Act 1 Lady Macbeth quotations H/W 16/09

Question 1

lady macbeth is presented…

Answer 1

through her inferior views of macbeth

Question 2

finish the quote: ‘too full of…

Answer 2

…the milk of human kindness’

Question 3

‘too full of the milk of human kindness’

Answer 3

• (I.v. 17)
• LM believes that Macbeth does not have the ruthless nature required to become king
• audience start to believe that she is the driving force behind the play’s events
• ‘human kindness’ - she implies that macbeth needs to be inhuman, perhaps even supernatural like the witches if he is to succeed
• presents LM’s views as corrupt

Question 4

lady macbeth is presented…

Answer 4

through the rejection of her sex/gender

Question 5

finish the quote : ‘unsex…

Answer 5

…me here’

Question 6

‘unsex me here’

Answer 6

-explicit rejection of traditionally female behaviour
- LM is rejecting the typical patriarchal society of the time
- LM is presented as unconventional
- she believes she must reject her womanly nature if she is to help macbeth - determined

Question 7

start the quote: ….cruelty’

Answer 7

‘of direst…

Question 8

‘of direst cruelty’

Answer 8

• not only is LM prepared to be cruel, but the adjective ‘direst’ highlights the extreme lengths she is willing to go to
• presents her as ambitious and powerhungry

Question 9

finish the quote: ‘come…

Answer 9

…you spirits’

Question 10

‘come, you spirits’

Answer 10

• LM invites the spirits
• shows she has embraced the supernatural whereas Macbeth seems nervous of its power
• she suggests that the only way to gain power is through a commitment to evil rather than positive actions
• not moral at all
• presents her thoughts as corrupt

Question 11

finish the quote: ‘that i may…

Answer 11

…pour my spirits in thine ear’

Question 12

‘that i may pour my spirits in thine ear’

Answer 12

• LM is manipulative
• knows how to persuade macbeth to dance to her tunes

Question 13

finish the quote: ‘look like the innocent…

Answer 13

..flower/But be the serpent under’t’

Question 14

‘look like the innocent flower/But be the serpent under’t’

Answer 14

• suggests LM would rather act like the devil than a moral human being - like the witches, she sees that ‘fair is foul and foul is fair’
• religious connotations , biblic
• LM shows that manipulation and deceit are the most effective methods of gaining power

Question 15

finish the quote: ‘I would, while it….

Answer 15

…was smiling in my face’

Question 16

finish the quote: ‘have pluck’d my nipple…

Answer 16

…from his boneless gums’

Question 17

start the quote: …the brains out’

Answer 17

‘and dash’d…

Question 18

‘I would, while it was smiling in my face/ Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums/And dashed the brains out’

Answer 18

• presents LM as dramatic as she uses this to compare M breaking his promise to her - manipulator
• producing and caring for children was a main role for women - LM states that she would cruelly reject, even destroy her child in pursuit for power
• inhumane
• LM’s ability to feel no guilt whatsoever, she believes she could kill her child even if it were ‘smiling in her face’ - highlighting her willingness to destroy something innocent
• satanic
• ruthless nature - highlighted by the speed in which she is willing to act ‘pluck’d’ and ‘dash’d’- suggest quick, clinical and swift movements
• blood thirsty - sadist