Lady Macbeth

• Lady Macbeth [A1S5] -

  "Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be

  What thou art promised; yet do i fear thy nature,

  It is too full o'th'milk of human kindness

  To catch the nearest way"

  • Her first lines are a SOLILOQUY, demonstrating her importance and strength of will, as usually only male characters are allowed - unconventional female characters
  • It follows the same structure as the Witches prophecies, implying she has her own psychic abilities and associating her with the supernatural
• Lady Macbeth [A1S5]

  • "Yet do i fear thy nature" - fears his kind nature - reversing typical thought - implying morality is a frightening and threatening thing.
  • Alternatively, it reveals how desperate she is to become queen. The noun "nature" alludes to Macbeth's mortal soul and shows that she is referring to his true identity, the parts of what he cannot change. Therefore she is presenting macbeth as a person whose moral compass/compassion are inherent or permanent
• Lady Macbeth [A1S5]

  • "It is too full o'th'milk of human kindness"
  • By calling it "human kindness", she implies Macbeth's personality is universally recognised to be kind and is exclusive to a "human", and is an objective thing. cannot be disputed or interpreted differently. She wants to rid herself of it
  • The phrase "too full" again suggests his nature will be an obstacle to her plans, and might also be interpreted as a sign of corruption
• Lady Macbeth [A1S5]

  • "It is too full o'th'milk of human kindness"
  • In ancient medicine, people believed that your health depended on having a balance of four different fluids. By suggesting Macbeth is too full of milk, LM might be implying he is ill or mentally unbalanced
  • The metaphor presents kindness as a changeable thing. Milk can expire, go rotten etc, so Shakespeare may be hinting that though Lady Macbeth is worried about Macbeth at the moment, she believes she can corrupt him.
• Lady Macbeth [A1S5]

  • "It is too full o'th'milk of human kindness"
  • Alternatively, "milk" connotes breastfeeding, and so associates "human kindness" with femininity, presenting compassion as a weakness, something that emasculates Macbeth and stops him from becoming the king he wants to be. The use of this metaphor as well as applying a feminine trait to Macbeth, suggests gender is a fluid
• Lady Macbeth [A1S5] -

  "Hie thee hither

  That i may pour my spirits in thine ear

  and chastise with the valour of my tongue

  all that impedes thee from the golden round"

  • summons Macbeth with a "hie thee hither" in the same way that the Witches summoned their familiars in the opening scene. This suggests she views him as a means to an end or a tool to help her get her way. - helping prove her supernatural ability
• Lady Macbeth (A1S5) "Pour my spirits in thine ear"

  • evokes demonic possession showing how Lady Macbeth wants to overpower Macbeth with her own villainy
  • The whole extract may seem sexual, and one interpretation is that sex is used in the subtext to illustrate the power dynamics LM is manipulating. Typically, to "pour spirits" is a masculine action whereas the one receiving those spirits would be seen as the female. However, in this case, LM wants to take the masculine role, reflecting how she emasculates him, subverting typical gender roles
• Lady Macbeth (A1S5) - "Come, you spirits"

  Dedicating herself entirely to her conspiracy, even willing to sacrifice her own mind and body to whatever evil "spirits" will help her reach her goal. She views herself as a harbinger of death for Duncan, and so its fitting that what follows is, for all extents and purposes, a witch's spell
• Lady Macbeth (A1S5) - "fill me from the crown to the tow topfull"

  of the direst cruelty; make thick my blood"

  "come to my woman's breast"

  • The use of anatomy, makes her speech feel very invasive and uncomfortable, as well as illustrating how her speech feel very invasive and uncomfortable, as well as illustrating how LM is trying to mutate into something else.
• Lady Macbeth (A1S5)

  • "Make thick my blood" | "take my milk for gall"
  • By asking the spirits to tamper with her insides, LM is asking for a complete makeover.
  • Alternatively, the combination of "blood" and "gall" could be an allusion to Jesus' crucifixion. Jesus' side was pierced to prove he was dead, and blood came gushing out; before he died, the Roman soldiers offered him a wine laced with gall. LM is welcoming these substances, going against Jesus + God
• Lady Macbeth (A1S5)

  "Unsex me here"

  • Theme of GENDER
  • use of the verb "unsex".
  • Though the attributes LM desires are typically associated to masculinity, LM 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 (hatred of women) and ambiguity. Lady Macbeth seems to associate goodness with humanity ("human kindness") and Shakespeare implies that gender is a sign of humanity "single state of man". By being "unsexed" Lady Macbeth would remove humanity/morality/conscience
• Lady Macbeth - (A1S5)

  "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"

  • Explicity nod the theme of APPEARANCE VS. REALITY, as LM instructs her hersband on how to fool everyone around them>
  • Shakespeare shows how she intends to exploit the differences between appearance and reality, as well as how gullible our senses our to achieve her goal
• Lady Macbeth - (A1S5)

  "bear welcome in your eye,

  your hand, your tongue"

  • Uses anatomical imagery such as "eye", "hand", and "tongue", as well as a semantic field of sight, "look" and "eye", in LM descriptions of emotion.
  • The body parts she lists implies that emotion can be replicated and imitates, as if it is a physical product rather than an abstract feeling
  • The theme of sight conveys how our senses can be tricked: we are taken in by appearances and performances
• Lady Macbeth - (A1S5)

  "bear welcome in your eye"

  • Tells Macbeth to 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.
• Lady Macbeth - (A1S5)

  "to beguile the time

  look like the time"

  • The parallel structure emphasises the idea of MIRRORING. Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth that the best way to trick people is by showing them what they WANT TO SEE. Again, their identities are surface level.
  • The verb "beguile" conveys MENACE and MANIPULATION, and connotes ENCHANTMENT and WITCHCRAFT, continuing to present LM as an enchantress
• Lady Macbeth - (A3S2)

  "Nought's had, all's spent

  Where our desire is got without content. 'Tis safer to be that which we destroy

  Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy"

  • LM says this when she is ALONE on stage. so it can be trusted more than others - being her genuine self
  • She is admitting she is worried, something she would never confess to Macbeth
  • Both are suffering from the same case of paranoia, but neither will confide in the other
• Lady Macbeth - (A3S2)

  "Nought's had, all's spent"

  • Parallel phrases and juxtaposition shows how LM's thinking is black and white. She goes from one extreme to the other: from "nought" to "all". Shakespeare implies that she sees no value in what they did unless they SUCCEED FULLY. Unless there is NO consequences.
  • Portrays her as a SELFISH and UNSATISFIED character, and implies that currently, Duncan died for nothing. Hints that the Macbeths will never be satisfied, fulfilling your "desire" isn't enough, because you need to be "content", too. This list keeps growing
• Lady Macbeth - (A3S2)

  " 'Tis safter to be that which we destroy

  Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy."

  • The use of the comparative adjective "safer" suggests LM is aware of their dangerous position and has some FEAR, and wishes she could feel more at ease. suggests his audience this is a PUNISHMENT for her actions. The phrase "dwell in doubtful joy" is full of UNCERTAINTY, reflecting the unstable environment
  • NOTHING is GUARANTEED - it has a negative effect on a person
  • Consonance of "d" could mimic the chattering of teeth or stuttering. - a sign of her struggling to adapt to her new life