Lady Macbeth Flashcards
A little water clears us of this dead
Metaphor and literal
Shows she is in regret
Start of her mental state deteriorating
Are you a man
Testing his masculinity
Could be a reference to his fertility
Putting him down and calling him a coward basically
Rhetorical question
Unsex me here
Supernatural and ambition
She wants to invest in masculinity
Take my milk for gall
She’s getting ready to perform acts of violence and cruelty also shows her ambition she wants to be filled with bile and again representing her wanting to become masculine
How is Lady Macbeth shown as ambitious
She is more determined than Macbeth and when he hesitates she has enough ambition for both of them and her determination to succeed is clear
Shalt be what thou art promised
She is insistent that Macbeth will become king
Too full oth milk of human kindness
She realises that macbeth is full of this and this could stand in their way
Ambitious
How is lady Macbeth shown as cunning
When Macbeth expresses doubts she makes sure he carries out their plan to murder Duncan
She welcomes Duncan to her home and flatters him so he won’t suspect a thing
How is lady Macbeth shown as conscience stricken
She went from no conscience at all to being overwhelmed by feelings of guilt. She can not bear to think of what she has done and eventually dies
She sleepwalks
Remembers evil things
Aware she will be going to hell for her sins
Out damned spot out I say
Conscience stricken and tries to wash imaginary blood off her hands.
Social and historical context
Women had no rights and their role was to have children and support their menfolk whereas lady Macbeth is more feisty with ambitions and desires of her own
In the original play, why was the part of lady Macbeth played by a man
To help emphasise the characters masculine qualities
