Lady Macbeth

Question 1

Act 1 scene 5 - “it is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness(…)”

Answer 1

metaphor delivered in a soliloquy - directly challenging the audience

Immediately speaks of her husband as weak - outlining how she believes she is stronger in the relationship and is suppressing her motherly instincts

In Jacobean society, this is a shocking thought

Question 2

Act 1 scene 5 - “unsex me here”

Answer 2

During a soliloquy and imperative

She is a masculine soul in a female body who refuses to see herself as subordinate to Macbeth.

Also the imperative is aimed at otherworldly beings, linking her to witches, who were non-conformers to the Jacobean hierarchy

This challenges Jacobean societal tropes by portraying her as displaying male traits and being linked to witches.

Question 3

Act 1 scene 5 - ”that i may pour my spirits in thine ear”

Answer 3

metaphor

Suggests she will manipulate Macbeth by poisoning his thoughts, even to commit regicide

By being a manipulator, she goes against the Jacobean hierarchy

Question 4

Act 1 scene 5 - ”come”, “make”, “stop”

Answer 4

Imperative language

She is forceful and comes across as more powerful than Macbeth

This goes against the Jacobean hierarchy by virtue of her being stronger and more authoritative

Question 5

Act 1 scene 5 - “make thick my blood”

Answer 5

Imagery of blood and imperative

Indeed this recurs throughout the play

Foreshadows her demise and how she is linked to witches

Shows the audience the consequences when someone doesn’t obey the Jacobean hierarchy like Lady Macbeth

(Shakespeare was a propagandist - also James vi daemonologie 1597)

Question 6

Act 1 scene 5 - ”take my milk for gall”

Answer 6

emotive language and imperative

Demonstrates how she removes her femininity and how she acts in inhumane ways

Also, she is linked to witches, with the imperative aimed to otherworldly beings: witches did not conform to Jacobean society

Also, contradicting the Jacobean expectation of women - motherly

Question 7

Act 1 scene 5 - ”look like th’ innocent flower / But be the serpent under’t”

Answer 7

Biblical allusion to Garden of Eden

Complete lack of conscience - using Macbeth as a pawn for her ambitions

Going against Jacobean ideas on women, they did not seek power and were subservient

Question 8

Act 1 scene 7 - ”and dashed the brains out, had I so sworn.”

Answer 8

Inhumane / violent imagery

She denies her female qualities and demonstrates the lengths she would go to for power. She controls Macbeth who loves her and would do anything for her.

This is a shocking thought which goes against the Jacobean hierarchy, also due to her emotional abuse, she is an abuser - not thought of as being attributed to women

Question 9

Act 1 scene 7 - ”dashed”, “plucked” and “tender”, “smiling”

Answer 9

Contrast between violent verbs and tender language

Lady Macbeth is completely unpredictable and volatile, her sudden switches to violence are unnerving

Her detail is something that would be abhorrent at the time and would shock and contradict a Jacobean hierarchy

Question 10

Act 5 scene 1 - ”out damned spot. Out, I say!”

Answer 10

metaphorical language and repetition of imperative

She is guilt ridden - a quality associated with mental weakness and femininity at the time

Therefore, she complies with the Jacobean hierarchy at the end of her life, perhaps she was fated to be complicit

Question 11

Act 5 scene 1 - ”what will these hands ne’er be clean?”

Answer 11

rhetorical question and metaphorical language

She feels she will forever be guilty and is driven insane as a result

This therefore sees her comply with the Jacobean view of women as being mentally weaker and empathetic to a fault

Question 12

Act 5 scene 1 - “all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. Oh, oh, oh!”

Answer 12

metaphorical language and triple apostrophe

She sees no solution for her guilt and is mentally suffering

Her mental weakness sees her conform to the Jacobean patriarchy and the view that women were mentally weaker

Question 13

Act 5 scene 8 - ”the Queen, my lord, is dead”

Answer 13

reportage and short sentence

Her actions are conveyed through a male voice in the end of her life as well as being given no thought - she is now irrelevant

She is subordinate and has fallen into the Jacobean patriarchy

Question 14

Act 2 scene 2 - ”that which hath made them drunk hath made me bold”

Answer 14

Dichotomy between pronouns ‘them’ and ‘me/i’

Lady Macbeth holds a position of independence and individuality - this would have been seen as unfeminine

Therefore, she goes against the typical Jacobean hierarchy

Question 15

Act 2 scene 2 - ”my hands are of your colour; but i shame to wear a heart so white”

1/2

Answer 15

Metaphorical language, imagery of blood and tone of condescension

On the surface, she is able to maintain an image of nonchalance to their deeds and openly mocks Macbeth for being mentally weak -

This shows her going against the typical Jacobean patriarchy - she is more manly

Question 16

Act 2 scene 2 - ”[knock] i hear a knocking at the south entry”

2/2

Answer 16

Ominous knocking and a tone of urgency

A vast switch from her confidence, she appears fearful of being caught, a sign of guilt linked to mental weakness, the first real instance of the play

Right after speaking of blood, her mental turmoil truly starts

This sees her conform to a Jacobean patriarchy - mental weakness

Question 17

Act 3 scene 2 - “restless ecstasy”

Answer 17

Oxymoron

Macbeth is beginning to display signs of mental turmoil, far more than his wife

His wife appears stronger - going again the Jacobean hierarchy

Question 18

Act 3 scene 2 - ”be bright and jovial among your guests tonight.”

Answer 18

Shared line structure with iambic metre

Lady Macbeth completes the line - symbolic of her having the final say at this stage

Therefore she goes against the Jacobean patriarchy

Question 19

Act 3 scene 2 - “tis safer to be that which we destroy than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy”

Answer 19

Short soliloquy

She demonstrates better control of her emotions than her husband who outwardly speaks of guilt

She is mentally stronger and better composed

This sees her go against the typical Jacobean view of women being weaker

Question 20

Conclusion

Answer 20

Shakespeare uses Lady Macbeth as a vessel for the ‘rise and fall’ of dramatic action

Un supportive, yet yearning for support in death

Her role subverts societal roles before conforming in the end, perhaps through the ‘fate’ James VI believed in so much - (divine right of kings)

She is very human - making us relate so dearly to her powerless end

Question 21

Scenes

Answer 21

• act 1 scenes 5 & 7
• act 2 scene 2
• act 3 scene 2
• act 5 scenes 1 & 5

Question 22

Introduction

Answer 22

Shakespeare, throughout the course of Macbeth,

paints Lady Macbeth as a woman who challenges Jacobean societal norms,

a woman with an undeniable lust for power which ultimately leads to her downfall

A consequence of her non-conforming nature

Question 23

Act 5 scene 1 - ”there’s knocking at the gate. Come, come, come, come, give me your hand”

Answer 23

Religious imagery, tone of desperation and repeated imperatives

She has lost all of her power, she is destined for damnation and her death is looming. She has no support yet yearns for people to care - even God to have enough mercy for her to go to heaven - mental torture

All of this as a consequence of her going against the Jacobean hierarchy - a warning. (After 1605 gunpowder plot)