Lady Macbeth

• "Look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under it."

  • Act 1
  • Flower-Innocence,Vunerablity,how a typical female is presented as.
  • Serpent-Biblical illusions to hell,temptation of adam and eve.
  • Use her external appearance of a women which is weak but her internal nature is like a serpent devilish.
  • Theme:Appearance vs Reality.
• "Dash'd the brains out."

  • Promised Macbeth that if she could kill her new baby she would.
  • Tools and persuasive tactics for macbeth to commit regicide.
  • Theme: Masculinity
  • Lady Macbeth is a atypical women
  • Yearns for masculine characteristics-Being masculine is synonymous to power.
  • Removes herself from femininity.
  • Rejecting motherhood to show how she's dissociated with feminine expectation
  • Embodies masculine traits.
• "Come thick night."

  • Act 1
  • Reinforces idea of stripping herself from femininity as its synonymous to weakness
  • Theme:Supernatural
  • Links to supernatural-Calling upon external spirts to bring her darkness and strip her femininity
  • Ironic in act 5 she's trying to find the light again when shes sleep walking.
  • Can't reverse what happened to her.
  • Quote foreshadows consequence of being involved with supernatural as it destroys both lady macbeth and macbeth mental state.
  • She becomes so weak.
• "Has he not resembled my father as he slept i had done it."

  • Act 3
  • Quote comes after Lady macbeth talking to macbeth how she would commit regicide if he hadn't resembled her father.
  • Audience knows its a lie.
  • Putting on a brave and masculine facade to try and pretend she's not actually fearful of repercussion of regicide but deep down it is wrong.
  • Expose her inner cowardness that she keeps trying to block away.
  • She still is restricted by her femininity,emotion,remise and guilt.
• "Yet i do i fear thy nature. It is too full o'th' milk of human kindness."

  • Lady Macbeths first line she speaks.- Act 1 scene 5
  • Reveals her Character.
  • Macbeth isn't a murderer by nature
  • Lady Macbeth sees this kindness as a weakness.
  • Compares it to milk to show his good qualities as breastfeeding.
  • She's setting herself up to be a villain.
  • She's guilty as Macbeth.
• "Come you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts,unsex me here,and fill me from the crown to the toe top -full of direct cruelty."

  • Act 1 scene 5
  • Lady Macbeth asking spirits to strip her femininity.
  • Gives impression of ritual
  • Wants power in a time when women is completely restricted.
  • Calling on Supernatural to have masculine traits so she can be powerful.
  • Cannot handle consequence of this unnatural role.