“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!”
- Lady Macbeth calls upon supernatural forces to strip her of her womanhood (“unsex me”) and fill her with the utmost cruelty.
- This reflects the patriarchal societal views that women are not strong enough for such a violent deed, and she wishes to become more masculine to achieve her goal of murder and power
- She wants to get rid of her femininity and replace it with inhumanity
- Lady Macbeth delivers a soliloquy alone on stage, a type of scene usually used for a man. This indicates her rejection of stereotypical gender norms and her power and command.
- Her use of imperative language as she commands the spirits demonstrates how she is embracing supernatural, evil forces.
- Her use of the regal word “crown” demonstrates her ambition to be queen
“Make thick my blood, stop up th’ access and passage to remorse”
“Remorse” - unwittingly reveals her biggest weakness, foreshadows her demise due to her guilt conscious
“Come to my women’s breast and take my milk for gall”
. She is turning her back on maternity
. “Take” - Imperative suggests she is demanding
. Alternatively she could be pleading the witches which may seem out of character for her
“Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it”
This quote epitomizes the theme of appearance versus reality, a central element in the play. Lady Macbeth advises Macbeth to hide his malicious intentions behind a façade of innocence, using the fragile image of a flower to conceal a dangerous, deceptive truth.
“Had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done’t
Despite her prior assertiveness, this quote reveals a hidden weakness. Her inability to kill Duncan is due to her personal ties to her own father, showing that she is not entirely free from feminine constraints or the remorse she claims to reject
“look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under it”
The deceptive simile “Look like the innocent flower” is instructing Macbeth to appear innocent, harmless, and gentle, like a flower. Lady Macbeth wants him to put on a show of harmlessness to hide his true intentions.
The metaphor “But be the serpent under’t”: directly contrast with the flower. It uses the serpent to symbolize danger, evil, and deception.
- This imagery has a biblical allusion to the serpent in the Garden of Eden, which tempted Eve, linking the act of deception to original sin.
- Lady Macbeth uses this contrasting imagery to give a clear, two-part instruction: hide your true, evil intentions behind a façade of innocence. She wants Macbeth to be cunning and deceptive, able to betray others while they believe him to be trustworthy.
Themes: The quote highlights key themes in the play, including the deception and deception, ambition, and the complex relationship dynamics between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.
- Appearance vs reality
- Indicates Lady Macbeth’s devilish and inhuman nature.
