Choose three lines of text spoken by Macbeth's wife that strike you particularly concerning the character of Lady Macbeth. Explain why you chose those lines? Please make sure your reflection is thoughtful and AT LEAST SEVEN-TEN SENTENCES. Thank You.
The first line I chose was after Lady Macbeth finished reading the letter she said, "Yet I do fear thy nature; It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way." This line makes me think that she doesn't think people in general are that forthcoming and kind. That could be the reason why she is skeptical of how much truth there was in what the "Weird Sisters" said. The second line I chose was, "Come, thick night, and pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell, that my knife see not the wound it makes, nor the heaven peep through the blanket of the dark to cry 'Hold, hold!'. I think Lady Macbeth does things that are probably not moral and she tries not to think about the unmoral acts while doing it, then later tries to cover it up or hide it (from herself and others). The last line I chose was "He that's coming must be provided for; and you shall put this night's great business into my dispatch." She seems strategic, bold and very confident with herself to be able to take on certain tasks.
Lady Macbeth gives the impression of a ruthless women and her language reflects this. One line I particularly enjoyed was when she said, “Make thick my blood. Stop up th’ access and passage to remorse, that no compunctious visitings of nature shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between th’ effect and it” (p. 33 line 50). The pure words in this section, such as remorse and compunctious, have an intriguing sound and are grouped beautifully. It also demonstrated Lady Macbeth’s will to succeed and it becomes clear that she won’t let anything come in her way. The use of the words, “Make thick my blood,” incorporate terms of the battlefield into her own personal battles of will. “Make thick my blood,” makes her intentions of accomplishing her task and her toughness very clear. Another one of my favorite lines was, “Look like th’ innocent flower, but be the serpent under ‘t” (p. 35 line 76). The way Lady Macbeth used the images of a flower and a serpent well represented her thoughts. The images gave me a clear vision in my head of a smooth, hidden serpent, illustrating her idea of appearing to love Duncan on the surface, but scheming underneath. I also quite enjoyed the line, “Come, thick night, and pall thee in the dunnest of smoke of hell, that my keen knife see not the wound it makes, nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark to cry ‘hold, hold!’” (p. 35 line 57). I liked this line because it showed, yet again, Lady Macbeth’s ideas to conceal their thoughts and actions. Her reference to the dark coming also shows how the action itself is dark and evil, and that their evil actions are better done under the blanket of darkness.
Lady Macbeth seems like a shrill, power hungry white woman. One line that stuck out to me was when she said, "And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood." (Pg 33 L. 45) I picked this passage because this is showing Lady Macbeth's shrill side, when Macbeth isn't with her. When she says "And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full," represents her wanting power. And when she says "Make thick my blood," can mean something to do with battle or her being noble blood. Later when Macbeth arrives she starts to act nicer, "Your face, my thane, is a book where men May read strange matters. To beguile the time, Look like the time." (Pg. 35 L. 70) This shows Lady Macbeth being nice to Macbeth, trying to charm him. Praising him. "He brings great news. The raven himself is hoarse That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan." (Pg. 33 L. 45) This is foreshadowing, first the raven usually represents death and when the raven croaked the fatal entrance of Duncan. She wants Duncan dead so she can have more power to herself.
Lady MacBeth is a fascinating character, portrayed in a way that is very different from that of many women from her time. She is a huge supporter of her husband, MacBeth, and even in the last few lines seems to intimidate him. However, it is clear that in her very progressive role, she is out of place. In Act 1. Sc. 5, on the 48th line, Lady MacBeth calls upon the spirits, and orders them to "unsex me here, and fill me from crown to tow top-full of direst cruelty." In this line, Lady MacBeth is not only asking to be made more cold-hearted and pitiless, but she is also asking to be made a man. In her mind there is a direct correlation between the two, which is only enforced by the violence of men around her. However misguided, her masculine demeanor does have a very strong effect on her husband, and she begins instantly giving him orders, such as those on line 85, when she orders him to "Look up clear. To alter favor is to fear. Leave all the rest to me." By assuming the role of leader, Lady MacBeth earns the upper hand role in her marriage. Assuming this is based on a modernized and conventionalized view of morality, Lady MacBeth, throughout the scene, takes on a very immoral persona, however, unlike her husband, she both understands and admits that what she is doing is immoral, like when on line 75, she says, "Bear welcome in your eye, your hand, your tounge. Look like th' innocent flower, but be the serpent under 't." In her defense, despite her merciless demeanor, amongst all the wrong doings, her honesty is a refreshing and moral trait.
Lady Macbeth seems callous and driven. This was made obvious with one of the first lines she says after reading Macbeth's letter: "I do fear thy nature. It is too full of...human kindness to catch the nearest way." She then goes on to explain that Macbeth will have to wait for Duncan to fall ill before he becomes king, which is obviously too slow for Lady Macbeth. She is definitely someone who is driven, and knows what she wants. She explained, "the letters have transported me beyond this ignorant present, and I feel now the future in an instant", which I interpreted to mean that now that it has been predicted Macbeth will be king, she is set on it happening. She plans to kill Duncan herself so it will happen, saying "O never shall sun that morrow see", meaning Duncan will not see tomorrow when he stays with Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. She has taken it upon herself to kill King Duncan to achieve her dream of Macbeth becoming king.
Lady Macbeth seems very ambitious and power-hungry, and she really embodies the dark side of Macbeth that is becoming more present at this point of the play. She shares these traits with Macbeth, but doesn't seem to have the loyalty that he had initially. Up to this point in the play, she represents the side of Macbeth that would do anything he can to overthrow Duncan and take the throne. Some quotes of hers that stood out to me were "The raven himself is hoarse That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan Under my battlements. Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts." This shows her thoughts of killing Duncan. She doesn't seem to be going through any struggle as to whether or not to attempt to overthrow the king. Another is "O, never Shall sun that morrow see!" From my interpretation, she is saying that Duncan will never see the sun again. She says this after Macbeth tells her that Duncan is staying overnight, and she is straight-up proposing that they kill him in his sleep. My last one is "He that's coming Must be provided for: and you shall put This night's great business into my dispatch;" Firstly, she wants to kill Duncan herself, which shows how bloodthirsty. Also, she refers to it as "business." She isn'y hesitant at all towards killing her king for personal power.
