lady Macbeth Quote

“And fill me from the crown to the toe top full / Of direst cruelty”

Lady Macbeth is Cruel, she is ambitious and doesn’t mind committing terrible crimes to get what she wants.

“Look like the th’innocent flower / But be the serpent under ‘t”

Lady Macbeth is Cunning, In the beginning she dominant and confident she persuades Macbeth that killing Duncan is the best thing to do.

“ she is troubled with thick coming fancies “

Lady Macbeth is Disturbed, Once Macbeth had committed the murder, it drives Lady Macbeth slowly mad by guilt, Macbeth distances himself from her and she kills her self as she can’t live with what she has done.

“ too full o’th’milk of human kindness “

Themes of good and evil, Lady Macbeth also thinks that Macbeth goodness makes him a “ coward “ and stops him from achieving his ambitions. Lady Macbeth is also ambitious and ruthless, when she gets the letter she assumes that they have to kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth also thinks that no ordinary woman could have planned this murder, and that is why she appeals to the spirit world to “ unsex” her. And fill her with “ direst cruelty “.

Lady Macbeth is clever and quick-witted this is showed in:

How lady Macbeth comes up with the cunning plot to drug Duncan’s servants and “smear” them “with blood “ to frame them for the murder. This shows how she is clever and also cruel, heartless. There are also themes of Reality and Appearance this is showed when Lady Macbeth pretends to faint this is her taking advantage of the way that women were treated at this time, she also uses the stereotype of weak women overcome by stress to hide the reality of her cruel and cold- hearted nature.

“ Come to my woman’s breasts / And take my milk for gall“

Shakespeare uses Lady Macbeth to explore gender and power. Lady Macbeth thinks that women are made weak by their maternal instincts, and she wants to lose her femininity. Women were traditionally treated as kinder than men, but Shakespeare uses Lady Macbeth to show that this isn’t true as Lady Macbeth would kill her own baby if she swore to do it. Shakespeare also contrast her with a lady Macduff how is a caring mother. But Lady Macbeth also has a softer side as she was unable to kill Duncan her self as he reminded her of her father.

8-9 grade: Lady Macbeth and the witches have androgynous ( nether feminine or masculine) features, the witches have “beards “ and Lady Macbeth asks the spirits to “unsex” her. As they both manipulated Macbeth, Shakespeare uses a rejection of gender norms as a symbol of power.

Lady Macbeth goes mad with guilt and kill’s herself this is showed in:

The way that Lady Macbeth speaks reflects her state of mind- at the beginning of the play she speaks confidently in verse. By the end, her speech is made of mad rambling and lots of repetition, “Come, come ,come, come, give me your hand” this shows that she is losed her self control. Lady Macbeth also starts sleepwalking, and the doctor call it a “great perturbation in nature”, because her mind is so disturbed that it’s affecting her ability to sleep soundly. Technique/ symbolism- sleepwalking was thought to be unnatural in Shakespeare’s time as sleep is the “Balm of Hurt minds” so the fact that Lady Macbeth can’t sleep peacefully empathise her madness. In he4 sleep she also keeps washing her hands in the hope that she will be able to get ride of her feelings of guilt just as easily as she was able to was away the blood after Duncan murder “Out, damned spot!”.

“My dearest partner of greatness”

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth relationship changes. At the beginning their marriage seems loving and passionate, but as the play develops it is clear that Lady Macbeth dominates Macbeth and she manipulates him into killing Duncan and covers up his strange behaviour after seeing banquos ghost. As Macbeth reveals less about his plans to his wife Lady Macbeth becomes increasingly anxious and alone. And even though she dominates her husband at the beginning she can’t live without him.