Lady Macbeth

Question 1

“Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty.” (Act 1, Scene 5)

Answer 1

Language Features: Imperative verbs (“come,” “unsex,” “fill”) show her commanding tone; metaphor of being filled with “direst cruelty” emphasizes her desire to suppress humanity.
Themes: Ambition, Gender Roles, Supernatural.
Context: In Shakespeare’s time, women were seen as nurturing and passive. Lady Macbeth’s rejection of femininity challenges societal norms of the Jacobean era.

Question 2

“Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t.” (Act 1, Scene 5)

Answer 2

Language Features: Juxtaposition of “innocent flower” and “serpent” symbolizes deception; biblical allusion to the serpent in Eden underscores moral corruption.
Themes: Deception, Ambition, Evil.
Context: James I’s fascination with the Gunpowder Plot and treachery could resonate with the audience’s fear of hidden threats.

Question 3

“The raven himself is hoarse that croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan under my battlements.” (Act 1, Scene 5)

Answer 3

Language Features: Ominous imagery (“raven,” “fatal”); possessive “my battlements” reinforces her control over the murder setting.
Themes: Fate, Death, Power.
Context: Ravens were seen as omens of death in Elizabethan superstition, foreshadowing Duncan’s murder.

Question 4

“Leave all the rest to me.” (Act 1, Scene 5)

Answer 4

Language Features: Commanding tone; brevity conveys her confidence and control.
Themes: Power, Control, Ambition.
Context: Women in Jacobean society were expected to be submissive, making Lady Macbeth’s authoritative tone shocking.

Question 5

“What beast was ’t, then, that made you break this enterprise to me?” (Act 1, Scene 7)

Answer 5

Language Features: Rhetorical question undermines Macbeth’s resolve; animalistic metaphor (“beast”) dehumanizes him.
Themes: Manipulation, Masculinity, Ambition.
Context: Challenging a man’s honor and masculinity was particularly provocative in a patriarchal society.

Question 6

“When you durst do it, then you were a man.” (Act 1, Scene 7)

Answer 6

Language Features: Conditional statement ties masculinity to action; emasculating tone manipulates Macbeth.
Themes: Gender, Power, Ambition.
Context: Jacobean masculinity was tied to bravery and action; Lady Macbeth’s challenge highlights her subversion of traditional roles.

Question 7

“But screw your courage to the sticking place, and we’ll not fail.” (Act 1, Scene 7)

Answer 7

Language Features: Metaphor (“screw…to the sticking place”) suggests mechanical precision; firm declarative instills confidence.
Themes: Determination, Control, Ambition.
Context: Military language would resonate with a Jacobean audience familiar with ideas of fortitude.

Question 8

“A little water clears us of this deed: How easy is it then!” (Act 2, Scene 2)

Answer 8

Language Features: Irony (“a little water”) downplays the gravity of murder; declarative reflects overconfidence.
Themes: Guilt, Deception, Morality.
Context: Religious beliefs emphasized the impossibility of escaping divine judgment, contrasting with her statement.

Question 9

“Infirm of purpose! Give me the daggers.” (Act 2, Scene 2)

Answer 9

Language Features: Exclamatory phrase shows disdain; imperative “give me” asserts dominance.
Themes: Power, Control, Gender.
Context: Women taking physical control of weapons would challenge Jacobean gender norms.

Question 10

“Naught’s had, all’s spent, where our desire is got without content.” (Act 3, Scene 2)

Answer 10

Language Features: Antithesis (“naught’s had, all’s spent”) highlights the futility of ambition; reflective tone shows disillusionment.
Themes: Ambition, Disillusionment, Power.
Context: Reflects the moral consequences of overreaching ambition, resonating with Christian teachings.

Question 11

“Out, damned spot! Out, I say!” (Act 5, Scene 1)

Answer 11

Language Features: Repetition and exclamation mark show hysteria; “spot” symbolizes guilt.
Themes: Guilt, Madness, Morality.
Context: Blood as a symbol of guilt aligns with religious views of sin and repentance.

Question 12

“What, will these hands ne’er be clean?” (Act 5, Scene 1)

Answer 12

Language Features: Rhetorical question reflects internal torment; metaphor of “clean hands” symbolizes moral purity.
Themes: Guilt, Consequences, Madness.
Context: The idea of “damnation” would have been a serious fear for a Jacobean audience.

Question 13

“Here’s the smell of the blood still: all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.” (Act 5, Scene 1)

Answer 13

Language Features: Hyperbole (“all the perfumes of Arabia”) underscores guilt’s permanence; olfactory imagery deepens emotional impact.
Themes: Guilt, Morality, Madness.
Context: References to Arabia evoke wealth and exoticism, heightening the enormity of her guilt.

Question 14

“Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?” (Act 5, Scene 1)

Answer 14

Language Features: Question reflects incredulity; imagery of “so much blood” suggests overwhelming guilt.
Themes: Guilt, Death, Consequences.
Context: Blood as a symbol of life and guilt aligns with Christian morality.

