Lady Macbeth

• “dearest partner of greatness“


  • Macbeth writes letter to his wife about the witches
  • “dearest” = superlative they are close
  • “partner” = they work together, he sees her as an equal
  • “Greatness“ = they are both obsessed with power
• “Unsex me here“


  • lady Macbeth prays to the spirits before Macbeth and her start plaNing Duncan’s death
  • stripped of her feminism and humanity
  • just a facade, she’s not how she pretends
• “Dashes the brains out”


  • Lady Macbeth tried to convince Macbeth to kill Duncan whilst he’s in their home
  • obvious hyperbole (exaggeration) she wants to act ruthless even though she isn’t (all a facade)
• “Not resembled my father”


  • Lady Macbeth regrets not killing Duncan herself as she waits for Macbeth to kill him
  • soliloquy
  • She isn’t as cold /ruthless as she seems
• “(Fainting) help me hence, ho!”


  • Lady Macbeth distracts the lords as Macbeth struggles to explain why he killed Duncan’s guards
  • stage directions- cunning, uses stereotypes of women to her benefit
• “Nought had all‘s spent”

  “What’s done is done”


  • Lady Macbeth regrets killing Duncan on her own but acts confident when Macbeth enters
  • is she a hypocrite for hiding her fears or is she supporting Macbeth as she’s trying to comfort him ?
• “Dearest chuck”


  • Lady Macbeth is left out of Macbeth’s plan to kill Banquo
  • Big turning point, lost control of Macbeth
  • turned him into a monster, marginalised her, influenced
  • she has lost power over him
• “Out damned spot”


  • Lady Macbeth sleepwalks and talks about the murder of Duncan
  • her repressed guilt manifests itself throughout her subconsciousness during her sleep
  • motif of blood = guilt, unlike Macbeth she has no support
• “Died hereafter“


  • Macbeth hears that Lady macbeth has died as Malcolms army attacks Dunsinane
  • She has become irrelevant to Macbeth
  • she doesn’t even have a voice in her own death
  • she dies powerless and voiceless
• “Fied-like queen”


  • Malcolm describes Lady Macbeth after defeating Macbeth at the end of the play
  • Fiend = a devil
  • her legacy, how she will b remembered, how she wanted the spirits to make her
• "out damned spot"


  • Lady Macbeth is sleep walking
  • she is trying to wipe away here guilty conscience
  • juxtaposition to Macbeth but Lady Macbeth was there for him, now lady Macbeth has no one
• "the thane of Fife had a wife, where is she now?"


  • lady Macbeth finds out about the murder of Lady Macduff
  • is she sad because she lost control of Macbeth ?
  • or is she worried something like that will happen to her?