Lady Macbeth

• Act 1, Scene 5: 'Unsex me here...Come to my woman's breasts and take my milk for gall'


  LM wants to strip herself of her femininity as she views it as a weakness. LM shows the extent she is willing to go to ensure Macbeth becomes king.

  She could be seen as more ambitious and mentally stronger than her husband.

  Context: She does not have stereotypically feminine traits for a women as she is presented as dominating and powerful. Women were not viewed as being above men. Going against natural order as a result of corrupt ambition.
• Act 1, Scene 7: 'When you durst do it, then you were a man' 


  Verb 'durst' means dare and shows how she is manipulating her husbands masculinity in order for her to gain control.

  Implies she will not view her husband as 'a man' until he goes ahead with the murder.

  Context: She appears as stronger than her husband which would be unusual for a Jacobean audience as men were viewed as typically more powerful than women. Going against natural order.
• Act 2, Scene 2: 'Infirm of purpose'


  She realises her plans to manipulate Macbeth have failed and things quickly escalate when she uses adjective 'infirm' to insult him.

  She is now explicitly controlling Macbeth whereas before she was subconsciously manipulating him in Act 1.

  Shows how she is losing control. Everything is spiralling as a result of their ambition.
• Act 3, Scene 4: 'Are you a man?'


  Rhetorical questions shows LM openly questioning Macbeth's masculinity in order to control him.

  Masculinity viewed as a sign of strength.

  She insults him openly and directly, signifying her desperation as she loses control over him.
• Act 5, Scene 1: 'Hell is murky'


  As LM slowly loses her mind, it is as if she is in her own form of hell.

  Noun 'Hell' is representative of evil.

  She has abandoned spiritual salvation and now undergoing a transition from Earth to hell.

  Context: Religious allusion of hell- relation to the devil.