Act 1 Scene 5 Flashcards
overview of act I scene v
lady macbeth reads her husband’s letter before welcoming him home and preparing to receive the king
finish the quote: ‘my dearest..
..partner of greatness’
‘my dearest partner of greatness’
- he loves and respects her
- superlative - dearest
finish the quote: ‘too full o’th’milk…
…of human kindness’
‘too full o’th’milk of human kindness’
‘the illness’
- macbeth is not only good natured, but is ‘too full’ -> stop him achieving the crown
- he needs to be inhumane
- associated with a comforting nature
- not the qualities that LM thinks are required to become king
- shakespearean context - women should be kind
- LM refers to ‘human kindness’ as ‘the illness’ - she views it in a negative light
finish the quote: ‘The..
..illness’
finish the quote: ‘thou wouldst…
…be great’
‘thou wouldst be great’
- strong man and capable of reaching great heights, however he does not possess evil and therefore can’t succeed
- LM is very judgemental and critical of macbeth
- not popular with the audience as women were meant to be submissive and LM seen as matriarchal woman denouncing her husband as being weak
finish the quote: ‘hie..
…thee hither’
finish the quote: ‘pour my spirits…
…in thine ear’
finish the quote: ‘valour…
…of my tongue’
‘hie thee hither’
‘pour mine spirits in thine ear’
‘valour of my tongue’
- hurry home
- LM is manipulative - an ‘Eve’ figure - evil and satanic - associated with LM - becomes a contemptable figure
finish the quote: ‘come, you spirits…
..that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here’
‘unsex me here’
- she doesn’t want to be a woman because she sees women as weak and incapable of murder
- symbolism of masculinity
- explicit rejection of traditionally female behaviour -LM rejecting typical patriarchal society of the time
‘come, you spirits’
‘come, thick night’
- uses imperatives
- links her to the witches
- makes it sound like she is casting a spell
- likes her to evil, unnatural spirits
finish the quote: ‘fill me from..
…the crown to toe top full of direst cruelty’
‘direst cruelty’
- not only is LM prepared to be crue;. but the adj ‘direst’
- highlights the extreme lengths she is willing to go to
finish the quote: ‘come to my..
…woman’s breasts and take my milk for gall’
finish the quote: ‘dunnest..
…smoke of hell’
finish the quote: ‘my keen knife…
..see not the wound it makes’
finish the quote: ‘blanket of..
..the dark’
‘my keen knife see not the wound it makes’
‘blanket of the dark’
- reminiscent of macbeth telling the stars not to shine
- doesn’t want to be seen
- couple are complicit in the evil
finish the quote: ‘Great glamis..
…worthy Cawdor’
finish the quote: ‘my dearest..
…love’
‘Great Glamis, worthy Cawdor’
- flattery so that macbeth listens to her - she is manipulative
‘my dearest love’
- close and intimate relationship
finish the quote: ‘never shall Sun..
..that morrow see’
finish the quote: ‘your face, my…
…thane, is a book where men may read strange matters’
‘a book where men may read strange matters’
- implicit stage direction = shocked face
- LM teaching macbeth how to look deceptive - macbeth is not trained / isn’t good at being deceptive at the start
finish the quote: ‘look like the innocent flower…
..but be the serpent under’t’
‘look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t’
- imagery highlights the goodness by vulnerability of honest human behaviour
- LM shows that manipulation and deceit are the most effective methods of gaining power
- evil is underneath all of our behaviour
- deception and duplicitous - art of deception
- juxtaposition - ‘flower’ and ‘serpent’ - clear biblical reference to the serpent in the garden of eden -> helped bring original sin into the world
- linked to devi - LM would rather act like the devil than as a moral human being - like witches, she sees fair is foul and foul is fair’
finish the quote: ‘my…
…dispatch’
‘my dispatch’
- ‘my’- LM takes ownership
- LM is matriarchal and more confident and manly than her husband
finish the quote: ‘we will speak…
…further-‘
‘we will speak further-‘
- LM cuts macbeth off
- macbeth isn’t fully convinced yet
- LM interrupts macbeth - commands him and manipulates him into killing duncan
finish the quote: ‘only look up clear…
…to alter favour is to fear’
‘only look up clear to alter favour is to fear’
- rhyming
- shakespeare uses rhyme for plot progression
- echo of how the witches speak -> LM is the fourth witch??
- supernatural taken over her
finish the quote: ‘leave all the rest..
…to me’
what is lady macbeth’s reaction to the letter?
- she has no doubt about killing duncan and immediately sees that she’ll have to force macbeth to do it - he is ‘too full o’th’milk of human kindness’
evil imagery
- ‘smoke of hell’
- ‘direst cruelty’
- shows the evil on her mind
dialogue when macbeth enters
- in half line breaks
- makes their speech sound urgent and hurried
- they are both nervous and need to act quickly in case they’re interrupted
why is lady macbeth’s soliloquy important?
- shows that she’s the driving force behind the decision to murder duncan
- her language links her to the witches and shows that she’s not to be trusted
