lady macbeth

• In 'Macbeth,' what does Lady Macbeth symbolize?

  Appearances vs reality
• Why can Lady Macbeth be viewed as an antagonist?

  She drives Macbeth towards murder and bloodshed
• How can Lady Macbeth be viewed as a tragic heroine?

  She falls from grace due to bad judgement
• What is Lady Macbeth's husband's title?

  Thane
• What does the letter Lady Macbeth receives from Macbeth inform her of?

  The Witches' prophecies
• Why does Lady Macbeth commit to mocking and tempting Macbeth?

  Because she worries he is too tame
• What happens to Lady Macbeth after Duncan's murder?

  She grows more anxious and blunt
• What ultimately happens to Lady Macbeth?

  She takes her own life
• What is one traditional argument about Lady Macbeth's motivations?

  Wives had to support their husband's aspirations
• How might Lady Macbeth's actions be a demonstration of her love for Macbeth?

  She wants him to succeed
• What could motivate Lady Macbeth besides her husband's success?

  Her own ambitions and goals
• Why might Lady Macbeth want to be queen?

  To reap the benefits of Macbeth's successes
• What might becoming queen be compensation for, according to some interpretations?

  Her lost children
• What does Lady Macbeth benefit from?

  The divide between appearances and reality
• What is one of Shakespeare's resounding messages in 'Macbeth'?

  Nothing is as it seems
• What does Lady Macbeth rely on to get away with her actions?

  People's prejudices and assumptions
• What assumption do male characters make about Lady Macbeth?

  She would not get involved with violence
• What does Lady Macbeth repeatedly tell Macbeth to do?

  Put on a facade for other people
• What does Lady Macbeth underestimate?

  The power of her own remorse
• What does Lady Macbeth's manipulation of appearances connect her to?

  The Witches
• How does Lady Macbeth transfer her desires and plans?

  Into Macbeth
• What is ambiguous about Lady Macbeth, like the Witches?

  Her gender identity
• What does Shakespeare emphasize by allowing the audience to hear Lady Macbeth's soliloquies?

  The divide between appearances and reality
• According to the text, what would Lady Macbeth be on the inside if her spells were successful?

  Wombless and full of gall
• What deteriorates as the plot develops?

  Lady Macbeth's own sense of self
• What could Lady Macbeth's suffering, torment, and hallucinations be side effects of?

  Her fragmented self
• What is another name for the femme fatale?

  Maneater or vamp
• What is a femme fatale typically?

  A villain
• What does a femme fatale use to ensnare men?

  Her charm
• What are common traits of a femme fatale?

  Heightened sexuality and a rejection of motherhood
• Why was rejecting motherhood seen as threatening?

  Denying a man his immortality
• What is the key aspect of a femme fatale?

  Use of feminine wiles to exploit men
• What does Lady Macbeth threaten to do to Macbeth?

  Emasculate Macbeth
• What does Shakespeare seem to be demonstrating with Lady Macbeth?

  Dangers of unrestrained female ambition and power
• What is the Fall an archetype of?

  A character descending from a higher to a lower state
• What do characters typically lose in the Fall?

  Their innocence and happiness
• What is the punishment for a character in the Fall?

  Being kicked out of their 'paradise'
• Who is commonly responsible for the fall of an honourable man?

  A woman
• What parallels are there between Eve, Lady Macbeth, and 'The Fall'?

  Lady Macbeth interpreted as the root of Macbeth's evil
• In the Bible, who tempted Eve into eating the Forbidden Fruit?

  Satan disguised as a serpent