Lady Macbeth Flashcards
(4 cards)
How is lady Macbeth presented throughout the play?
She is Macbeth’s wife and at first his oppressive force which convinces him to kill Duncan. After the murder she is very calm but eventually the guilt leads to her killing herself
Key quotes from the start of the play and their analysis
Act 1 scene 5
- ‘unsex me here’ : emphasises her ambition to gain power as she is asking the spirits to take away her feminine traits. Also, she is giving instructions to powerful entities.However, it can be seen as a weakness because she is asking for help in order to have enough courage to continue with the murder
- ‘fatal entrance of Duncan’ : she has already decided that Duncan will die in the castle and won’t change her mind about it.
- ‘look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t’ : biblical reference to the snake in garden of eden. A symbol of evil and temptation
- ‘leave all the rest to me’ : imperative highlights the amount of control she has
Act 1 scene 7 :
- ‘was the hope drunk’ : extended metaphor of Lady Macbeth questioning Macbeth’s masculinity and calling him a liar in order to convince him to carry on with the murder
- ‘the babe that milks me’ it emphasises her determination but also is a way for her to challenge Macbeth as she states that she would rather kill her own baby then break a promise which is what Macbeth has done
Key quotes from the middle of the play and their analysis
Act 2 scene 2 :
- ‘that which hath make them drunk hath made me bold’ : lady Macbeth has a thought-through plan and she knows exactly what has to happen. However, it may also show that she’s vulnerable and not as powerful as she seems because she has to rely on alcohol to make her bold.
- ‘these deeds must not be thought’ : highlights her calmness despite just committing one of the worst sins on earth
- ‘give me the daggers’ : the imperative emphasises how in control and dominant she is as well as staying calm
‘Shame you to wear a heart so white’ : blames Macbeth for feeling guilt after killing the king
Act 2 scene 3 :
- ‘help me hence ho’ : pretending to faint in order to distract the people from paying too much attention to Macbeth as he is beginning to speak too much. This emphasises her composure and knowledge of what to do even in stressful situations
Act 3 scene 2 :
- ‘you must leave this’ : imperative used to suggest that Lady Macbeth no longer wants to be involved in murders. This is a sign of the guilt starting to get to get to her and the relationship between her and Macbeth starting to break apart as despite her telling him this, he still continues to order the murderers to kill Banquo.
Act 3 scene 4 :
-‘help me hence, ho’
Key quotes from the end of the play and their analysis
Act 5 scene 1 :
- ‘all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand’ : links back to macbeth and Neptune’s oceans to suggest that the blood (guilt) cannot be erased and will always be there
- ‘give me your hand’ : she is now seeing things that are not there - speaking to Macbeth using second person - ‘you’ - even though he is not there, when earlier in the play this is something she has told Macbeth off for. Guilt has had a mental effect on her
- ‘to bed, to bed, to bed’ : the repetition shows a loss of control and a sense of panic as if she is in a rush and doesn’t know what to do - contrasts ‘retire we to our chamber’ in 2,2
- ‘O,O,O’ : lost control of language and is a sign of pure distress - contrasts her composure and calmness in 2,2
- she is sleepwalking which seems to be a sign of her sleep being ‘murdered’ by macbeth. Shows the unnatural consequences of killing Duncan
- ‘wash your hands, put on your night-gown’ : directly echoes a part in 2,2 which shows that people don’t only remember traumatic events but also relive them. (‘Go get some water, and wash this filthy witness from your hand’)
