poison. Lady Macbeth is welcoming these substances, suggesting she is on the
side of the Roman soldiers.
Unsex” conveys androgyny and ambiguit
Nought’s had, all’s spent / Where our desire is got without content. ‘Tis safer to
be that which we destroy / Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy.” (A3S2
The parallel phrases “nought’s had, all’s spent” shows how Lady Macbeth’s
thinking is black-and-white. She goes from one extreme to the other: from
“nought” to “all”. Shakespeare implies that she sees no value in what they did
unless they succeed fu
comparative adjective “safer” suggests Lady Macbeth is aware of their
dangerous position, and wishes she could feel more at ease
The consonance of “d’’ could
mimic the chattering of teeth or stuttering, reflecting how Lady Macbeth is
struggling to adapt to her new life. - dwell in doubtful joy
