Lady macbeth Flashcards
“Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts” . It appears in Act 1, Scene 5, when Lady Macbeth is asking spirits to make her more masculine and cruel.
In this soliloquy, Lady Macbeth uses the language of spells to summon an unseen power. She wants to be more like a man, adopting traits like anger and ferocity.
- imperative sentences = against typical Jacobean women who are meant to be passive
- women traits are limiting
Themes AMBITION, SUPERNATURAL
“Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t” 1,5
The line uses symbolism to highlight the contrast between appearance and reality. The serpent is a symbol of treachery, temptation, and lost innocence. It also has biblical connotations, linking Lady Macbeth to the serpent in the Garden of Eden who tempted Adam to disobey God
It also highlights her power over her husband as she gives him commands
“When you durst do it, then you were a man” 1,7
Lady Macbeth is attacking Macbeth’s masculinity and pride
She is questioning his courage and implying that he is not strong enough to kill Duncan
She is subverting gender norms, which would have been disturbing to audiences.
In the Jacobean era, manliness was equated with strength
“the sleeping and the dead are but as pictures ‘tis the eye of childhood that fears a painted devil” 2,2
a person who is sleeping or dead is as harmless as a picture, and only a child would be afraid of a painted devil, implying that Macbeth’s fear and guilt after killing Duncan is childish and excessive, as he is overreacting to the consequences of his actions; Lady Macbeth is essentially accusing him of being weak and unable to handle the reality of the murder.
“Eye of childhood”:
This phrase signifies a childish fear of something that is not actually dangerous.
He fought at war instead of lady Macbeth but he seems to be scared of blood = reversal of roles
” Out, damned spot! out, I say!” 5,1
The line is part of a speech that shows Lady Macbeth’s descent into madness.
Repetition
The repetition of “out” highlights her fear and panic.
Repetition of imperatives “out” highlights how, at this stage, she has lost control - ineffectual
Trying to command an inanimate object “spot” - reflects how she is losing her mind
Use of “out” instead of “off” - blood not literally on her but inside her mind heightens how she is haunted inside her mind.
“Damned” - adjective - religious language and means being cursed, condemned to hell and suffering - Shakespearian audience would recognise the significance of the word - almost a metaphor for the hell she is living through.