Act 1 Scene 5 Lines 15-17 "Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be what thou art promised. Yet do I fear thy nature. It is too full o' the' milk of human kindness." I have chosen this quote because it shows how Lady Macbeth thinks of her husband. She thinks he is too nice and is worried he will not seize the chance to become king. I believe she is a bit power hungry and doesn't trust Macbeth to bring her that power. Act 1 Scene 5 Lines 64-66 " Thy letters have transported me beyond this ignorant present, and I fell now the future in the instant." I chose this passage because it shows how Lady Macbeth feels about the process of Macbeth becoming king. It appears that she is impatient to possess the power Macbeth has shown that he may have and that she has no qualms about what must be done. Her choice of words "this ignorant present" convey that she believes that no one suspects her and that both of them do not fully realize the power they will gain. Ignorant referring to the knowledge held by the people at the time, both the Macbeth's and the other characters. Act 1 Scene 5 Lines 73-77 "Your face, my thane, is a book where men may read strange matters. To beguile the time, look like the time. Bear welcome in your eye, your hand, your tongue, look like th' innocent flower." I chose this passage because it shows how Lady Macbeth feels about Macbeth's capabilities. Lady Macbeth feels pretty confident. She seems to say, that if she can encourage Macbeth to go along, he will perfectly deceive everyone. Ultimately leading to him being king.
Lady Macbeth clearly is ambitious for power and thirsts for it. One line that stuck out to me was "Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here." I thought this meant she needed to be changed from a woman to a man in which she would be able to preform actions that as a woman she would not be able to do. Also she is willing to take advantages of weaknesses unlike Macbeth as well as she is nowhere near as loyal to Duncan as Macbeth. When she says "The raven himself is hoarse that croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan under my battlements" I feel she is exploiting Duncan's weaknesses and plotting in her mind that this is the time of action to allow her husband to become King. Lady Macbeth has a very strong personality and she is taking command of the plotting. In this line "He that's coming must be provided for: and you shall put this night's great business into my dispatch" I think she is explaining to Macbeth that the time for him to make his move on the crown is now. Before she said that he looks innocent on the outside but a serpent lives underneath and that it is time to strike.
“Make thick my blood. Stop up th’ access and passage to remorse, that no compunctious visitings of nature shake my feel purpose, nor keep peace between th’ effect and it.” In this line, it is clear that Lady Macbeth wants the king to be murdered, yet she wants to completely rid herself of compassion and remorse so she can fully move ahead without her emotions getting in the way. This line shows how readily and how eagerly Lady Macbeth wants to agree to and accept the murdering of Duncan, which shows her immorality, as we discussed in class. This line also makes her seem cold-hearted because of her desire to be cold-hearted and emotionless.
“Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under ‘t.” This line shows how cunning, deceitful, and apathetic her true character is. By apathetic, I mean that she only cares about herself, and the advancements of herself by way of Macbeth, and how disinterested she is in matters that might describe as “below her.”
“Leave all the rest to me.” Though this line is short and seemingly meaningless, it shows how greedy she is, like Macbeth, to gain power. Before she was just acceptive and encouraging of the murder, and but now she has a desire to control it and mold the murder in order to bring the best to their lives without facing blame. She seems smarter than Macbeth in this page because of how thought out her plans are and how, when he is listening to her, is sort of blindly following the idea that he should kill the king.
The first line I have chosen is, "That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan". This strikes me as a very violent and ruthless line. She does not know the king, and he has just made her husband Thane of Cawdor, yet she is already planning to kill him. This shows the she certainly lacks good nature. The second line I have chosen is, "and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty". She is asking the witches to fill her from head to toe with extreme cruelty. A normal, kind person does not want to become ruthless and cruel. This clearly shows that she is not a very nice person. The final line I have chosen is, "Yet I do fear thy nature; It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness," (which she says about Macbeth). She is upset with her husband for being to accepting of human kindness. This shows how heartless she is because she thinks human kindness is an unwanted emotional trait.
When I read this scene, my impression of lady Macbeth was a power hungry women with a ruthless ambition. One line I think really shows this is the line "Make thick my blood. Stop up th’ access and passage to remorse, that no compunctious visitings of nature shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between th’ effect and it." What I think this line shows is that lady Macbeth will not let anything in the way of putting the Macbeth on the throne and her becoming queen. Another line that I think shows her ruthlessness is the line "and you shall put this night's great business into my dispatch; which shall to all our nights and days to come give solely sovereign sway and masterdom." What I think this line is saying let me handle the king, which shows that she not only is encouraging Macbeth to get rid of the king but is also volunteering to help. The last line that I picked to show the ruthlessness of lady Macbeth is the line "That I may pour my spirits in thine ear; and chastise with the valour of my tongue All that impedes thee from the golden round, Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem To have thee crown'd withal." I think that this line says that she will punish anything that gets in the way of Macbeth becoming king which fate has given him.
Lady Macbeth possesses quite more ambition than Macbeth. She supports Macbeth in murdering King Duncan, but she fears that Macbeth will not be brave enough to actually do it. I would characterize her as someone who wants things done the way they want it to be done, somewhat teasing, and ruthless. In Act 1.5, she says, "Look like th' innocent flower, but be the serpent under 't." She explains to Macbeth that he should make his move and not be scared to. Another interesting line is also in Act 1.5 where she says, "Leave all the rest to me." Lady Macbeth is basically saying that she will help Macbeth do murder Duncan if he can't do it on his own. By reading Act 1.5, we probably already know that Lady Macbeth might be more ruthless and ambitious than Macbeth. Towards the middle of Act 1.5, from lines 45 to 50, Lady Macbeth shows her ruthlessness, by asking spirits with evil thoughts to fill her with "direst cruelty." She wants to express fear, suffering, and disaster. In conclusion, Lady Macbeth has so far shown a quite interesting personality, but there is more to come later in the play.
