Lady Macbeth Flashcards
“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)
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.
“Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t.” (Act 1, Scene 5)
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.
“The raven himself is hoarse that croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan under my battlements.” (Act 1, Scene 5)
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.
“Leave all the rest to me.” (Act 1, Scene 5)
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.
“What beast was ’t, then, that made you break this enterprise to me?” (Act 1, Scene 7)
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.
“When you durst do it, then you were a man.” (Act 1, Scene 7)
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.
“But screw your courage to the sticking place, and we’ll not fail.” (Act 1, Scene 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.
“A little water clears us of this deed: How easy is it then!” (Act 2, Scene 2)
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.
“Infirm of purpose! Give me the daggers.” (Act 2, Scene 2)
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.
“Naught’s had, all’s spent, where our desire is got without content.” (Act 3, Scene 2)
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.
“Out, damned spot! Out, I say!” (Act 5, Scene 1)
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.
“What, will these hands ne’er be clean?” (Act 5, Scene 1)
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.
“Here’s the smell of the blood still: all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.” (Act 5, Scene 1)
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.
“Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?” (Act 5, Scene 1)
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.
“Hell is murky!” (Act 5, Scene 1)
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.
“To bed, to bed! There’s knocking at the gate.” (Act 5, Scene 1)
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.
“The thane of Fife had a wife: where is she now?” (Act 5, Scene 1)
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.
“Thou wouldst be great; art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it.” (Act 1, Scene 5)
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.
“This is the very painting of your fear.” (Act 3, Scene 4)
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.
“What’s done is done.” (Act 3, Scene 2)
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.
“You lack the season of all natures, sleep.” (Act 3, Scene 4)
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.
“Come on; gentle my lord, sleek o’er your rugged looks.” (Act 3, Scene 2)
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.
“The fit is momentary; upon a thought he will again be well.” (Act 3, Scene 4)
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.
“These deeds must not be thought after these ways; so, it will make us mad.” (Act 2, Scene 2)
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.
“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,”
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.
“My hands are of your colour, but I shame to wear a heart so white.” (Act 2, Scene 2)
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.
“What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account?” (Act 5, Scene 1)
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.
“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)
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.
