Lady Macbeth Flashcards
(15 cards)
‘Hie thee hither, / That I may pour my spirits in thine ear’
this shows that before macbeth recommends taking the crown LM is already thinking of killing duncan already
‘O never / Shall sun that morrow see’ (1,5)
This is when LM decides that Duncan will not live to see the next day. When macbeth returns home LM dominates the conversation and macbeth hardly speaks
‘look like th’ innocent flower, / But be the serpent under ‘t’ (1,5)
this is a simile used by LM to tell macbeth to abandon all doubt and guilt that he has before killing duncan showing that she thinks he can’t kill him
‘I do fear thy nature, / It is too full o’th’milk of human kindness / To catch the nearest way.’ (1,5)
this shows that LM believes macbeth is to good good or soft hearted to kill she acknowledges that macbeth has ambition to take the crown but lacks ruthlessnes to do so by force
‘Come, you spirits / That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here’ (1,5
this is LM saying that she wishes that her feminine features cold be removed so she could kill duncan herself
‘Come to my woman’s breasts / And take my milk for gall’.
This is the most obvious demand to remove her feminists as he asks to not be able to nurture children
‘Bring forth men-children only’ (1,7)
Macbeth says this to Lady Macbeth.
This suggests she has masculine qualities. She is so masculine that her husband thinks she should only give birth to male children (traditionally seen as the stronger sex).
‘honoured hostess’ (1,6)
This is how Duncan refers to lady macbeth. shows that she is good at hiding her true thorths . this is a use of dramatic irony as the audience knows that she plans to kill him later that night
‘live a coward in thine own esteem’ (1,7).
LM attacks macbeth’s courage asking him if he plans to live in fear.this is done so she can convince him to change his mind and kill Duncan in order to claim the crown
‘Had he not resembled / My father as he slept, I had done ‘t’
Shows that despite her ruthlessness she still has some emotion toward her father
‘Not so sick, my lord, / As she is troubled with thick-coming fancies / That keep her from her rest’ (5,3).
Implies that the sleepwalking is a result of a distressed mind or in jacobean England the intervention of spirits after she invited them in
‘Here’s the smell of the blood still; all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand’ (5,1).
By speaking like this in her sleep, Lady Macbeth seems to regret her crimes, even though she says she does not.
Shakespeare could be suggesting that we cannot escape from the consequences of our actions. Sometimes, we have to admit to our faults and deal with them – otherwise they will haunt us.
‘Out damned spot! Out, I say!’ (5,1)
this shows lady Macbeth attempting to order the blood of her hands showing her attempting to take control of the situation
‘by self and violent hands / Took off her own life’ (5,9)
This is what Malcolm reports at the end, suggesting that Lady Macbeth killed herself.
Suicide was seen as a sin. But by this stage, Lady Macbeth has already damned (condemned) her immortal soul by being involved in the plot to kill the King.
