Lady Macbeth

• "Look like th' innoecent flower, but be the serpent under't"

  Act 2, Lady Macbeth, Appearance vs reality


  The biblical allusion to the "serpent" seen in the fall of mankind in Genesis, where the serpent tempts Adam and Eve is used by Lady Macbeth to highlight how effective deception can be created when executed under an "innocent" facade
• "Come, you spirits" "pour my spirits"

  Act 1, Macbeth, Supernatural

  It seems she is almost casting a spell, the nouns "spirits" and "night" allude to a dark supernatural force. She yearns to be rid of her femininity to encompass the inhumane and witchlike role that would grant her power. Her androgynous (male and female) nature would be perceived to be supernatural in the Jacoboean era as the gender roles were rigid.
• "a little water clears us of this deed"Act 2, Lady Macbeth, Ambition

  Her over-powering ambition obstructs her from seeing the genuine distress of her husband. She uses litotes (under-exaggeration) to downplay the murder. It is laced with irony as Lady Macbeth shifts to a melodramatic state of insanity and begins speaking in hyperbole (exaggeratrion) as the guilt takes over. The euphemism hints at this, by referring to the murder as a "deed"
• "dash'd the brains out"

  Act 1, Lady Macbeth, Violence

  The merciless act of rejecting maternal inclinations charecterises Lady Macbeth as violent and determined, she effectively competes with Macbeth who as a man of that era, could not be weaker than a woman
• "Lady Macbeth (enters with a taper)"

  Act 5, Lady Macbeth, Guilt

  As a (taper) provides light, this is emblematic of how Lady Macbeth is seeking light, hope and solace in her eternal mental darkness. Jesus was seen to be the 'light' of the world, providing salcation for mankind, therefore Lady Macbeth's dependency on the light could illuminate how she is hopeful for the salvation and retribution for her sins.