Lady Macbeth 2

Lady Macbeth - Secretive and Manipulative

Lady Macbeth seems to be very good at hiding her true thoughts and is portrayed as a manipulative character from the start.

Illustrative background for <b>'honoured hostess'</b> (1,6)

Illustrative background for <b>'honoured hostess'</b> (1,6) ?? "content

'honoured hostess' (1,6)

This is how King Duncan refers to Lady Macbeth.
This proves that she is very good at hiding her true thoughts.
Shakespeare is using dramatic irony here: the audience knows that she plans to kill him, but she meets him with kind words and welcome.
Her manipulative and secretive nature highlights her as a villain in the story. She wants her husband to murder the king purely so they can become more powerful.

Illustrative background for <b>'live a coward in thine own esteem'</b> (1,7).

Illustrative background for <b>'live a coward in thine own esteem'</b> (1,7). ?? "content

'live a coward in thine own esteem' (1,7).

Here, Lady Macbeth attacks Macbeth`s courage, asking him if he plans to live in fear.
This is done by Lady Macbeth to change her husband`s mind and convince him to kill King Duncan.
- She then tells him that he has broken a promise to her. She says she would rather murder her own child than go back on her word to him.

Illustrative background for <b>'Had he not resembled / My father as he slept, I had done ‘t'</b> (2,2).

Illustrative background for <b>'Had he not resembled / My father as he slept, I had done ‘t'</b> (2,2). ?? "content

'Had he not resembled / My father as he slept, I had done ‘t' (2,2).

This quote shows Lady Macbeth thinking about killing the king herself.
She drugs the guards outside the King's chamber and puts their daggers ready for the murder. In this way, she manipulates the murder scene to ensure Macbeth will not be blamed.
- This is interesting because it shows that she has some softer emotion - a love for her father.

Illustrative background for <b>‘Look like th’innocent flower, / But be the serpent under’t’.</b> (1,5)

Illustrative background for <b>‘Look like th’innocent flower, / But be the serpent under’t’.</b> (1,5) ?? "content

‘Look like th’innocent flower, / But be the serpent under’t’. (1,5)

Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth that he must hide his true feelings – he needs to come across as innocent, even though he has violent intentions.

Lady Macbeth - Mentally Disturbed

By Act 5, Lady Macbeth seems to have gone mad from the murders. She begins sleepwalking among other things.

Illustrative background for <b>'Not so sick, my lord, / As she is troubled with thick-coming fancies / That keep her from her rest' </b>(5,3).

Illustrative background for <b>'Not so sick, my lord, / As she is troubled with thick-coming fancies / That keep her from her rest' </b>(5,3). ?? "content

'Not so sick, my lord, / As she is troubled with thick-coming fancies / That keep her from her rest' (5,3).

This is what the doctor tells Macbeth about Lady Macbeth. It implies that sleepwalking is also the sign of a distressed mind.
Sleepwalking was seen as a sign that someone was possessed by a demon. So a Jacobean (during the reign of James I of England) audience might have thought that this was because Lady Macbeth invited the spirits into her at the start of the play.

Illustrative background for <b>'Here's the smell of the blood still; all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand'</b> (5,1).

Illustrative background for <b>'Here's the smell of the blood still; all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand'</b> (5,1). ?? "content

'Here's the smell of the blood still; all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand' (5,1).

By speaking like this in her sleep, Lady Macbeth seems to regret her crimes, even though she says she does not.
Shakespeare could be suggesting that we cannot escape from the consequences of our actions. Sometimes, we have to admit to our faults and deal with them – otherwise they will haunt us.
Even though Lady Macbeth comes across as a somewhat evil, cruel character, she does have a human side that struggles to deal with what she has done.

Further analysis of Lady Macbeth`s sleepwalking

The structure here (5,1) moves into prose (ordinary language without a metre), rather than the usual iambic pentameter that Shakespeare writes in.
Shakespeare might be doing this to show how her speech is fluid (free) and doesn’t have structure. This would suggest that it is more natural and honest.
When she is sleeping, Lady Macbeth loses the mask of innocence that she normally wears when she is awake.

