lady macbeth q+a

Question 1

Violence- ‘Pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums and dash’d the brains out’ (act one)

Answer 1

-Shakespeare uses violent imagery to emphasise Lady Macbeth’s ruthlessness and her willingness to forsake maternal instincts for power, embracing androgyny
-This imagery is intended to manipulate Macbeth, showing her commitment and questioning his masculinity by implying that she is more resolute than he is.

-This juxtaposition reveals a grotesque inversion of the motherly role, turning a moment of care into an act of extreme violence. It portrays Lady Macbeth as a femme fatale, willing to commit unimaginable horrors to achieve her goals.

Question 2

Ambition- ‘But screw your courage to the sticking place and we’ll not fail’ (act 1)

Answer 2

• Lady Macbeth employs an imperative command with the word “screw,” showcasing her authoritative role in their relationship, emasculating (taking away masculinity) from Macbeth.
• This command not only signifies her control over Macbeth but also emphasises the urgency and pressure she places on him to follow through with their plot to murder King Duncan.

Question 3

Guilt- ‘Out damned spot! Out I say!’ (act 5)

Answer 3

-The adjective “damned” has religious connotations, alluding to eternal punishment in hell, reinforcing how guilt manifests as divine retribution.
-It also links to Jacobean beliefs in the Great Chain of Being, where those who disrupt the natural order face moral and spiritual decay.
-The disjointed phrasing and exclamation marks convey her loss of control, a stark contrast to her earlier calculated and dominant speech.
-Shakespeare employs broken syntax and caesura to mirror her fractured mental state, heightening the scene’s tension.

Question 4

Gender- ‘Make thick my blood, stop up the access and passage to remorse’ (act 1)

Answer 4

-The imperative “make thick” illustrates how she commands for emotional restraint and a callous indifference, recognising that her aspirations for tyranny require a detachment from femininity and the accompanying emotions. Lady Macbeth seeks to rid herself of those elements and embodies androgyny.

Question 5

Supernatural- ‘Come thick night and pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell” (act one)

Answer 5

Lady Macbeth invokes night and darkness as active agents, imploring them to shroud the world in a “smoke of hell.” This personification not only aligns her with malevolent supernatural forces but also reflects her desire to suppress her conscience and moral judgement.
• She symbolically surrenders her humanity to become an antagonist (villain), embracing the darkness both literally and metaphorically to mask her forthcoming evil deeds.
•The harsh consonants underscore her aggressive pursuit and the irresistible allure (pull) of power, intensifying the scene’s atmosphere of foreboding and drawing attention to her active role in orchestrating
Macbeth’s descent into moral chaos.