ACT 1: LM quotes and analyis Flashcards
Analyse this quote: “stop up the access and passage to remorse”
Lady Macbeth has rich significance in terms of her literary context, she subverts the audience expectations of a woman as weak and passive. Instead, she is arguably a driving force which prompts Macbeth’s tragic downfall. The ‘fall of man’ is a central idea of a tragedy, for a religious Jacobean audience this would be reflective of the archetype, the story of Adam and Eve. Eve was tempted by Satan in the form of a serpent to eat the forbidden fruit (much like Lady Macbeth being tempted by the witches’ suggestion of Kingship). Eve ate the fruit and convinced Adam to do the same, resulting in their downfall of them both, they were banished from the Garden of Eden. It could be argued that Lady Macbeth, much like Eve, set the foundation for her Husband’s evil. She is aware that her femininity constraints her and means she has this “passage to remorse”. Her want to stop the “access” to remorse, not necessarily a maternal emotion, highlights how she sees emotion synonymous with weakness. She wants to be entirely violent, with no remnants of femininity - she is aware this constrains her. She sees emotion synonymous with with weakness. By eradicating this weakness, she can unlock the barbaric tyrant she dreams of being.
Analyse this quote: “you lack the season of all natures sleep”
Antithesis to her previous violent depiction; it seems she is now trying to moderate and quell this evil. She is comparatively passive and preoccupied with the noun “Sleep” (a motif for peace and innocence). It appears she is yearning to reverse the murderous chaos as she realises her role as queen is not what she expected
Analyse this quote: “Come, you spirits,” “pour my spirits”
Lady Macbeth and the witches similarly share this sense of malevolent supernatural powers. She calls upon “spirits” to unnaturally “unsex” her. Her reference of “spirits” is repeated when she says she will “pour” her “spirits” in Macbeth’s ear. Thus, she is familiar and not hesitant to call upon external forces to help free her from the constraints of her femininity. Her androgynous nature would be perceived to be supernatural in the Jacobean era as the gender roles were rigid and any break in this would show she is possessed by a supernatural force. Both Lady Macbeth and the Witches personify the motif of appearance vs reality in the play. The noun “pour” builds a connection to her emasculating threat that he is “too full o’th’ milk of human kindness”, suggesting she will replace this milk with evil. The noun “milk” is a symbol for femininity and maternal nurturing, Lady M rejects notions of femininity. She is almost like a fourth witch in her manipulation as the noun “spirits” is reminiscent of the supernatural.
Analyse this quote: “dash’d the brains out” and the witches use “fingers of a birth strangled babe”
Lady Macbeth mercilessly states she would remorselessly “dash’d the brains out” of her unborn child. Her rejection of motherhood is salient, however he violent and barbaric nature is revealed - she would be remorseless in extinguishing fragile and vulnerable human life. The Witches use “finger of a birth strangled babe” in their cauldron in Act 4. They carelessly use the “strangled babe’s” finger alongside other insignificant creatures such as “frog”, “snake” and “dog”. They are amoral and feel an absence of guilt in the destruction of innocent life. Both Lady Macbeth and the Witches disregard for human life can be seen in their interactions with Macbeth.
Analyse this quote: “Look like th’innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t”
The biblical allusion to the “serpent”, seen in the fall of mankind in Genesis where the serpent tempts Adam and Eve, is used by Lady Macbeth to highlight how effective deception can be when executed with an “innocent” façade. The witches similarly employ deception as they provide Macbeth self-fulfilling prophecies, knowing his hubris will create it into a tragic reality: “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!”. Both show a disregard for innocent and vulnerable human life. Again, she is stressing the important difference between looking like something and being something else. The juxtaposition of “flower”, which connotes femininity, with “serpent”, which connotes masculinity and trickery, shows how there can be a dangerous divide between a person’s outward appearance and inward nature. Also, it references the medallion that James I got made in commemoration of the failure of the Gunpowder Plot.
Analyse this quote: “Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts”
This phrase shows the devotion of Lady Macbeth - she is willingly offering herself for possession just to be sure that the plan will be done. But also we see that she is unsure in its success. The King is protected by the divine power for his reign is blessed by the Church. So, God himself protects Duncan. To pierce this protection Lady Macbeth seems to address her pleas to the servants of God’s direct opponent - Satan, transferring Satan’s rebellion against God, his vanity and desire for power to the earthly conflict between Duncan and herself. The imperative ‘Come’ also portrays Lady M as androgynous as speaking imperatively would not have been considered feminine in the Jacobean Era, especially when commanding spirits.
