How does Lady Macbeth react to the letter from Macbeth?

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The effect of the letter (Act 1, Scene 5)

How does Lady Macbeth react to the letter from Macbeth?
Lady Macbeth's reaction when she reads her husband's letter is powerful and dramatic.

  • As soon as she's finished reading, she has decided she will make sure Macbeth is king

    It's as if she and her husband are thinking exactly the same thing. She does not hesitate for a moment.


  • Lady Macbeth invites the spirits of evil to enter her

    She knows she has to steel herself, that the murder will need evil power, and evil is not naturally within her.


  • She knows immediately that murdering Duncan is the only way of quickly achieving her goal

    When Macbeth brings further news that Duncan is actually coming to spend that night with them, it becomes clear that her role is to seize the moment and facilitate her husband's rise to kingship.

. Before the murder (Act 1, Scene 7)

How does Lady Macbeth persuade her husband to kill Duncan when he does not want to?
Lady Macbeth uses different methods to persuade Macbeth to change his mind. Which one really affected Macbeth?

  • She says it was his idea first

    This is her opening line - simply pointing out that he raised the idea first.


She taunts Macbeth's masculinity - calling him a coward

This is an important part of her approach. Macbeth's rank and fame depend on his courage and bravery

  • She says he cannot love her

    This personal taunt really hits home for Macbeth. It is unexpected because their relationship is so intense.




These three points lead on to the following question:

Why does Lady Macbeth say she would kill their child?
Lady Macbeth has lost a child when it was very young. It's really shocking when she says she would have smashed it to the floor rather than go back on a promise. Why is this?

  • This would be the ultimate sacrifice

    She makes the point that she knew the joy of being a mother, and would have given that up for Macbeth to be king.


  • She uses terrible, violent imagery as a shock tactic

    She realises that Macbeth's doubt needs to be overcome quickly and this needs extreme measures. If they delay one night, the chance is gone.

The morning after the murder (Act 2, Scene 3)

Without warning during this scene, Lady Macbeth faints. This has been argued about ever since the play was first performed. Does she faint to distract attention, because the others might see through Macbeth's elaborate excuses? Or is it because she is genuinely shocked and overcome and her strength suddenly leaves her? 

Why does Lady Macbeth faint?
It's difficult to find evidence for your answer to this question, because Lady Macbeth says so little in the scene.

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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!


  • 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, ...

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