m/lm relationship Flashcards
overview
At the start of the play, M and LM have a strong relationship though LM is presented as cruel to the audience as she does not seem to love her husband and manipulates him. At this point, LM is the dominant one in the relationship. The relationship begins to breakdown when LM can’t understand M’s guilt towards killing Duncan and he begins to rely more on the witches. By the end of the play their relationship has completely broken down with their roles reversed as LM feels as the guilt and M no longer cares for her.
A1
- In the letter M calls LM his ‘dearest partner of greatness.’ This suggests how M views them as equals as he calls her his ‘partner’ which is significant because during this time women were usually less important. This could suggest how deep his love is for her that he would disregard what was considered normal or it could suggest how LM is more powerful than him.
- LM reads the letter and afterwards says that M is ‘too full o’th’milk of human kindness.’ This suggests how she thinks that M is too weak to kill Duncan because he’s full of kindness. The fact that LM believes he can’t kill Duncan because he’s too kind suggests how she believes kindness and ambition do not go hand in hand.
- LM plants to ‘pour my spirits in thine ear.’ The word ‘spirits’ could link to being evil which suggests how she’s going to pour her evil into him so he can be cruel enough to kill Duncan. This suggests how LM recognises that she has enough influence over M to convince him to kill Duncan.
- When LM sees M for the first time she calls him ‘great Glamis, worthy Cawdor.’ LM uses praise and flattery such as ‘great’ which suggests how she’s trying to manipulate him. The fact that she immediately calls him by his title and not his name could suggest how she only values him for his power and influence.
- LM tells M to ‘look like th’innocent flower but be the serpent under’t.’ The metaphor suggests that M should appear innocent like the flower but have hidden ambition and evil desires like the snake. However, the fact that she’s telling him to do this suggests how she’s the one with the power in the relationship and this is shown through M hiding his desires later on in the play.
- LM calls M a ‘coward’ for not wanting to kill Duncan. LM dual nature of insulting him but praising him earlier on suggests how she is good at manipulating M to do what she wants by playing with his emotions. M is completely under her control.
- She asks him ‘what beast was y’ that made you break this enterprise to me?’ LM is manipulating M by suggesting that it was him who made this promise to kill Duncan but it was actually her who gave him the idea – she is making it sound like his idea. By calling the murder an ‘enterprise’ it suggests how it will be fun to kill Duncan and making it sound like a good thing so she can manipulate him further
A2
- M asks ‘will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?’ M is asking whether a whole ocean can wash away the blood on his hands, the blood symbolising his guilt. Shakespeare uses hyperbole to suggest just how guilty M feels for killing D by saying that he needs a whole ocean to wash it away.
- In response LM says that ‘a little water will clear us of this deed.’ In contrast, LM oversimplifies his guilt by suggesting that only a little water can wash it away. Therefore, this suggests how their relationship is beginning to break down because she does not understand him because of her lack of sympathy.
A3
- When LM asks what M plants to do he tells her to be ‘innocent of the knowledge dearest chuck.’ This suggests how their relationship is breaking down because M no longer trusts her and wants to confide in her about his plan to kill Banquo. The fact that he calls her ‘dearest chuck’ is significant because he used to call her his ‘dearest love’ so he no longer sees them as equals.
- At the banquet M sees Banquo’s ghost and begins to act out. In a desperate attempt to control him, LM asks ‘are you a man’ and he responds with ‘ay, a bold one.’ This suggests how LM no longer has any control over M because when she insulted him he only retorted unlike earlier in the play when he didn’t argue back. LM has lost power in their relationship.
- By the end of this scene M goes to confide in the witches instead of LM which suggests how M is now reliant on the witches and no longer LM.
A5
M no longer cares for LM. LM is having a mental breakdown due to the guilt she feels and Macbeth is not with her. This demonstrates the change in their relationship as M is not around when LM is experiencing mental anguish. Instead M was out ‘in the field’ which suggests how his priorities now lay with the prophecies and keeping his power as king rather than caring for his wife.
- When LM dies M says ‘she should have died hereafter’ meaning that she would’ve died anyway. This suggests how he no longer cares for her as he was completely unaffected by her death and has lost all feelings for her – her death is an inconvenience.
