Comprehention

1. Lady Macbeth calls on the spirits of evil to suppress her natural sentiments as a woman. She uses three very forceful images. Link each image with the aspect of her nature she wishes to suppress.

Lines 5-7: unsex me here... direst cruelty Maternal instinct

lines 7-11: Make thick my blood... Th' effect and it. Femininity

Lines 11-14: Come to my woman's breasts... nature's mischief Remorse

2. Why does she want the night to be very dark? (Lines 14-15)

3. What advice does Lady Macbeth give her husband? (Lines 30-38)

4. What will they gain by committing the murder, according to Lady Macbeth?

ANALYSIS

1. A raven is a black crow which is often associated with death. Why is it appropriate that this bird 'sounds the fanfare' for Duncan's entrance into Macbeth's castle?

2. Find an example ofpersonification in line 17. Which is presented as the stronger force: heaven and the powers of good or nighttime and the powers of evil?

3. Lady Macbeth greets her husbands by saying 'Great Glamis! Worthy Cawdor!'. Why does she use his titles instead of a more personal form of salutation?

4. Lady Macbeth encourages her husband to deceive Duncan through his body language. Which body parts does she tell him to be particularly careful about and why?

5. According to Lady Macbeth, her husband should pretend to be a flower while actually being the serpent beneath it. What associations do you make with the image of the serpent?

6. Lines 35-36 contain a number of double meanings.

provided for = fed or killed

business = feasting or murder

despatch = carrying out the welcome or killing

Does Lady Macbeth use these veiled words because she is:

• testing how Macbeth will react to the possibility of murder?

• still unsure herself about the awfulness of murder?

• afraid that direct language will make Macbeth refuse to act?

•other:..........................................................................................

WRITER’S WORKSHOP

Onomatopoeia ◊ Onomatopoeia is the literary term that is used when the sound of a word resembles the sound it denotes. Examples of onomatopoeia can be found in verbs such as:

buzz: the sound a bee makes

slam: the sound of a violently closed door

bang: the noise made by an explosion.

Task

Find an example of onomatopoeia in the opening lines of Lady Macbeth's speech.

Over to you ◊ Link the onomatopoeiaic words to the sounds they denote.

hiss sound made by frying food

rattle sound made by a drink that contains a lot of gas

screech sound made by a snake

sizzle little, low, crying sound

whimper short knocking sound made when something is shaken

fizz unpleasant high-pitched cry

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