Act 1 scene 5

• Behind every great man, there is a great woman, and behind Macbeth, of course, is Lady Macbeth.
• Act 1 Scene 5 is the first glimpse the audience gets of the woman who knows Macbeth better than any other, and it almost seems as if she knows him better than he knows himself.
• Lady Macbeth is very clear on what needs to happen, admitting that despite Macbeth's ambition, he is incapable of acting dishonorably to get what he wants.
• The major theme of the text, the theme of appearance versus reality or confusion and opposites, re-emerges in this scene.
• Lady Macbeth scorns Macbeth's good qualities because she knows they won't make him the king.
• Lady Macbeth invokes evil spirits to help her achieve her goals, a powerful act in Shakespeare's audience.
• Macbeth's response to his wife's instruction to kill Duncan is "We will speak further", indicating that he has already decided what he's going to do.
• Macbeth's relationship with his wife shows who's in charge, with Lady Macbeth looking down on him slightly.
• This dynamic has important consequences for Macbeth's character as the play progresses.