Analyse this quote: “unsex me here”
The key aspect of this quote is the theme of gender, summarised in Lady Macbeth’s use of the verb “unsex”. Though the attributes Lady Macbeth desires, including cruelty, are typically associated with masculinity, Lady Macbeth 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 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 “unsex[ed]”, Lady Macbeth would escape the gender binary altogether and so would be removed from humanity. This would free her from the burdens and weaknesses of morality and conscience. The preposition “here” presents her urgency to do with being unsexed, insinuating her ambition has reached its limits and she cannot wait any longer.
Analyse this quote: “And fill me from the crown to the toe topfull / Of direst cruelty”
The use of anatomy, such as “the crown to the toe” makes her speech feel very invasive and uncomfortable, as well as illustrating how Lady Macbeth is trying to mutate into something else. Shakespeare utilises the superlative “direst” emphasising that Lady Macbeth wants the worst cruelty and does not want anything that will make her compassionate; she continually rejects her femininity and anything that the Jacobean audience would associate with femininity, aligning her more and more with the supernatural. Additionally, the anatomical noun “crown” may be a double entendré showing how Lady Macbeth’s mind is flooded with the thought of being Queen; she will align herself with the “spirits” as much as possible in order to become Queen.
Analyse this quote: “Come to my woman’s breasts / And take my milk for gall, you murd’ring ministers”
The nouns “blood” and “milk” show how her soul and mind will also be affected by this alignment with the supernatural. Because of the theory of the four humours in medieval medicine, a person’s bodily fluids (such as Lady Macbeth’s “blood”) would have determined their true nature. By asking the spirits to tamper with her insides, Lady Macbeth 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, or poison. Lady Macbeth is welcoming these substances, suggesting she is on the side of the Roman soldiers. Futhermore, the language suggests that her womanhood, represented by breasts and milk, usually symbols of nurture, impedes her from performing acts of violence and cruelty, which she associates with manliness. Alliteration of ‘m’ sound also illustrates her frustration and anger at this impossible act; she cannot fully reject her femininity.
Analyse this quote: “a coward in thine own esteem”
Lady M uses the epithet (insult) “coward” which threatens his entire sense of being as a soldier, not only is she questioning his masculinity but also his livelihood.
Analyse this quote: “a book, where men / May read strange matters”
She mocks the candidness (honest and sincere) of his expression. This introduces her manipulation as it portrays Macbeth as weak and vulnerable - these were qualities which failed to align with the ideal masculine archetype of the era.
Analyse this quote: “Was the hope drunk/Wherein you dress’d yourself?”
Her emasculation of Macbeth becomes more explicit. She interrogates him with a rhetorical question to ridicule and question his state of mind. Her use of a rhetorical question is calculated, she gives him time to ponder and think about his actions - it is clear she wants to exploit his emotion of embarrassment or shame. Lady Macbeth here picks up the play’s metaphor of clothing, suggesting that “hope” is something Macbeth can take on and off, rather than intrinsic. The image of the “dress’d” clothing of confidence seems to swamp Macbeth, belittling him. Whereas the etymological origins of “hope” suggest a trust in God as a basis for hope, the hope here is alcohol-induced. Early modern theology taught that alcohol was a gift from God in moderation, but shameful when abused to the point of drunkenness. There is an extent to which Macbeth is indeed “drunk”, not with alcoholic spirits but with its supernatural homonym: he is driven to crime by his desire to make the witches’ prophecies to come true. Lady Macbeth’s attack is not levelled at an ethical persuasion, but instead uses rhetoric to illustrate Macbeth’s shame and weakness, gradually emasculating him through words. She continues this with a rapid fire of rhetorical questions in which she completely dominates the conversation, not allowing him a single word of defence.
Analyse this quote: “To beguile the time, / Look like the time, bear welcome in your eye, / Your hand, your tongue”
When Lady Macbeth says, “To beguile the time, / Look like the time,”, she’s riffing on the proverb, “to beguile the time with a fair face.” In other words, Macbeth should deceive Duncan and his court by acting like a smiling, welcoming host in order to hide his evil intentions. Her use of physical features, such as “eye”, and “hand” emphasise the importance of outward appearance. The verb “look”, shows how he doesn’t have to be “like the time”, only imitate it.
