Act 5 Scene 1

• What happens in Act 5 Scene 1 in Macbeth?

  1. Takes place in Macbeths castle.
  2. LM is seen sleepwalking, tormented by the guilt because of her role in the murders.
  3. She attempts to wash imagined bloodstains from her hands.
  4. She reveals her guilt and the secrets of the murders in her sleepwalking state, unaware of the presence of her doctor and a gentlewoman who are observing her.
  5. The doctor is disturbed by her behavior, realizing that she is mentally unraveling. The scene highlights Lady Macbeth's deepening madness and guilt, foreshadowing her eventual downfall.
• What does it mean when the gentalwoman says, 'She has light by her continually. 'Tis her command'?

  LM is trying to keep the darkness away, however, she let evil in, but it is far worse than what she imagined.
• What does it mean when Lady Macbeth says, 'Out, dammed spot, out, I say'?

  LM is scared of hell and is trying to reject the darkness.
• What does it mean when Lady Macbeth says, 'Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him'?

  1. 'old man' she's reliving the murder of Duncan and it emphasises how fragile and vunerable Duncan was.
  2. She didnt realise the severity of her actions.
• What does it mean when LM says, 'All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand'?

  1. Lm is attempting to present herself as innocent and feminine.
  2. 'perfumes of Arabia' the luxury isn't worth her soul and she can't fix what she has done.
• What does it mean when the doctor says, 'This disease is beyond my practice'?

  LM needs God. Her soul is ill, not her body.
• What does it mean when LM says, 'There's knocking at the gate'?

  It is a reference to the scene where Macbeth hears knocking after he murders King Duncan, symbolizing guilt and impending doom.
• What does it mean when LM says, 'What's done cannot be undone'?

  Her fate is sealed and it emphasises how choices have consequences.