Lady Macbeth seems to be a power hungry women who pushes her husband to make him the best. As soon as she heard of Macbeth’s news, she wanted to take advantage and get Macbeth to do the things he was too afraid to do. The first passage I choose was Act 1 Scene 5 Lines 47-50 “Come, you spirits that tend on moral thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty.” Lady Macbeth is angry with Macbeth for not taking advantage of becoming king by killing Duncan. So, she decides to ask someone or “spirits” to make her man so that she can be brave enough or not looked down upon for her immoral thoughts. The second passage I choose was, Act 1 Scene 5 Lines 15-18 “Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be what thou are promised. Yet do I fear they nature; it is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way.” This is where Lady Macbeth is responding to the letter she received from Macbeth by saying, you are told that you will become these people. But you take no step to make them happen. You are too nice to be what the witches have told you that you will become. The third passage I choose was Act 1 Scene 5 Lines 76-77 “Look like th’ innocent flower, but be the serpent under ‘t.” Here Lady Macbeth talks to Macbeth once he has arrived back for Duncan’s visit. She tries to persuade Macbeth to continue to act innocent but that it is okay to think evil or immoral thoughts of what you might do to become king.
Lady Macbeth seems to be a very cunning and scheming character from what we see so far. The first line I chose was "Hie thee hither, that I may pour my spirits in thine ear and chastise with the valor of my tongue all that impedes thee from the golden round..." She is saying that she wants to get rid of any doubts Macbeth might have about killing off Duncan and Malcolm in order to get the "golden round": the crown. She wants him to go ahead and do it. The second line is "...fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood. Stop us the access and passage to remorse..." this line really reveals her true character. Not only does she appear to us as cruel, she wants to be so. She wants to "stop up" any feelings of remorse or compassion she might have! Lastly, she says, when talking to Macbeth about how to behave towards Duncan, "Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent underneath it." She is again encouraging him to be immoral to achieve the greater goal of becoming king. My impression of her is that she believes hat the end justifies the means and doesn't think twice about doing something bad if it is for her own good.
One of the lines that I found the most compelling of Lady Macbeth's lines was "Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness To catch the nearest way." This line fits with Shakespeare's pattern of morality and how moral standards seem to keep wavering. We, as a class, at the end of Act 1,scene 4 had begun to question Macbeth's morality and now, as we are meeting his wife and I, at least, begin to fear his wife much more than I do the valiant Macbeth; she finds him to full of human kindness, though we just read of him doubly redoubling attacks on the opposition. She seems to be almost the brains or the commander of their conspiracies. I also was particularly interested when she said, "Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here..."I thought that this line was intriguing because it shows the awareness of stereotypical gender roles and how this play has them "backwards." It also continues to depict Lady Macbeth's cruelty and immorality (or not, as we have yet to decide where the line of morality is.) This line also shows that she, much like Macbeth, is fully aware of the nature of her plots. The next line that I found to illustrate the character of Lady Macbeth best was when she said, "..you shall put this night's great business into my dispatch, Which shall to all our nights and days to come Give solely sovereign sway and masterdom." When superficially observing this line, you see that she uses shall in a commanding manner more than once. In this, it is apparent that she seems to control the situation, which to the audience could seem somewhat comedic because Macbeth is supposed to be the all powerful, courageous hero, but his wife is the one who strives for power even more prominently.
In the play, Lady Macbeth seems to be the immoral side of Macbeth with questionable motives. She is an ambitious, power hungry, and dark that seems more concerned with her wealth and power than anything else. The first strange line mentioned is in act 1, scene 5, and line 16. Talking about Macbeth she says, “Yet do I fear thy nature; it is too full o’ the milk of human kindness.” This line is of questionable intent because it basically says she is scared she wont is powerful because Macbeth is too kind and might not kill to be king. The second line that shows Lady Macbeth as a scary character is when she says on line 48 “unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty.” In class we discussed whether or not Macbeth was plotting, while Macbeth may not have been plotting, this line introduces the thought that Lady Macbeth may be the one who will do the plotting. The final questionable line mentioned by Lady Macbeth is the last line in act one scene five. Speaking to Macbeth she says, “To alter favor ever is to fear, leave all the rest to me.” This line pretty much means if you are not going to kill him I will. To me, overall, so far, I think Lady Macbeth is the immoral side of Macbeth.
"That which cries 'Thus thou must do,' if thy have it." Act 1 Scene 5, line 25. In my (extremely) limited knowledge of Shakespeare lingo, I'm pretty sure this means, "You must do this, if you want it." This is Lady Macbeth's way of saying that if you have a goal, such as being king, then there are certains things that need to be done to get there, ie, murder, deception, backstab, etc. "It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness." Act 1 Scene 5, line 17. In this line Lady Macbeth seems to be talking in a negative way about human kindness. They have too much kindness in them, as if it is a fault. Lady Macbeth must have similar principles as Machiavelli, kindness isn't that useful to a ruler. "Look like th' innocent flower, but the the serpent under 't" Act 1 Scene 5, line 76. In this line Lady Macbeth is telling Lord Macbeth to be deceiving and like a serpent, more immoral than moral in my opinion.
When reading act 1 scene 5, I noticed that LAdy Macbeth want power very badly. Much more so, than Macbeth. This leads to Lady Macbeth becoming almost the bad side of Macbeth. She knows that Macbeth will be slow to take matters into his own hands, so she plots to kill him. I especially thought that the last lines of the scene were very interesting when Lady Macbeth says, "Only look up clear. To alter favor is to fear. Leave all the rest to me" (Act 1, Scene 5, line 84-86). She was telling Macbeth that if he didn't try to kill Duncan, she would. It puts a real twist in the story and creates now a dramatic irony.
