Lady Macbeth Analysis Flashcards
What does the quote “Stop up the access passage to remorse” show
She wants to be entirely violent, with no remnants of femininity- she is aware this constrains her. She sees emotion synonymous with weakness. By eradicating this weakness, she can unlock the barbaric tyrant she dreams of being.
What does the quote “You lack the season of all natures, sleep” show
This is the antithesis to her previous violent depiction; It seems she is now trying to moderate and quell his evil. She is comparatively passive and is preoccupied with the noun “sleep” (a motif for peace and innocence). It appears she is yearning to reverse the murderous chaos as she realises her role as queen is
not what she expected.
What does the quote “ A little water clears us of this deed” show
Her over-powering ambition obstructs her from seeing the genuine distress of her husband. She uses litotes (under-exaggeration) to downplay the murder. it is laced with irony as Lady M shifts to a melodramatic state of insanity and begins speaking in hyperbole (exaggeration) as the guilt takes over. The euphemism hints at this, by referring to the murder as a “deed” Lady M fails to face up to the reality of it, she must placate it into less heinous (wicked) words in order to keep her (albeit temporary) composure.
What does the quote “ Come you spirits” “ pour my spirits” show
she is almost casting a spell, the nouns “spirits” and
“night” allude to a dark supernatural force. She yearns to be rid of her femininity to encompass the inhumane and witchlike role that would grant her power. Her androgynous (male and female) nature would be perceived to be supernatural in the Jacobean era as the gender roles were rigid.
What does the quote “Dash’d the brains out” show
They are amoral (have no sense of morals) and feel an absence of guilt in the destruction of innocent life. Both Lady Macbeth and the Witches disregard of fragile human life can be seen in their interactions with Macbeth.
What does the quote “Look like th’ innocent flower but the serpent under ‘t” show
The biblical allusion to the “serpent” seen in the fall of mankind in Genesis where the serpent tempts Adam and Eve, is used by Lady Macbeth to highlight how effective deception can be when executed with an “innocent” façade.
What does the quote “ has he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done it” show
The beginning exposes her guilty conscience coming to the service, exposing her inner cowardice and ingrained fear of patricide (killing of her father). Lady Macbeth is manipulative as she operates within a liminal gender, she takes advantage of alleged feminine weakness when it works in her favour yet brutally rejects it if it represses her.
What does the quote “Out damn spot! out I say!” Show
This_ “spot” is emblematic of the scar the murder has created on her mind. However, this may be interpreted in another sense by Shakespeare’s contemporaries. Madness was often perceived as a sign of being possessed by demons, it was believed that demons and witches had a “spot” on their bodies which identified them as evil, this is reinforced by “damned” which has connotations of hell.
What does the quote “Too full o’th’milk of human kindness” show
This suggesting she will replace this milk with evil. The noun
“milk” is a symbol for femininity and maternal nurturing, Lady M rejects notions of femininity.
What does the quote “Pour my spirts in thine ear” show
She is a femme fatale as she not only is manipulative but rejects her womanhood and motherhood- a typical trope (theme or idea of a femme fatale. Her manipulation is salient in the quote as she wants to taint Macbeth’s mind with her “spirits”.
