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She's distracting attention
Well, you could say this - depending on how you read the scene. Certainly her line "Help me hence, ho!" could be said in a theatrical way to distract attention. There's no need to find a quotation - that's virtually all she says!
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She feels suddenly alone and scared by Macbeth's words and actions
They planned everything together, but now things are beginning to get out of control with the murder of the two guards. Macbeth may have been directing some of his angry words at her. His fury and menace would really be frightening, especially as earlier in the play she thinks he would be too mild to kill the king in the first place.
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Lady Macbeth is shocked by the guards' murder. She was not prepared for more death
This is a good point to make. She thought that the killing of Duncan would be the end of the story.
. The banquet (Act 3, Scene 4)
How does this scene show Lady Macbeth becoming isolated from Macbeth?
This scene is a turning point in the play because it marks the point where Lady Macbeth loses touch with Macbeth. Follow her reactions during the scene.
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Her persuasion no longer works on him
She scolds him in the same way as before the murder, but this time it's different. She doesn't really know what's wrong - she can't see the ghost.
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She cannot understand Macbeth's faith in the supernatural
She always looks for natural ways of putting things right. While he prepares for more killing, she looks for simple, natural ways of coping - a little water, sleep.
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Lady Macbeth is still concerned that they act, and cope, as a couple
This is important. Remember she can only really have power through her husband. She has no power of her own. So her main worry is that the guests see them as man and wife, king and queen.
The sleepwalking scene (Act 5, Scene 1)
Why does Lady Macbeth begin to walk and talk in her sleep?
Understanding why Lady Macbeth has begun to sleepwalk will help you to understand her character.
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She needs to be cleansed
Lady Macbeth never saw the evil of the murder lasting in this way. The blood of Duncan haunts her.
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She re-runs her own part in the murder to come to terms with her guilt
An important point. She does not try to blame anyone but herself. Her words come back to haunt her.
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Lady Macbeth is horrified by Macbeth's continued killing
She was devastated by the slaughter of Lady Macduff and her children.
What does the scene tell us about her part in the play?
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As a woman, Lady Macbeth never had the power to control things independently
The sleepwalking scene is very intimate. While Macbeth's conscience strikes in a very public banquet, Lady Macbeth's fear shows up in a private setting. This underlines the different roles of men and women in this society.
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Lady Macbeth always saw an end to the process: once Duncan was dead, power would rest with herself and Macbeth
This is probably the most important point. She goes over this point in her head.
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She was never really an evil person
It was Macbeth who had faith in supernatural powers. Lady Macbeth invited them in, they possessed her, and have left her powerless.
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The isolation has driven her mad: Macbeth no longer seems to exist for her
Lady Macbeth always instinctively saw herself as part of a couple. Macbeth has gradually broken away from her, leaving her totally isolated in her chamber. She desperately wants their former closeness.
Short Summary
Act 1: The play takes place in Scotland. Duncan, the king of Scotland, is at war with the king of Norway, and as the play opens, he learns of Macbeth's bravery in battle against a Scot who sided with Norway. At the same time, he hears of the treachery of the Thane of Cawdor, who was arrested. Duncan decides to give the title of Thane of Cawdor to Macbeth.
Macbeth and Banquo, traveling home from the battle, meet three witches, who predict that Macbeth will be Thane of Cawdor and king of Scotland, and that Banquo will be the father of kings. The witches disappear, and Macbeth and Banquo meet up with two nobles who inform them of Macbeth's new title. Hearing this, Macbeth begins to contemplate murdering Duncan in order to realize the witches' second prophecy.
Macbeth and Banquo meet up with Duncan, who tells them he is going to pay Macbeth a visit at his home at Inverness. Macbeth rides ahead to prepare his household. Meanwhile, Lady Macbeth receives a letter from Macbeth informing her of the witches' prophesy and Macbeth's subsequent new title. A servant appears and tells her of Duncan's approach. Energized, she invokes supernatural powers to strip her of her feminine softness and prepare her to murder Duncan. When Macbeth arrives at Inverness, Lady Macbeth tells him that she will take care of all the details of Duncan's murder.