Lady Macbeth , to say the least, is a very refreshing character. She deviates from how a woman is usually portrayed in relation to her husband and deviates from how a woman's role in a plot line is usually portrayed in . She isn't submissive ,but deceptive , conniving, and meticulous.Once before Shakespeare alludes to the Bible when speaking of Golgotha. I don't know if Shakespeare meant to do this or this is just the part of me that was raised Christian speaking ,but she reminds me a lot of Eve from the biblical story Adam and Eve. She's tempting Macbeth to kill Duncan in order to gain status as King. 3 particularly concerning lines about her character.......
"It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness." The fact that she thinks someone that kills mercilessly is full o' th' milk of human kindness beyond me. This shows her moral code is a bit like Duncan's : being violent ,in certain situations (certain situations meaning when it's fulfilling that character's own agenda), is a code of honor.
"But without the illness to attend it." This is a line that shows into the good side of her character and bad side. She is saying that she knows that completing "it" is immoral which shows she has a good sense of right and wrong. The bad thing is that she is cognizant of the fact that she is going against her moral compass and doesn't show any apprehension or remorse.
"To alter favor is to fear" This line reminds me of the foul and fair line. Both lines come at the end of a scene and are cliff-hanger-ish. I feel like this is going to be a recurring theme like the foul and fair line as well. This line shows that Lady Macbeth's morality is very black and white. She sees putting aside your dreams and aspirations for someone else is a display of being subservient and fearful. By looking at this line and looking at how morality is defined in Macbeth's world (being brave , ruthless, etc.) it seems like being fearful of something or someone is the worst state to be in.
Lady Macbeth is surprisingly similar to her husband in this particular scene. She also craves power and prestige, and doesn't want to wait for fate to take action. In this particular passage, Lady Macbeth wants to be freed from her typical role of a woman and become a vicious and merciless character: "Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty! make thick my blood; stop up the access and passage to remorse..." (Shakespeare 41). She doesn't want morals to hinder her desire for power, so she begs for cruelty and rage to replace these thoughts. She also shows her desire to get rid of her kind nature: "yet do I fear thy nature; it is too full o' the milk of human kindness," (Shakespeare 17). Lady Macbeth also tries to convince Macbeth to gain Duncan's trust before killing him for power: "Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under't," (Shakespeare 67). Lady Macbeth want her husband to murder the king and steal his throne. However, she doesn't realize that, if Macbeth were to kill Duncan, Malcolm would take the throne. Based on her lack of information, Macbeth is most likely keeping his thoughts private, whereas Lady Macbeth is willing to express her desires to her husband.
I thought Lady Macbeth's character was interestingly portrayed in this section (Act 1, scene 5). One line that stuck out to me was, "Yet I do fear thy nature; It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness." Although I'm not entirely sure of the meaning of this line, it seems to suggest a worrying on the part of Lady Macbeth about her husband and his morality. Another line that struck me was "All that impedes thee from the golden round, Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem, To have crowned thee withal." Again, I'm not entirely sure of the meaning of this line, but it relates to the idea of "fate and metaphysical aid," which could suggest the witches previously mentioned in the play. A third striking line was, "O, never, Shall sun that tomorrow see!" Lady Macbeth almost seems to be able to predict the future in this line or seems to be plotting some sort of a plan to affect Duncan. I look forward to seeing how Lady Macbeth's character develops as the play progresses.
I think that there are many lines which show the ruthless and devious mindset of Lady Macbeth. Three lines in particular caught my attention as defining her identity. "Hie thee hither, That I may pour my spirits in thine ear And chastise with the valor of my tongue All that impedes thee from the golden round…" In these lines, Lady Macbeth is speaking of Macbeth, and telling him to hurry home so that she can persuade him into doing whatever needs to be done to become king. "Come you spirits That tend on moral thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood. Stop up the access and passage to remorse…" Here, Lady Macbeth is calling for supernatural spirits to "make her more like a man", and to thicken her blood and clot her veins so she doesn't feel remorse for what she is preparing to do. Finally, when Lady Macbeth is speaking to Macbeth, she says, "Look like th' innocent flower, But be the serpent under 't." Here, she is instructing her husband to seem innocent to King Duncan, but act like a snake. These lines reflect that Lady Macbeth is willing to manipulate people to get what she wants. They also show that she is very deceiving and will do whatever it takes to get what she wants.
All three of the lines I chose are there to illustrate what are essentially all the same things. "Come you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here", "Stop up th' access and passage to remorse", and "That my keen knife see not the wound it makes." The character of Lady Macbeth is not one lacking in morality but rather, hiding from it. She understands quite well the difference between right and wrong, but what truly makes her evil is that she chooses to ignore it, chooses to be numb to her conscience. And while not many people would have the guts to plan a murder, she's more cowardly than any of those who would not be able to. If you're going to do something wrong, the only way to go about it is with the knowledge and acceptance that it is in fact wrong; to deny so is even more dishonorable. She does have some admirable qualities, in a sick, twisted, way, especially considering the ambitions she, (a woman!), had in such a time period, but in the end, Lady Macbeth is straight up evil.
I think Macbeth is thinking of killing the king with the influence of Lady Macbeth but is still is hesitant to do so. This is shown in Act 1 Scene 7 line 16 through 18, "this Duncan hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been so clear in his great office.. will plead like angels." This line shows that Macbeth is quite not convinced to kill the king, and as one of his excuses, or reasons he says that he is good at his office. Another line is on the Act 1 Scene 7 line 36, "Golden opinions from all sorts of people, which would not be worn now... Not cast aside so soon." I think this line means that Macbeth is not ready yet and that he doesn't have to kill him so soon. "We will proceed no further in the business." This line points out that he doesn't what to do anything more to do in the future. In some scenes he is moral and in other immoral but I defiantly think that there is both in him.