Illustrative background for <b>'Out damned spot! Out, I say!'</b> (5,1)

Illustrative background for <b>'Out damned spot! Out, I say!'</b> (5,1) ?? "content

'Out damned spot! Out, I say!' (5,1)

Here, Lady Macbeth seems haunted by the blood on her hands – the same blood she said did not bother her in Act 2, Scene 2.
She is trying to order the blood to leave her hands. This makes it seem like she is permanently marked by it. The blood isn't real - it is a symbol of the guilt that she feels over the murder.

Lady Macbeth's Death

In Act 5, Scene 5, there is a stage direction: 'A cry of women within'. This is the moment that Lady Macbeth dies.

Illustrative background for <b>'by self and violent hands / Took off her own life'</b> (5,9)

Illustrative background for <b>'by self and violent hands / Took off her own life'</b> (5,9) ?? "content

'by self and violent hands / Took off her own life' (5,9)

This is what Malcolm reports at the end, suggesting that Lady Macbeth killed herself.
Suicide was seen as a sin. But by this stage, Lady Macbeth has already damned (condemned) her immortal soul by being involved in the plot to kill the King.
When she was sleepwalking, she said 'Hell is murky' (5,1). This may suggest that she is already existing in a sort of hell.
The human side of Lady Macbeth comes through with her apparent suicide – she cannot live with the guilt of what she has done, and so only sees one solution: suicide.

1Literary & Cultural Context

1.1Context

1.1.1Tragedy

1.1.2The Supernatural & Gender

1.1.3Politics & Monarchy

1.1.4End of Topic Test - Context

2Plot Summary

2.1Act 1

2.1.1Scenes 1 & 2

2.1.2Scene 3

2.1.3Scenes 4-5

2.1.4Scenes 6-7

2.1.5End of Topic Test - Act 1

2.2Acts 2-4

2.2.1Act 2

2.2.2Act 3

2.2.3Act 4

2.3Act 5

2.3.1Scenes 1-3

2.3.2Scenes 4-9

2.3.3End of Topic Test - Acts 2-5

2.3.4Diagnostic Misconceptions - Ambiguous Ending

2.3.5Diagnostic Misconceptions - Jacobean

3Characters

4Themes

4.1Themes

4.1.1Power & Ambition

4.1.2Power & Ambition HyperLearning

4.1.3Violence

4.1.4The Supernatural

4.1.5Masculinity

4.1.6Armour, Kingship & The Natural Order

4.1.7Appearances & Deception

4.1.8Madness & Blood

4.1.9Women, Children & Sleep

4.1.10End of Topic Test - Themes

4.1.11End of Topic Test - Themes 2

4.2Grade 9 - Themes

4.2.1Grade 9 - Themes

4.2.2Extract Analysis

5Writer's Techniques

5.1Structure, Meter & Other Literary Techniques

5.1.1Structure, Meter & Dramatic Irony

5.1.2Pathetic Fallacy & Symbolism

5.1.3End of Topic Test - Writer's Techniques

6Recap: Main Quotes

6.1Characters Quotes

6.1.1Macbeth

6.1.2Macbeth 2

6.1.3Macbeth 3

6.1.4Macbeth 4

6.1.5Lady Macbeth

6.1.6Lady Macbeth 2

6.1.7Banquo

6.1.8Banquo 2

6.1.9The Witches

6.1.10King Duncan

6.1.11Macduff

6.2Text Structure - Quotes

6.2.1Violence

6.2.2The Supernatural

6.2.3Ambition

6.2.4Armour, Kingship & the Natural Order

6.2.5Appearances & Deception

6.2.6Lady Macbeth's Masculinity

6.2.7Madness & Blood

6.2.8Men, Children & Sleep

Jump to other topics