lady macbeth

• "yet i do fear that nature/Is too full of the milk in human kindness"

  1. "human kindness" suggests it is an unfavourable trait to her and an obstacle in her plan
  2. Antient medicine people believed that health depended having a balance of 4 different fluids- could be implying that he is unbalanced "too"- "milk" presented as kindness is a changeable thing as it can expire go rotten or- so she can still corrupt him
  3. "milk connotates with breast feeding and "kindness" are both feminine traits - emasculates Macbeth stops him from being the brave
• "Hie thee hither/ That i may pour my spirits in thine ear/ And chastise with the valour of my tongue/ all that impedes thee the golden round

  1. "hie thee hither" summons macbeth in the same way the witches summon there familiars- suggests he's a tool to her
  2. demonic possession over pour Macbeth
• What does Shakespeare imply about gender and humanity through Lady Macbeth's character?

  Gender is a sign of humanity
• What would happen to Lady Macbeth if she were "unsexed"?

  She would escape the gender binary
• "Come, you spirits / That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here / And fill me from the crown to the toe topfull / Of direst cruelty; make thick my blood, / Stop up th'access and passage to remorse

  • Pwilling to sacrifice her own mind and body to whatever evil "spirits" will help her reach her goal.
  • The use of anatomy, such as "the crown to the toe" and "breasts", makes her speech feel very invasive and uncomfortable, as well as illustrating how Lady Macbeth is trying to mutate into something else. Furthermore, the reference to "blood" and "milk" shows how her soul and mind will also be affected.
  • theory of the four humours in medieval medicine, a person's bodily fluids (such as Lady Macbeth's "blood" would have determined their true nature. By asking the spirits to tamper with her insides, Lady Macbeth is asking for a complete makeover.
• “unsex me here“

  • theme of gender, summarised in Lady Macbeth's use of the verb "unsex". L

  ady Macbeth isn't asking to be made into a man: she is asking to be rid of the parts that make her a woman. "Unsex" conveys androgyny and ambiguity. Lady Macbeth seems to associate goodness with humanity ("human kindness"),

  and Shakespeare implies that gender is a sign of humanity.

  By being "unsex[ed]", Lady Macbeth would escape the gender binary altogether, and so would be removed from humanity. This would free her from the burdens and weaknesses of morality and conscience.
• "To beguile the time, / Look like the time, bear welcome in your eye, / Your hand, your tongue; look like th'innocent flower, / But be the serpent under't." (A1S5)

  -exploit the differences between appearance and reality

  • -as a semantic field of sight, "look" and "eye", descriptions of emotion.
  • make sure that any "welcome" or kindness he shows others is purely surface level. This suggests that their public personas are superficial and hollow, with no genuine meaning behind them.
  • . The theme of sight conveys how our senses can be tricked: we are taken in by appearances and performances.
  • The parallel structure in "to beguile the time, / Look like the time" emphasises the idea of mirroring. -best way to trick people is by reflecting back at them what they want to see. The verb "beguile" conveys menace and manipulation. connotes enchantment and witchcraft, continuing to present Lady Macbeth as an enchantress.