Duncan arrives at Inverness, and Lady Macbeth greets him. Macbeth fails to appear, and Lady Macbeth goes to find him. He is in his room, contemplating the weighty and evil step of killing Duncan. Lady Macbeth taunts him, telling him he will only be a man when he kills Duncan, and that she herself has less softness in her character than he does. She then tells him her plan for the murder, and Macbeth accepts it: they will kill him while his drunken bodyguards sleep, then plant incriminating evidence on the bodyguards.
Act 2: Macbeth has a vision of a bloody dagger floating before him and leading him to Duncan's room. When he hears Lady Macbeth ring the bell to signal the completion of her preparations, Macbeth follows through with his part of the plan and leaves for Duncan's room.
Lady Macbeth waits for Macbeth to finish killing Duncan. Macbeth enters, still carrying the bloody daggers. Lady Macbeth again chastises him for his weak-mindedness and plants them on the bodyguards herself. As she does so, Macbeth imagines that he hears a voice saying "Macbeth will sleep no more." Lady Macbeth returns and assures Macbeth that "a little water clears us of this deed."
At the gate the porter pretends that he is guarding the door to hell. The thanes knock at the gate, and Macduff discovers Duncan's body when he goes in to wake him up. Macbeth kills the two bodyguards, supposedly in a fit of grief and rage, when they are discovered with the bloody daggers. Duncan's sons Malcolm and Donalbain, fearing that their lives are in danger, flee to England and Ireland; their flight brings them under suspicion of conspiring in Duncan's death, and Macbeth is crowned king of Scotland.
Act 3: Macbeth hires two murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance in an attempt to thwart the witches' prophesy that Banquo will father kings. Lady Macbeth does not know of his plans, and he will not tell her. A third murderer joins the other two on the heath, and the three men kill Banquo. Fleance, however, escapes.
Macbeth throws a feast on the same night that Banquo is murdered, and Banquo's ghost appears to him, sending him into a frenzy of terror. Lady Macbeth attempts to cover up for his odd behavior, but the party ends up dissolving as the thanes begin to question Macbeth's sanity. Macbeth decides that he must revisit the witches to hear more of the future.
Meanwhile, Macbeth's thanes begin to turn from him, and Macduff meets Malcolm in England to prepare an army to march on Scotland.
Act 4: The witches show Macbeth three apparitions that tell Macbeth to fear no man born of woman, and warn him that he will only fall when Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane castle. Macbeth takes this as a prophecy that he is infallible. When he asks the witches if their prophesy about Banquo will come true, they show him a procession of eight kings, all of whom look like Banquo, the last holding a mirror to signify the reign of James I, the Stuart king for whom Shakespeare wrote this play.
Malcolm tests Macduff's loyalty by confessing to multiple sins and ambitions. When Macduff proves loyal to him, the two plan the strategy they will use in attacking Macbeth. Meanwhile, Macbeth murders Macduff's wife, whom he has deserted, along with all his children.
Act 5: Lady Macbeth sleepwalks and reveals her guilt to a watching doctor as she dreams that she cannot wash the stain of blood from her hands. Macbeth is too preoccupied with battle preparations to pay much attention to her dreams, and is angry when the doctor says he cannot cure her. As the castle is attacked, Lady Macbeth dies (perhaps by her own hand). When Macbeth hears of her death, he comments that she should have died at a different time, and muses on the meaninglessness of life. However, he reassures himself by remembering the witches' predictions that he will only fall when two seemingly impossible things occur.
Meanwhile, the English army has reached Birnam Wood, and in order to disguise their numbers, Malcolm instructs each man to cut a branch from a tree and hold it in front of him as they march on Dunsinane. Witnessing this, Macbeth's servant reports that he has seen something impossible Birnam Wood seems to be moving toward the castle. Macbeth is shaken but goes out to fight nonetheless. During the battle outside the castle walls, Macbeth kills Young Siward, the English general's brave son. Macduff then challenges Macbeth. As they fight, Macduff reveals that he was not "born of woman" but was "untimely ripped" from his mother's womb. Macbeth is stunned but refuses to yield to Macduff. Macduff kills him and cuts off his head. Malcolm is proclaimed the new king of Scotland.