MB and LMB relationship Flashcards
Lady Macbeth states that he is ambitious but feels that he is too kind natured to achieve his ambitions by immoral means, so she must persuade him to murder Duncan
‘too full o’th milk of human kindness’ - M) feminising MB
‘coward’- N) insulting him as a warrior, making him to act upon his actions
‘Like a poor cat i’th’adage’ - S) MB wants the crown but too afraid to act on his ambitions.
MB = cat domestic not regal
Too full o’th milk of human kindness
METAPHOR- feminising MB
Milk associated with women+maternity
Off battlefield, LMB thinks MB is too good-natured to kill D becoming king himself. She realises she must persuade him
She is manipulative and prepared to taunt and mock her husband to persuade him to participate in the murder
‘Coward’
‘Like the poor cat i’th’adage’
SIMILE- MB is being insulted and mocked. MB is compared to a cat, not lion. He wants the throne, as cat wants fish, it too afraid to act in desire.
FEMINIST INTERPRETATION- as woman in a patriarchal society, the only way she can achieve her ambition to become queen is through her husband becoming king. ( it’s also why she has to defeminise herself)
Dearest partner of greatness
C-MB sees her as his equal partner which is unusual in Jacobean era as it was a patriarchal society where women had less power than men
L-SUPERLATIVE ADJ- indicates how much he loves her
However she realises that the murder has not brought her or her husband contentment
‘When our desire is got without content’
L-RHYMING COUPLET- emphasis that gaining the throne ha. It bright fulfilment it contentment
Quite unmanned folly
L-VERB CHOICE- LMB mocks MB for being so unmasculine in his fear after he appears to see B’s ghost at the banquet. She fears he will be foolish enough to betray the murder to the other thanes, which causes tension between them.
Like the poor cat i’th’ adage’
L-SIMILE- LMB compares MB to the cat in the proverb- he wants the crown, but doesn’t want to get his hands bloody. She takes control, planning the murder herself, and her dominance is shown in how she dominates the dialogue, but MB has to do it at the end as D looks like her father
Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck, till thou applaud the deed
I- MB desire to conceal things from LMB can be interpreted in different ways.
1) he loves her and want to protect her from B’s murder until he knows it’s successful. This is suggested by the endearment ‘dearest chuck’
2) it is a symptom of the fact that they are becoming emotionally distant from each other.