The first line I chose was after Lady Macbeth finished reading the letter she said, "Yet I do fear thy nature; It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way." This line makes me think that she doesn't think people in general are that forthcoming and kind. That could be the reason why she is skeptical of how much truth there was in what the "Weird Sisters" said. The second line I chose was, "Come, thick night, and pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell, that my knife see not the wound it makes, nor the heaven peep through the blanket of the dark to cry 'Hold, hold!'. I think Lady Macbeth does things that are probably not moral and she tries not to think about the unmoral acts while doing it, then later tries to cover it up or hide it (from herself and others). The last line I chose was "He that's coming must be provided for; and you shall put this night's great business into my dispatch." She seems strategic, bold and very confident with herself to be able to take on certain tasks.
ReplyDeleteLady Macbeth gives the impression of a ruthless women and her language reflects this. One line I particularly enjoyed was when she said, “Make thick my blood. Stop up th’ access and passage to remorse, that no compunctious visitings of nature shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between th’ effect and it” (p. 33 line 50). The pure words in this section, such as remorse and compunctious, have an intriguing sound and are grouped beautifully. It also demonstrated Lady Macbeth’s will to succeed and it becomes clear that she won’t let anything come in her way. The use of the words, “Make thick my blood,” incorporate terms of the battlefield into her own personal battles of will. “Make thick my blood,” makes her intentions of accomplishing her task and her toughness very clear. Another one of my favorite lines was, “Look like th’ innocent flower, but be the serpent under ‘t” (p. 35 line 76). The way Lady Macbeth used the images of a flower and a serpent well represented her thoughts. The images gave me a clear vision in my head of a smooth, hidden serpent, illustrating her idea of appearing to love Duncan on the surface, but scheming underneath. I also quite enjoyed the line, “Come, thick night, and pall thee in the dunnest of smoke of hell, that my keen knife see not the wound it makes, nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark to cry ‘hold, hold!’” (p. 35 line 57). I liked this line because it showed, yet again, Lady Macbeth’s ideas to conceal their thoughts and actions. Her reference to the dark coming also shows how the action itself is dark and evil, and that their evil actions are better done under the blanket of darkness.
ReplyDeleteLady Macbeth seems like a shrill, power hungry white woman. One line that stuck out to me was when she said, "And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood." (Pg 33 L. 45) I picked this passage because this is showing Lady Macbeth's shrill side, when Macbeth isn't with her. When she says "And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full," represents her wanting power. And when she says "Make thick my blood," can mean something to do with battle or her being noble blood. Later when Macbeth arrives she starts to act nicer, "Your face, my thane, is a book where men May read strange matters. To beguile the time, Look like the time." (Pg. 35 L. 70) This shows Lady Macbeth being nice to Macbeth, trying to charm him. Praising him. "He brings great news. The raven himself is hoarse That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan." (Pg. 33 L. 45) This is foreshadowing, first the raven usually represents death and when the raven croaked the fatal entrance of Duncan. She wants Duncan dead so she can have more power to herself.
ReplyDeleteLady MacBeth is a fascinating character, portrayed in a way that is very different from that of many women from her time. She is a huge supporter of her husband, MacBeth, and even in the last few lines seems to intimidate him. However, it is clear that in her very progressive role, she is out of place. In Act 1. Sc. 5, on the 48th line, Lady MacBeth calls upon the spirits, and orders them to "unsex me here, and fill me from crown to tow top-full of direst cruelty." In this line, Lady MacBeth is not only asking to be made more cold-hearted and pitiless, but she is also asking to be made a man. In her mind there is a direct correlation between the two, which is only enforced by the violence of men around her. However misguided, her masculine demeanor does have a very strong effect on her husband, and she begins instantly giving him orders, such as those on line 85, when she orders him to "Look up clear. To alter favor is to fear. Leave all the rest to me." By assuming the role of leader, Lady MacBeth earns the upper hand role in her marriage. Assuming this is based on a modernized and conventionalized view of morality, Lady MacBeth, throughout the scene, takes on a very immoral persona, however, unlike her husband, she both understands and admits that what she is doing is immoral, like when on line 75, she says, "Bear welcome in your eye, your hand, your tounge. Look like th' innocent flower, but be the serpent under 't." In her defense, despite her merciless demeanor, amongst all the wrong doings, her honesty is a refreshing and moral trait.
ReplyDeleteLady Macbeth seems callous and driven. This was made obvious with one of the first lines she says after reading Macbeth's letter: "I do fear thy nature. It is too full of...human kindness to catch the nearest way." She then goes on to explain that Macbeth will have to wait for Duncan to fall ill before he becomes king, which is obviously too slow for Lady Macbeth. She is definitely someone who is driven, and knows what she wants. She explained, "the letters have transported me beyond this ignorant present, and I feel now the future in an instant", which I interpreted to mean that now that it has been predicted Macbeth will be king, she is set on it happening. She plans to kill Duncan herself so it will happen, saying "O never shall sun that morrow see", meaning Duncan will not see tomorrow when he stays with Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. She has taken it upon herself to kill King Duncan to achieve her dream of Macbeth becoming king.
ReplyDeleteLady Macbeth seems very ambitious and power-hungry, and she really embodies the dark side of Macbeth that is becoming more present at this point of the play. She shares these traits with Macbeth, but doesn't seem to have the loyalty that he had initially. Up to this point in the play, she represents the side of Macbeth that would do anything he can to overthrow Duncan and take the throne. Some quotes of hers that stood out to me were "The raven himself is hoarse That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan Under my battlements. Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts." This shows her thoughts of killing Duncan. She doesn't seem to be going through any struggle as to whether or not to attempt to overthrow the king. Another is "O, never Shall sun that morrow see!" From my interpretation, she is saying that Duncan will never see the sun again. She says this after Macbeth tells her that Duncan is staying overnight, and she is straight-up proposing that they kill him in his sleep. My last one is "He that's coming Must be provided for: and you shall put This night's great business into my dispatch;" Firstly, she wants to kill Duncan herself, which shows how bloodthirsty. Also, she refers to it as "business." She isn'y hesitant at all towards killing her king for personal power.
