Lady Macbeth Questions Macbeths Manhood
Summary: Act 1, scene 5
. . . 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.
See Important Quotations Explained
Macbeth lacks strength of character, which his wife possesses. When Macbeth is hesitant to kill King Duncan, she persistently questions his manhood and makes him eager to prove his bravery. After killing the king, Lady Macbeth’s strength deteriorates. She is psychologically affected by the inhumane acts she pushed Macbeth into. Monday, November 17, 2014 Act 4 Psychology Of Macbeth Act 1 Act 2 and 3 Quotes Quote 3: Macbeth shows that his tragic flaw is lack of manhood when he says ' I will go no more: I am afraid to think what I have done; Look on 't again I dare not.' (2.2.52-53) In this quote Macbeth. Nov 10, 2008 (Lady Macbeth 1.7) 'Wouldst thou have that Which thou esteem'st the ornament of life, And live a coward in thine own esteem, Letting “I dare not” wait upon “I would, ” Like the poor cat i' th'. By referring to Lady Macbeth's actions, thoughts and words and the things that are said about her, develop a character sketch of her. One of the themes of Macbeth is that our actions have certain consequences, and that some of these consequences can be terrible and unexpected. Discuss this statement with reference to both Macbeth and Lady. What arguments does Lady Macbeth use to convince Macbeth to commit the murder? She questions Macbeth's manhood: man or mouse? And there is no way they can fail. What is Lady Macbeth's plan? Drug the guards, kill Duncan, and frame the guards by using.
In Inverness, Macbeth’s castle, Lady Macbeth reads toherself a letter she has received from Macbeth. The letter announcesMacbeth’s promotion to the thaneship of Cawdor and details his meetingwith the witches. Lady Macbeth murmurs that she knows Macbeth is ambitious,but fears he is too full of “th’ milk of human kindness” to takethe steps necessary to make himself king (1.5.15).She resolves to convince her husband to do whatever is requiredto seize the crown. A messenger enters and informs LadyMacbeth that the king rides toward the castle, and that Macbethis on his way as well. As she awaits her husband’s arrival, shedelivers a famous speech in which she begs, “you spirits / Thattend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, / And fill me from the crownto the toe top-full / Of direst cruelty” (1.5.38–41).She resolves to put her natural femininity aside so that she cando the bloody deeds necessary to seize the crown. Macbeth enters,and he and his wife discuss the king’s forthcoming visit. Macbethtells his wife that Duncan plans to depart the next day, but LadyMacbeth declares that the king will never see tomorrow. She tellsher husband to have patience and to leave the plan to her.
Read a translation of Act 1, scene 5 →Summary: Act 1, scene 6
Duncan, the Scottish lords, and their attendants arriveoutside Macbeth’s castle. Duncan praises the castle’s pleasant environment,and he thanks Lady Macbeth, who has emerged to greet him, for her hospitality.She replies that it is her duty to be hospitable since she and herhusband owe so much to their king. Duncan then asks to be takeninside to Macbeth, whom he professes to love dearly. olympus vr-310 driver download
Read a translation of Act 1, scene 6 →Summary: Act 1, scene 7
If it were done when ’tis done, then’twere well
It were done quickly . . .
. . .
. . . He’s here in double trust:
First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,
Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,
Who should against his murderer shut the door,
Not bear the knife myself.
See Important Quotations Explained
Inside the castle, as oboes play and servantsset a table for the evening’s feast, Macbeth paces by himself, ponderinghis idea of assassinating Duncan. He says that the deed would beeasy if he could be certain that it would not set in motion a seriesof terrible consequences. He declares his willingness to risk eternaldamnation but realizes that even on earth, bloody actions “return/ To plague th’inventor” (1.7.9–10).He then considers the reasons why he ought not to kill Duncan: Macbethis Duncan’s kinsman, subject, and host; moreover, the king is universallyadmired as a virtuous ruler. Macbeth notes that these circumstancesoffer him nothing that he can use to motivate himself. He facesthe fact that there is no reason to kill the king other than hisown ambition, which he realizes is an unreliable guide.
