Key Quotes Act 5

Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so

much blood in him? (5:1

• The line reminds us of her role in the murder of Duncan (“the old man”) and in particular her painting of the grooms faces with his blood

• The motif of blood is again used here - she had no idea that Duncan’s murder would result in so much guilt and remorse

• The interrogative clause “who would have thought…” conveys her disbelief and the naivety of her former self - killing has consequences, even for the seemingly cold and emotionless - remorse is inescapable

all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. (5:1)

• Another structural echo of the line from Act 2 Scene 2 about washing off the blood

• The imagery here differs slightly from the imagery in Macbeth’s version - it is the smell of blood that she cannot get rid of, not the sight (or colour) of it - smell can often linger long after a visual stain has disappeared, as anyone who has ever been sick and tried to clean it up will know - smell can also be particularly evocative when it comes to memory; a smell can transport us back to a time in our past, almost by magic, and without our even understanding why

• The imagery is more feminine than in Macbeth’s version of that line, reflecting Lady Macbeth’s reversion to her traditional feminine role by this point in the play: both perfume and the “little hand” reflect this.

What’s done cannot be undone (5:1)

• It is perhaps the most important structural echo in a scene full of structural echoes: in Act 3 Scene 2 she said, “What’s done is done” - though very similar in terms of the words used, the difference in meaning between these two lines is dramatic: before she wanted to put the past behind her; now she wishes to change the past but knows she cannot

“his title / Hang loose about him, like a giant's robe / Upon a dwarfish thief”

• simile motif of clothing

• The role of kingship is equated to the robe of a giant - kings are big men, great men, men of significance - they are not ordinary people but something almost supernatural, like giants

• Macbeth, in contrast, is a “dwarfish thief” - he stole the throne, and he is not just not a giant (not a great man), he is a dwarf - he is less than an ordinary man - this is a dramatic contrast to the way he was introduced at the start of the play, as a hero - this is how public opinion works - when we fall we fall hard

I have lived long enough. My way of life has fall’n into the sere, the

yellow leaf. And that which should accompany old age, as honour,

love, obedience, troops of friends, I must not look to have’ (5:3)

• The metaphor of Macbeth’s life as a “yellow leaf” that has fallen (not is falling) conveys the sense that he thinks things are ending, winter is here - the fall has already happened - there’s no stopping it now.

• The verb “fall” arguably conveys a lack of full responsibility - as if it just happened to him, rather than being something he caused through his actions.

• The asyndetic list of of abstract nouns (“honour, love, obedience, troops of friends”) conveys both the sense that the list could go on (these are just some of the things Macbeth doesn’t have) but also the sense of abundance - there are just so many things that he is missing out on - his life has been a failure.

Therein the patient must minister to himself (5:3)

• male pronoun

• macbeth refers to himself even though he is talking about Lady macbeth

• acknowledgement of his poor state of mind

She should have died hereafter

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,

Creeps in this petty pace from day to day

The way to dusty death

a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage

And the is heard no more

signifying nothing’ (5:5 )

• cold response to Lady Macbeth’s untimely death

• repetition of tomorrow →futility (makes no sense)

• stuck in cycle

• his psychological collapse and erosion of meaning/pointlessness of life

• burial → meeting our ends

• day of judgement → afterlife in hell

• performing different roles but not by his design

• the performative nature of life and that life is scripted → fate

• his crimes have all been for nothing → limitations of his influence

• Harmatia → a fatal flaw leading to downfall

I … begin to doubt th’equivocation of the fiend that lies like truth

(5:50

realises how the witches had tricked and manipulated him

becoming aware

I bear a charmed life … I’ll not fight with thee … Lay on, Macduff (5:

8

• believes in his luck

• holding onto the prophecy

• even though he knows his time will end he has faith in the witches’ words/fate

hese juggling fiends no more believed, That palter with us in a

double sense (5:8)

• the deceitfulness and evil of the witches

• Macbeth has been mislead