ReplyDeleteAct 1 Scene 5 Lines 15-17 "Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be what thou art promised. Yet do I fear thy nature. It is too full o' the' milk of human kindness." I have chosen this quote because it shows how Lady Macbeth thinks of her husband. She thinks he is too nice and is worried he will not seize the chance to become king. I believe she is a bit power hungry and doesn't trust Macbeth to bring her that power. Act 1 Scene 5 Lines 64-66 " Thy letters have transported me beyond this ignorant present, and I fell now the future in the instant." I chose this passage because it shows how Lady Macbeth feels about the process of Macbeth becoming king. It appears that she is impatient to possess the power Macbeth has shown that he may have and that she has no qualms about what must be done. Her choice of words "this ignorant present" convey that she believes that no one suspects her and that both of them do not fully realize the power they will gain. Ignorant referring to the knowledge held by the people at the time, both the Macbeth's and the other characters.
ReplyDeleteAct 1 Scene 5 Lines 73-77 "Your face, my thane, is a book where men may read strange matters. To beguile the time, look like the time. Bear welcome in your eye, your hand, your tongue, look like th' innocent flower." I chose this passage because it shows how Lady Macbeth feels about Macbeth's capabilities. Lady Macbeth feels pretty confident. She seems to say, that if she can encourage Macbeth to go along, he will perfectly deceive everyone. Ultimately leading to him being king.
Lady Macbeth clearly is ambitious for power and thirsts for it. One line that stuck out to me was "Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here." I thought this meant she needed to be changed from a woman to a man in which she would be able to preform actions that as a woman she would not be able to do. Also she is willing to take advantages of weaknesses unlike Macbeth as well as she is nowhere near as loyal to Duncan as Macbeth. When she says "The raven himself is hoarse that croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan under my battlements" I feel she is exploiting Duncan's weaknesses and plotting in her mind that this is the time of action to allow her husband to become King. Lady Macbeth has a very strong personality and she is taking command of the plotting. In this line "He that's coming must be provided for: and you shall put this night's great business into my dispatch" I think she is explaining to Macbeth that the time for him to make his move on the crown is now. Before she said that he looks innocent on the outside but a serpent lives underneath and that it is time to strike.
ReplyDelete“Make thick my blood. Stop up th’ access and passage to remorse, that no compunctious visitings of nature shake my feel purpose, nor keep peace between th’ effect and it.” In this line, it is clear that Lady Macbeth wants the king to be murdered, yet she wants to completely rid herself of compassion and remorse so she can fully move ahead without her emotions getting in the way. This line shows how readily and how eagerly Lady Macbeth wants to agree to and accept the murdering of Duncan, which shows her immorality, as we discussed in class. This line also makes her seem cold-hearted because of her desire to be cold-hearted and emotionless.
ReplyDelete“Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under ‘t.” This line shows how cunning, deceitful, and apathetic her true character is. By apathetic, I mean that she only cares about herself, and the advancements of herself by way of Macbeth, and how disinterested she is in matters that might describe as “below her.”
“Leave all the rest to me.” Though this line is short and seemingly meaningless, it shows how greedy she is, like Macbeth, to gain power. Before she was just acceptive and encouraging of the murder, and but now she has a desire to control it and mold the murder in order to bring the best to their lives without facing blame. She seems smarter than Macbeth in this page because of how thought out her plans are and how, when he is listening to her, is sort of blindly following the idea that he should kill the king.
The first line I have chosen is, "That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan". This strikes me as a very violent and ruthless line. She does not know the king, and he has just made her husband Thane of Cawdor, yet she is already planning to kill him. This shows the she certainly lacks good nature. The second line I have chosen is, "and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty". She is asking the witches to fill her from head to toe with extreme cruelty. A normal, kind person does not want to become ruthless and cruel. This clearly shows that she is not a very nice person. The final line I have chosen is, "Yet I do fear thy nature; It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness," (which she says about Macbeth). She is upset with her husband for being to accepting of human kindness. This shows how heartless she is because she thinks human kindness is an unwanted emotional trait.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read this scene, my impression of lady Macbeth was a power hungry women with a ruthless ambition. One line I think really shows this is the line "Make thick my blood. Stop up th’ access and passage to remorse, that no compunctious visitings of nature shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between th’ effect and it." What I think this line shows is that lady Macbeth will not let anything in the way of putting the Macbeth on the throne and her becoming queen. Another line that I think shows her ruthlessness is the line "and you shall put this night's great business into my dispatch; which shall to all our nights and days to come give solely sovereign sway and masterdom." What I think this line is saying let me handle the king, which shows that she not only is encouraging Macbeth to get rid of the king but is also volunteering to help. The last line that I picked to show the ruthlessness of lady Macbeth is the line "That I may pour my spirits in thine ear; and chastise with the valour of my tongue All that impedes thee from the golden round, Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem To have thee crown'd withal." I think that this line says that she will punish anything that gets in the way of Macbeth becoming king which fate has given him.
ReplyDeleteLady Macbeth possesses quite more ambition than Macbeth. She supports Macbeth in murdering King Duncan, but she fears that Macbeth will not be brave enough to actually do it. I would characterize her as someone who wants things done the way they want it to be done, somewhat teasing, and ruthless. In Act 1.5, she says, "Look like th' innocent flower, but be the serpent under 't." She explains to Macbeth that he should make his move and not be scared to. Another interesting line is also in Act 1.5 where she says, "Leave all the rest to me." Lady Macbeth is basically saying that she will help Macbeth do murder Duncan if he can't do it on his own. By reading Act 1.5, we probably already know that Lady Macbeth might be more ruthless and ambitious than Macbeth. Towards the middle of Act 1.5, from lines 45 to 50, Lady Macbeth shows her ruthlessness, by asking spirits with evil thoughts to fill her with "direst cruelty." She wants to express fear, suffering, and disaster. In conclusion, Lady Macbeth has so far shown a quite interesting personality, but there is more to come later in the play.