Lady Macbeth enters and tells her husband that the kinghas dined and that he has been asking for Macbeth. Macbeth declares thathe no longer intends to kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth, outraged, callshim a coward and questions his manhood: “When you durst do it,”she says, “then you were a man” (1.7.49).He asks her what will happen if they fail; she promises that aslong as they are bold, they will be successful. Then she tells himher plan: while Duncan sleeps, she will give his chamberlains wineto make them drunk, and then she and Macbeth can slip in and murderDuncan. They will smear the blood of Duncan on the sleeping chamberlainsto cast the guilt upon them. Astonished at the brilliance and daringof her plan, Macbeth tells his wife that her “undaunted mettle”makes him hope that she will only give birth to male children (1.7.73).He then agrees to proceed with the murder.
Read a translation of Act 1, scene 7 →Analysis: Act 1, scenes 5–7
These scenes are dominated by Lady Macbeth,who is probably the most memorable character in the play. Her violent,blistering soliloquies in Act 1, scenes 5 and 7, testify to herstrength of will, which completely eclipses that of her husband.She is well aware of the discrepancy between their respective resolvesand understands that she will have to manipulate her husband intoacting on the witches’ prophecy. Her soliloquy in Act 1, scene 5,begins the play’s exploration of gender roles, particularly of thevalue and nature of masculinity. In the soliloquy, she spurns herfeminine characteristics, crying out “unsex me here” and wishing thatthe milk in her breasts would be exchanged for “gall” so that shecould murder Duncan herself. These remarks manifest Lady Macbeth’sbelief that manhood is defined by murder. When, in Act 1, scene 7,her husband is hesitant to murder Duncan, she goads him byquestioning his manhood and by implicitly comparing his willingnessto carry through on his intention of killing Duncan with his abilityto carry out a sexual act (1.7.38–41). Throughoutthe play, whenever Macbeth shows signs of faltering, Lady Macbethimplies that he is less than a man.
Macbeth exclaims that Lady Macbeth should “[b]ring forth men-childrenonly” because she is so bold and courageous (1.7.72). SinceMacbeth succumbs to Lady Macbeth’s wishes immediately followingthis remark, it seems that he is complimenting her and affirmingher belief that courage and brilliance are masculine traits. Butthe comment also suggests that Macbeth is thinking about his legacy.He sees Lady Macbeth’s boldness and masculinity as heroic and warriorlike,while Lady Macbeth invokes her supposed masculine “virtues” fordark, cruel purposes. Unlike Macbeth, she seems solely concernedwith immediate power.
MACBETH |
A Comparison of Macbeth's and Lady Macbeth's ideologies of what a man should be.
Word count: 912, . . By Peter.
Each character in Macbeth is presented with an individual ethical framework, a major part of which is his or her opinions on what is to be valued in a man. Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth with strong convictions of what constitutes manly qualities, while her husband lacks moral confidence. Initially Macbeth possesses his own ideals but near the conclusion of Act 1, discards his morality to adopt the more resolute values of his wife.
In response to Lady Macbeth's accusations that since Macbeth no longer wishes to proceed with their plan to murder Duncan, he is a coward, Macbeth states,
| 'Prithee, peace. I dare do all that may become a man; Who does more is none.' (Act 1, Scene 7; Lines 45-47) |
This clearly shows that he believes a man to be one who does only what a man is meant to do. Anyone who does more than is manly is not a man. Macbeth regards killing the king as going beyond what a man should do, and were he to commit the crime, he would no longer be a man. His wife, however, sees killing the king as increasing Macbeth's manhood rather than nullifying it.
| 'When you durst do it, then you were a man; And to be more than what you were, you would Be so much more the man.' (Act 1, Scene 7; Lines 49-51) |
To this, Macbeth has no response, and so, Lady Macbeth continues to express her disappointment that he is not absolutely fixed in purpose and, therefore, not manly. She states this in Lines 35-43 and most graphically in the following passage.
