lady macbeth Flashcards
1.3 “If chance will have me King, why, chance may crown me, without my stir”
-LMB endeavours to persuade MB to commit murder after leaving it to fate
-LMB attacks his masculinity when saying “when you durst do it, then you were a man” - she isn’t afraid to insult him - perhaps a fracture in relationship
-uses her words like weapons + MB cannot speak or put his view forward
-shows their relationship is unbalance + LMB is the dominant one
-LMB uses image of vulnerable baby to try + persuade MB - perhaps reference to child they once had
-eventually MB gives in + agrees to kill D - persuading + ambitious
1.5 “pour my spirits in thine ear”
-seems she is almost casting a spell - conjures imagery of intoxication
-nouns “spirits” + “night” allude to a dark supernatural force - manipulative
-she yearns to be rid of her femininity to encompass the inhumane + witch-like role that would grant her power
-her androgynous nature would be perceived to be supernatural in the Jacobean era as the gender roles were rigid
1.7 “dash’d the brains out”
-merciless act of rejecting maternal inclinations characterises LMB as violent
-she effectively competes with MB who as a man of that era, couldn’t be weaker than a woman
-explicitly describes act of extreme violence reinforcing unrestrained aggression - ruthless
-violent hypothetical shows determination + she emotionally manipulates MB
2.2 “A little water clears us of this deed”
-LMB’s overpowering ambition obstructs her from seeing the genuine distress of her husband
-she uses litotes to downplay the murder
-her tone is nonchalant - seems dismissive / apathetic
-it is laced with irony as LMB shifts to a melodramatic state of insanity + begins speaking in hyperboles as the guilt takes over
-euphemism hints at this, by referring to the murder as a “deed”
3.4 “Are you a man?”
-during banquet, LMB attempts to cover up MB’s behaviour + challenges him
-however, forced to ask guests to leave as she can no longer control MB
-evident at this point their relationship has been ruined by MB’s evil acts, yet this is also partly LMB’s fault due to her persuasion
-MB no longer hears here at the end of the banquet when she tells him he needs to “sleep” - he goes on to talk about how he is “in blood” + it would be just as “tedious” to go back, as if he continued
-shows key change in MB - making his own choices - unstable relationship as they’re no longer dependent on each other
5.1 “Out, damned spot! Out I say”
-“spot” is emblematic of scar the murder has created on her mind - guilt-ridden
-may be interpreted in another sense by shakespeare’s contemporaries
-madness often perceived as sign of being possessed by demons
-believed demons + witches had a “spot” on their bodies which identified them as evil
-reinforced by “damned” which has connotations of hell
