Verse 2 - Late Act I

Question 1

‘My dearest partner of greatness’
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Answer 1

Character/s
Lady Macbeth

Act, Scene
1,5

AO1
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AO2 - Simple
They have a close intimate relationship

AO2 - Full
Adjectives “dearest” and “greatness” emphasise the characters’ closeness to each other, and suggests they have a close intimate relationship. The fact that Macbeth informed her of his plans and involved her suggests they also have a close intimate relationship, suggesting a partnership where they work together.

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Question 2

‘Milk of human kindness’
ca1sf - F

Answer 2

Character/s
Lady Macbeth

Act, Scene
1,5

AO1 - Full Quote
‘Yet I fear thy nature: it is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness’

AO2 - Simple
She thinks that Macbeth is too kind and weak

AO2 - Full
Soliloquy allows the audience to see what Lady Macbeth thinks of her husband. Personification: “ nature is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness… to catch the nearest way” personifying his nature as too gentle to get to the top. Lady Macbeth also doubts his ability to destroy others in order to gain the throne quickly. Imagery: “too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness” meant to show how she views him as a child who still needs to be nurtured and guided. This highlights the fact that Lady Macbeth holds power over him. Milk symbolises what kind of man Macbeth was before everything took place. Shows his purity and how he has a blank slate, just as milk is white.

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Question 3

‘Unsex me here’
ca1sf - F

Answer 3

Character/s
Lady Macbeth

Act, Scene
1,5

AO1 - Full Quote
‘Come, you spirits… unsex me here’

AO2 - Simple
She wants to lose her feminine features to get more power

AO2 - Full
She prays for the supernatural to hide her plan. Supernatural forces are reintroduced as Lady Macbeth comes on them for help. There is a contrast between the ambiguous sexuality of the witches and Lady Macbeth who asks the spirits to ‘unsex’ her. It is as if at this level of evil, Lady Macbeth, like the witches, abandons being either male or female. She wants to remove her feminine features, in order to gain power only men possess. She is willing to lose her feminine features of beauty and looks, she is willing to sacrifice that for power.

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Question 4

‘Make thick my blood’
ca1sf - T

Answer 4

Character/s
Lady Macbeth

Act, Scene
1,5

AO1 - Translation
‘Make my blood thick

AO2 - Simple
Here, with Lady Macbeth’s request to the spirits, blood is seen as a natural function of the human body, that feeds the human capacity for compassion and repentance - Things Lady Macbeth does not want.

AO2 - Full
In asking the spirits to ‘unsex’ her, she also asks them to thicken her blood. Shakespeare uses the motif of blood throughout the play starting with the bloody nature of battle in Act 1 Scene 2. Here, with Lady Macbeth’s request to the spirits, blood is seen as a natural function of the human body, that feeds the human capacity for compassion and repentance - Things Lady Macbeth does not want. ‘ make thick my blood’ is a metaphor, representing life and death. It is effective because it also makes us think of the blood she intends to shed (Duncan’s).

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Question 5

‘O never shall sun that morrow sea’
ca1sf - T

Answer 5

Character/s
Lady Macbeth

Act, Scene
1,5

AO1 - Translation
‘Tomorrow, that day will never come’

AO2 - Simple
Instantly thinks of regicide

AO2 - Full
Lady Macbeth instantly begins plotting King Duncan’s death as soon as Macbeth returns, emphasising her ambition and its wickedness./

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Question 6

‘Bring forth men-children only’
ca1sf - T

Answer 6

Character/s
Macbeth

Act, Scene
1,7

AO1 - Translation
‘May you only give birth to male children’

AO2 - Simple
Lady Macbeth’s temperament is best suited for male children

AO2 - Full
After Lady Macbeth encourages him to go through with Duncan’s murder and take the crown, Macbeth declares that her temperament is most suited to male children. This statement is also an example of situational irony because the Macbeths have no children, nor will they live to have children later.

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