| 'I have given suck, and know How tender'tis to love the babe that milks me- I would, while it was smiling in my face, Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn As you have done to this.'(Act 1, Scene 7; Lines 54-59) |
Lady Macbeth believes that Macbeth is required to complete the scheme that he has started. Disc library mac. To give this point great impact, she claims, that had she sworn that she would kill her baby in a most gruesome manner, she would. Likewise, she necessitates that Macbeth keeps his word. This value of being true to one's word has been upheld as a manly value throughout western culture, and was very strongly adhered to by the Anglo-Saxons and Vikings. (2001, class notes, Ms Crawford)
| 'Was the hope drunk Wherein you dressed yourself? Hath it slept since? And wakes it now to look so green and pale At what it did so freely? From this time Such I account thy love.' (Act 1, Scene 7; Lines 35-38) . . And 'What beast was't then That made you break this enterprise to me?'(Act 1, Scene 7; Lines 47-48) |
Macbeth Questions And Answers
She draws an analogy between his love for her and his changing attitude towards the murder of King Duncan, and questions his manhood regarding his indecision to kill Duncan. If Macbeth's desire to be king was mere intoxication, she is not to know whether or not his love for her is a passing infatuation, which should not be taken seriously. In order to keep his wife's love for him and prove his manliness, in accord with her values, Macbeth decides to continue with his speculative plan to get the crown. He proves that he was not drunk in his desire to obtain the crown through murder, thus pleasing his wife, and showing that he does love her.
After this point Macbeth submits to Lady Macbeth's wishes and ceases to query the execution of the plan, but asks 'If we should fail?'(Act 1, Scene 7; Line 59) This shows that Macbeth is persuaded by Lady Macbeth's argument as he no longer doubts if he will attempt to kill Duncan, but instead inquires in the context of the imminent occurrence of the event. This shows the bending of Macbeth's, soon to be broken, moral belief of what a man is. According to his first definition of what a man may do,
. . . . . . . . .'I dare do all that may become a man;
. . . . . . . . . Who does more is none.',(Act 1, Scene 7; Lines 46-47)
if he kills the king he is no longer a man. Conversely, according to his new set of values, one who does more than is the accepted standard, and does kill the king, is more of a man than one who does not. When Macbeth exploits his new found values of manhood, he finds that they do not make him more of a man, but rather, a tormented insomniac whose mind is full of scorpions (Act 3, Scene 2; Line 36) and who believes he would be better with the dead (Act 3, Scene 2; Line 19).
Lady Macbeth believes that manhood can be destroyed by fear, as demonstrated in the next extract, spoken after Scotland's thanes have left the feast at which Macbeth claimed to have seen Banquo's ghost.
| Lady Macbeth, 'What! quite unmanned in folly?' Macbeth, 'If I stand here, I saw him.' Lady Macbeth, 'Fie, for shame!'(Act 3, Scene 4; Lines 72-74) |
The phrase, 'quite unmanned in folly?' is challenging Macbeth's manhood, since what appears to Lady Macbeth and the guests to be nothing, has greatly unnerved him. In this instance, Lady Macbeth's beliefs are again in agreement with the Anglo-Saxon/Viking value that, a man must have 'absolute courage against impossible odds' (2001, class notes, Ms Crawford).
While Macbeth does not possess this manly quality at that particular point in the play, it is exhibited in his extreme defiance to the English and Scottish invading force in Act 5, Scene 7.
| 'They have tied me to a stake: I cannot fly, But bear-like I must fight the course. What's he That was not born of woman? Such a one Am I to fear, or none.'(Act 5, Scene 7; Lines 1-4) |
This short-lived bravery, founded on the misleading information obtained from the weird sisters, soon gives way to admittance of fear, in the following quote.
| 'Accursed be that tongue that tells me so, For it hath cowed the better part of man.'(Act 5, Scene 8; Lines 16-17) |
When Macbeth finds that the man he is fighting was not born of woman he admits alarm and loss of of his manly quality. 'For it hath cowed the better part of man.' (Act 5, Scene 8; Line 17) states that Macbeth's manhood has been made to tremble.
Macbeth's manhood was not founded on good manly values, as due to his minimal integrity, displayed by the corruption of his convictions, his originally honourable ideals amounted to nothing. Although Lady Macbeth's principles were also wrong, by Christian standards, she was of greater integrity than Macbeth, as she adhered to her values until her death. Lady Macbeth, it seems, imposed her ideals on her husband in her hope that he would be her ideal man.
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