Lady Macbeth

Lady Macbeth

1. "yet I do fear thy nature, it is too full o'th'milk of human kindness"

   • she fears that Macbeth is too weak to do the job, he is too full of "human kindness"
     • PERSONIFICATION: personifying his nature as too gentle suggests it isn't enough to get him to the top. She is doubting his ability to destroy others in order to gain the throne quickly
   • This is Lady Macbeth's soliloquy
     • This allows the audience to understand what is going on in Lady Macbeth's thoughts
   • IMAGERY: "too full o'th'milk" suggests that Lady Macbeth sees him as a child who still needs to nurtured and guided
     • This suggests that she holds power over Macbeth
   • DICTION: "milk" connects Macbeth to the characteristics of innocence, purity and kindness.
     • These are the weaknesses that Lady Macbeth sees in him

2. "Pour my spirits into thine ear"

3. "Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts"

4. "Unsex me here"

   • She is demanding to be stripped of feminine weakness and invested in masculine resolve
     • she believes that her husband is not masculine enough, and therefore needs to do it herself
     • She sees her sex as an obstacle