ReplyDeleteLady Macbeth seems to be a power hungry women who pushes her husband to make him the best. As soon as she heard of Macbeth’s news, she wanted to take advantage and get Macbeth to do the things he was too afraid to do. The first passage I choose was Act 1 Scene 5 Lines 47-50 “Come, you spirits that tend on moral thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty.” Lady Macbeth is angry with Macbeth for not taking advantage of becoming king by killing Duncan. So, she decides to ask someone or “spirits” to make her man so that she can be brave enough or not looked down upon for her immoral thoughts. The second passage I choose was, Act 1 Scene 5 Lines 15-18 “Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be what thou are promised. Yet do I fear they nature; it is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way.” This is where Lady Macbeth is responding to the letter she received from Macbeth by saying, you are told that you will become these people. But you take no step to make them happen. You are too nice to be what the witches have told you that you will become. The third passage I choose was Act 1 Scene 5 Lines 76-77 “Look like th’ innocent flower, but be the serpent under ‘t.” Here Lady Macbeth talks to Macbeth once he has arrived back for Duncan’s visit. She tries to persuade Macbeth to continue to act innocent but that it is okay to think evil or immoral thoughts of what you might do to become king.
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ReplyDeleteLady Macbeth seems to be a very cunning and scheming character from what we see
so far. The first line I chose was "Hie thee hither, that I may pour my spirits in thine ear
and chastise with the valor of my tongue all that impedes thee from the golden round..."
She is saying that she wants to get rid of any doubts Macbeth might have about killing
off Duncan and Malcolm in order to get the "golden round": the crown. She wants him to
go ahead and do it. The second line is "...fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of
direst cruelty. Make thick my blood. Stop us the access and passage to remorse..." this
line really reveals her true character. Not only does she appear to us as cruel, she
wants to be so. She wants to "stop up" any feelings of remorse or compassion she
might have! Lastly, she says, when talking to Macbeth about how to behave towards
Duncan, "Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent underneath it." She is again
encouraging him to be immoral to achieve the greater goal of becoming king. My
impression of her is that she believes hat the end justifies the means and doesn't think
twice about doing something bad if it is for her own good.
One of the lines that I found the most compelling of Lady Macbeth's lines was "Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness To catch the nearest way." This line fits with Shakespeare's pattern of morality and how moral standards seem to keep wavering. We, as a class, at the end of Act 1,scene 4 had begun to question Macbeth's morality and now, as we are meeting his wife and I, at least, begin to fear his wife much more than I do the valiant Macbeth; she finds him to full of human kindness, though we just read of him doubly redoubling attacks on the opposition. She seems to be almost the brains or the commander of their conspiracies. I also was particularly interested when she said, "Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here..."I thought that this line was intriguing because it shows the awareness of stereotypical gender roles and how this play has them "backwards." It also continues to depict Lady Macbeth's cruelty and immorality (or not, as we have yet to decide where the line of morality is.) This line also shows that she, much like Macbeth, is fully aware of the nature of her plots. The next line that I found to illustrate the character of Lady Macbeth best was when she said, "..you shall put this night's great business into my dispatch, Which shall to all our nights and days to come Give solely sovereign sway and masterdom." When superficially observing this line, you see that she uses shall in a commanding manner more than once. In this, it is apparent that she seems to control the situation, which to the audience could seem somewhat comedic because Macbeth is supposed to be the all powerful, courageous hero, but his wife is the one who strives for power even more prominently.
ReplyDeleteIn the play, Lady Macbeth seems to be the immoral side of Macbeth with questionable motives. She is an ambitious, power hungry, and dark that seems more concerned with her wealth and power than anything else. The first strange line mentioned is in act 1, scene 5, and line 16. Talking about Macbeth she says, “Yet do I fear thy nature; it is too full o’ the milk of human kindness.” This line is of questionable intent because it basically says she is scared she wont is powerful because Macbeth is too kind and might not kill to be king. The second line that shows Lady Macbeth as a scary character is when she says on line 48 “unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty.” In class we discussed whether or not Macbeth was plotting, while Macbeth may not have been plotting, this line introduces the thought that Lady Macbeth may be the one who will do the plotting. The final questionable line mentioned by Lady Macbeth is the last line in act one scene five. Speaking to Macbeth she says, “To alter favor ever is to fear, leave all the rest to me.” This line pretty much means if you are not going to kill him I will. To me, overall, so far, I think Lady Macbeth is the immoral side of Macbeth.
ReplyDelete"That which cries 'Thus thou must do,' if thy have it." Act 1 Scene 5, line 25. In my (extremely) limited knowledge of Shakespeare lingo, I'm pretty sure this means, "You must do this, if you want it." This is Lady Macbeth's way of saying that if you have a goal, such as being king, then there are certains things that need to be done to get there, ie, murder, deception, backstab, etc. "It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness." Act 1 Scene 5, line 17. In this line Lady Macbeth seems to be talking in a negative way about human kindness. They have too much kindness in them, as if it is a fault. Lady Macbeth must have similar principles as Machiavelli, kindness isn't that useful to a ruler. "Look like th' innocent flower, but the the serpent under 't" Act 1 Scene 5, line 76. In this line Lady Macbeth is telling Lord Macbeth to be deceiving and like a serpent, more immoral than moral in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteWhen reading act 1 scene 5, I noticed that LAdy Macbeth want power very badly. Much more so, than Macbeth. This leads to Lady Macbeth becoming almost the bad side of Macbeth. She knows that Macbeth will be slow to take matters into his own hands, so she plots to kill him. I especially thought that the last lines of the scene were very interesting when Lady Macbeth says, "Only look up clear. To alter favor is to fear. Leave all the rest to me" (Act 1, Scene 5, line 84-86). She was telling Macbeth that if he didn't try to kill Duncan, she would. It puts a real twist in the story and creates now a dramatic irony.
