Character- Lady Macbeth

Question 1

Quotation + Grade 9 analysis

Answer 1

“Come, you spirits / That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, / And fill me from the crown to the toe topful / Of direst cruelty!”
Act 1, Scene 5
-Imagery & Personification: Lady Macbeth calls on spirits to remove her femininity and fill her with cruelty, rejecting her traditional female role.
-Metaphor: “Unsex me” symbolizes her desire to rid herself of the perceived weakness of womanhood.
-Insight: Lady Macbeth embraces a traditional male role of power, aggression, and ruthlessness in order to achieve her ambitions, showing how gender and power are intertwined in her mind.
Theme: Ambition and power

“It is too full o’ the milk of human kindness / To catch the nearest way.”
Act 1, Scene 5
-Metaphor: Describes Macbeth as being too compassionate, comparing his kindness to “milk” (associated with nurturing, femininity).
-Insight: Lady Macbeth sees Macbeth’s virtue as an obstacle to ambition and seeks to push him to action, showing her dominant role in the couple’s relationship and her own ambition.
Theme: Ambition and power

“Out, damned spot! Out, I say! One, two. Why, then ‘tis time to do’t. Hell is murky. / Fie, my lord, fie! A soldier and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account?”
Act 5, Scene 1
-Repetition & Symbolism: Lady Macbeth’s obsession with cleaning the imaginary bloodstains represents her overwhelming guilt.
-Dramatic Irony: Earlier, she had dismissed guilt as easily washed away, but now she is consumed by it.
-Insight: Lady Macbeth’s mental breakdown shows how guilt can slowly destroy a person from within. Her earlier strength is replaced by madness, making her a tragic figure.
Theme: Guilt & Conscience

“What’s done cannot be undone.”
Act 5, Scene 1
-Simple, declarative sentence: Lady Macbeth accepts that the consequences of her and Macbeth’s actions are irreversible.
-Insight: This marks the final stage of her guilt, where she acknowledges the futility of attempting to undo the damage. This highlights the irreversibility of their moral decay.
Theme: Guilt & Conscience

“Look like the innocent flower, / But be the serpent under’t.”
Act 1, Scene 5
-Juxtaposition: Lady Macbeth advises Macbeth to present himself as harmless (“innocent flower”) while secretly being ruthless (“serpent”).
-Symbolism: The serpent alludes to the Garden of Eden and deception, which shows that Lady Macbeth is actively encouraging dishonesty.
-Insight: This line highlights appearance vs reality, a key theme in the play. Lady Macbeth believes in using deception to achieve power, which shows how she manipulates not only others but also her own moral compass.
Theme: Appearance vs Reality

“Your hand, your tongue: look like the innocent flower, / But be the serpent under’t.”
Act 1, Scene 5 (repeated)
-Repetition: Reinforces Lady Macbeth’s manipulation and her role in shaping Macbeth’s actions.
-Insight: The idea of false appearances and hidden truths pervades the play, and here, Lady Macbeth pushes Macbeth into becoming an actor in the deceitful game of power.
Theme: Appearance vs Reality

“Yet do I fear thy nature; / It is too full o’ the milk of human kindness / To catch the nearest way.”
Act 1, Scene 5
-Allusion: Lady Macbeth fears that Macbeth’s nature is too kind to take the path of murder that she envisions.
-Insight: Although Macbeth has been given a prophecy, Lady Macbeth believes that fate must be forced through action, showing her belief in free will over fate.
Theme: Fate vs Free Will

“What if we fail?”
Act 1, Scene 7
-Rhetorical Question: Lady Macbeth doesn’t directly answer her own question, showing her focus on controlling the outcome.
-Insight: She refuses to accept the possibility of failure, displaying a determined commitment to ensuring fate unfolds her way, though she is aware of the risks involved.
Theme: Fate vs Free Will

“My hands are of your colour; but I shame / To wear a heart so white.”
Act 2, Scene 2
-Metaphor: Lady Macbeth compares her hands to Macbeth’s (both are stained with Duncan’s blood) but distances herself from his emotional guilt (“heart so white”).
-Insight: At this point, Lady Macbeth is able to remain emotionally detached from the act, but it foreshadows her eventual breakdown when she can no longer suppress her guilt.
Theme: Lady Macbeth’s Changing Mental State (Madness)

“The sleeping and the dead / Are but as pictures: ‘tis the eye of childhood / That fears a painted devil.”
Act 2, Scene 2
-Metaphor: Lady Macbeth minimizes the horror of murder, comparing the dead to mere “pictures.”
-Insight: This shows her initial lack of empathy and her rationalization of the crime. It underscores her steely resolve, but later, it contrasts sharply with her mental unravelling as guilt overtakes her.
Theme: Lady Macbeth’s Changing Mental State (Madness)