Lady Macbeth

Question 1

Art not without ambition & Too full o’ the milk of human kindness:

Answer 1

When? This is part of Lady Macbeth’s first speech
What? Lady Macbeth is implying that (despite Macbeth’s success on the battlefield), he is of limited aspiration. The word ‘milk’ has associations of both femininity and childhood, and so can be seen as an insulting term.

Question 2

Come you spirits

Answer 2

When?
What? Lady Macbeth is ordering the spirits to help her. ‘Come’ is an imperative verb, which perhaps gives an insight into Lady Macbeth’s domineering and powerful nature

Question 3

Look like th’ innocent flower / but be the serpent under it

Answer 3

When?
What? Here Lady Macbeth is teaching Macbeth to lie. At the time, manipulation was seen as a feminine trait and so reinforces the gender stereotypes. Further to this, the speech reflects the story of Adam and Eve, whereby the woman was the ‘temptress to evil’.
This parallel can, once again, be seen to reflect the time period the play was written in.

Question 4

Out, damned spot! out, I say!

Answer 4

When? Act 5, Scene 1
What? This is said by Lady Macbeth as she sleepwalks through Macbeth’s castle on the eve of his battle against Macduff and Malcolm. She tries to wash imaginary blood from her hands. This imaginary blood symbolises her guilt of being part of King Duncan’s death, which she cannot cleanse herself of.

The use of disjointed punctuation and repetition are indicative of Lady Macbeth’s desperation and worsening mental state.

Question 5

My dearest partner of greatness

Answer 5

Who? Macbeth to Lady Macbeth
What? This line is from the letter Macbeth writes to Lady Macbeth at the start of the play.
‘Of greatness’ implies that he recognises that Lady Macbeth’s ambition is greater than his own, and he feels that she would make a great Queen.