ReplyDeleteLady Macbeth , to say the least, is a very refreshing character. She deviates from how a woman is usually portrayed in relation to her husband and deviates from how a woman's role in a plot line is usually portrayed in . She isn't submissive ,but deceptive , conniving, and meticulous.Once before Shakespeare alludes to the Bible when speaking of Golgotha. I don't know if Shakespeare meant to do this or this is just the part of me that was raised Christian speaking ,but she reminds me a lot of Eve from the biblical story Adam and Eve. She's tempting Macbeth to kill Duncan in order to gain status as King.
ReplyDelete3 particularly concerning lines about her character.......
"It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness."
The fact that she thinks someone that kills mercilessly is full o' th' milk of human kindness beyond me. This shows her moral code is a bit like Duncan's : being violent ,in certain situations (certain situations meaning when it's fulfilling that character's own agenda), is a code of honor.
"But without the illness to attend it."
This is a line that shows into the good side of her character and bad side. She is saying that she knows that completing "it" is immoral which shows she has a good sense of right and wrong. The bad thing is that she is cognizant of the fact that she is going against her moral compass and doesn't show any apprehension or remorse.
"To alter favor is to fear"
This line reminds me of the foul and fair line. Both lines come at the end of a scene and are cliff-hanger-ish. I feel like this is going to be a recurring theme like the foul and fair line as well. This line shows that Lady Macbeth's morality is very black and white. She sees putting aside your dreams and aspirations for someone else is a display of being subservient and fearful. By looking at this line and looking at how morality is defined in Macbeth's world (being brave , ruthless, etc.) it seems like being fearful of something or someone is the worst state to be in.
Lady Macbeth is surprisingly similar to her husband in this particular scene. She also craves power and prestige, and doesn't want to wait for fate to take action. In this particular passage, Lady Macbeth wants to be freed from her typical role of a woman and become a vicious and merciless character: "Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty! make thick my blood; stop up the access and passage to remorse..." (Shakespeare 41). She doesn't want morals to hinder her desire for power, so she begs for cruelty and rage to replace these thoughts. She also shows her desire to get rid of her kind nature: "yet do I fear thy nature; it is too full o' the milk of human kindness," (Shakespeare 17). Lady Macbeth also tries to convince Macbeth to gain Duncan's trust before killing him for power: "Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under't," (Shakespeare 67). Lady Macbeth want her husband to murder the king and steal his throne. However, she doesn't realize that, if Macbeth were to kill Duncan, Malcolm would take the throne. Based on her lack of information, Macbeth is most likely keeping his thoughts private, whereas Lady Macbeth is willing to express her desires to her husband.
ReplyDeleteI thought Lady Macbeth's character was interestingly portrayed in this section (Act 1, scene 5). One line that stuck out to me was, "Yet I do fear thy nature; It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness." Although I'm not entirely sure of the meaning of this line, it seems to suggest a worrying on the part of Lady Macbeth about her husband and his morality. Another line that struck me was "All that impedes thee from the golden round, Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem, To have crowned thee withal." Again, I'm not entirely sure of the meaning of this line, but it relates to the idea of "fate and metaphysical aid," which could suggest the witches previously mentioned in the play. A third striking line was, "O, never, Shall sun that tomorrow see!" Lady Macbeth almost seems to be able to predict the future in this line or seems to be plotting some sort of a plan to affect Duncan. I look forward to seeing how Lady Macbeth's character develops as the play progresses.
ReplyDeleteI think that there are many lines which show the ruthless and devious mindset of Lady Macbeth. Three lines in particular caught my attention as defining her identity. "Hie thee hither, That I may pour my spirits in thine ear And chastise with the valor of my tongue All that impedes thee from the golden round…" In these lines, Lady Macbeth is speaking of Macbeth, and telling him to hurry home so that she can persuade him into doing whatever needs to be done to become king. "Come you spirits That tend on moral thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood. Stop up the access and passage to remorse…" Here, Lady Macbeth is calling for supernatural spirits to "make her more like a man", and to thicken her blood and clot her veins so she doesn't feel remorse for what she is preparing to do. Finally, when Lady Macbeth is speaking to Macbeth, she says, "Look like th' innocent flower, But be the serpent under 't." Here, she is instructing her husband to seem innocent to King Duncan, but act like a snake. These lines reflect that Lady Macbeth is willing to manipulate people to get what she wants. They also show that she is very deceiving and will do whatever it takes to get what she wants.
ReplyDeleteAll three of the lines I chose are there to illustrate what are essentially all the same things. "Come you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here", "Stop up th' access and passage to remorse", and "That my keen knife see not the wound it makes." The character of Lady Macbeth is not one lacking in morality but rather, hiding from it. She understands quite well the difference between right and wrong, but what truly makes her evil is that she chooses to ignore it, chooses to be numb to her conscience. And while not many people would have the guts to plan a murder, she's more cowardly than any of those who would not be able to. If you're going to do something wrong, the only way to go about it is with the knowledge and acceptance that it is in fact wrong; to deny so is even more dishonorable. She does have some admirable qualities, in a sick, twisted, way, especially considering the ambitions she, (a woman!), had in such a time period, but in the end, Lady Macbeth is straight up evil.
ReplyDeleteI think Macbeth is thinking of killing the king with the influence of Lady Macbeth but is still is hesitant to do so. This is shown in Act 1 Scene 7 line 16 through 18, "this Duncan hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been so clear in his great office.. will plead like angels." This line shows that Macbeth is quite not convinced to kill the king, and as one of his excuses, or reasons he says that he is good at his office. Another line is on the Act 1 Scene 7 line 36, "Golden opinions from all sorts of people, which would not be worn now... Not cast aside so soon." I think this line means that Macbeth is not ready yet and that he doesn't have to kill him so soon. "We will proceed no further in the business." This line points out that he doesn't what to do anything more to do in the future. In some scenes he is moral and in other immoral but I defiantly think that there is both in him.
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