Question 15

“Hell is murky!” (Act 5, Scene 1)

Answer 15

Language Features: Metaphor of “murky” reflects her unclear conscience; exclamatory suggests fear.
Themes: Guilt, Damnation, Madness.
Context: The Jacobean belief in hell as a physical and spiritual torment would amplify the audience’s understanding of her fear.

Question 16

“To bed, to bed! There’s knocking at the gate.” (Act 5, Scene 1)

Answer 16

Language Features: Repetition conveys a fragmented mind; reference to “knocking” recalls Duncan’s murder.
Themes: Madness, Guilt, Consequences.
Context: Reflects the psychological toll of regicide, which was viewed as a direct affront to God.

Question 17

“The thane of Fife had a wife: where is she now?” (Act 5, Scene 1)

Answer 17

Language Features: Rhetorical question reflects remorse; alliteration (“thane…wife”) emphasizes her fixation.
Themes: Guilt, Empathy, Consequences.
Context: Highlights the collateral damage of their ambition, resonating with Jacobean values of loyalty and family.

Question 18

“Thou wouldst be great; art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it.” (Act 1, Scene 5)

Answer 18

Language Features: Antithesis contrasts “ambition” with “illness,” suggesting the moral corruption necessary for power; metaphor of “illness” implies ambition as a disease.
Themes: Ambition, Morality, Power.
Context: Reflects Renaissance humanism’s concerns with the moral limits of personal ambition.

Question 19

“This is the very painting of your fear.” (Act 3, Scene 4)

Answer 19

Language Features: Metaphor of “painting” suggests fear as a false creation; accusatory tone undermines Macbeth’s paranoia.
Themes: Control, Perception, Madness.
Context: The Jacobean audience might interpret her scorn of Macbeth as ironic, given her later succumbing to guilt.

Question 20

“What’s done is done.” (Act 3, Scene 2)

Answer 20

Language Features: Aphoristic tone reflects resignation; repetition emphasizes the irreversibility of their actions.
Themes: Guilt, Consequences, Power.
Context: A Christian audience might find the phrase unsettling, as it denies the concept of repentance.

Question 21

“You lack the season of all natures, sleep.” (Act 3, Scene 4)

Answer 21

Language Features: Personification of “sleep” emphasizes its restorative nature; gentle tone contrasts with earlier aggression.
Themes: Guilt, Madness, Humanity.
Context: The belief in sleep as essential for health aligns with Renaissance medical theories.

Question 22

“Come on; gentle my lord, sleek o’er your rugged looks.” (Act 3, Scene 2)

Answer 22

Language Features: Soothing diction (“gentle,” “sleek”) contrasts with earlier commanding tone; “rugged looks” symbolizes inner turmoil.
Themes: Guilt, Control, Deception.
Context: Reflects Lady Macbeth’s attempt to maintain appearances in a hierarchical and judgmental society.

Question 23

“The fit is momentary; upon a thought he will again be well.” (Act 3, Scene 4)

Answer 23

Language Features: Dismissive tone minimizes Macbeth’s instability; juxtaposition of “momentary” and “well” conveys denial.
Themes: Madness, Deception, Guilt.
Context: The denial of mental health issues in this period would resonate with the audience’s limited understanding of psychological disorders.

Question 24

“These deeds must not be thought after these ways; so, it will make us mad.” (Act 2, Scene 2)

Answer 24

Language Features: Irony as Lady Macbeth’s warning foreshadows her madness; “deeds” as euphemism for murder reflects denial.
Themes: Guilt, Madness, Consequences.
Context: Reflects Jacobean fear of overthinking leading to madness, tying into humoral theory.

Question 25

“How tender ‘tis to love the babe that milks me: I would, while it was smiling in my face, have pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums and dash’d the brains out,”

Answer 25

Language Features: Juxtaposition of maternal tenderness and violent imagery shocks the audience; sensory imagery (“suck,” “milks”) evokes vivid emotions.
Themes: Gender, Ambition, Sacrifice.
Context: Challenges the Renaissance ideal of womanhood, which celebrated maternal care and passivity.

Question 26

“My hands are of your colour, but I shame to wear a heart so white.” (Act 2, Scene 2)

Answer 26

Language Features: Metaphor of “heart so white” symbolizes cowardice; contrast between “hands” (external) and “heart” (internal) reflects her psychological denial.
Themes: Guilt, Courage, Morality.
Context: Blood as a symbol of guilt would resonate strongly with a religious audience.

Question 27

“What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account?” (Act 5, Scene 1)

Answer 27

Language Features: Rhetorical question reveals self-deception; declarative tone shows fading confidence.
Themes: Power, Guilt, Consequences.
Context: Reflects Jacobean beliefs in divine judgment, as she assumes earthly power will shield her.

Question 28

“Foul whisperings are abroad; unnatural deeds do breed unnatural troubles; infected minds to their deaf pillows will discharge their secrets. More needs she the divine than the physician” (Act 5, Scene 1)

Answer 28

Language Features: Metaphor of corruption (“infected minds”), personification (“deaf pillows”)
Themes: Consequences, Guilt, Divine intervention
Context: Lady Macbeth is a tragic heroine, and represents an Eve-like character.