Dramatic effective of Act V Scene 1 of Macbeth

The audience is not given much time to ponder before Lady Macbeth finally appears.  She has a light with her, and it is learnt that ‘she has light by her continually’.  This is a direct contrast to the Lady Macbeth who used to call upon spirits at night.  It shows that her guilt has consumed her so much that she is afraid of spirits, perhaps Duncan’s, who may come and avenge their death.  When Lady Macbeth says ‘Yet here’s a spot’, it prepares the audience for her disjointed outpouring of guilt.  The effect of the Doctor’s ‘I will set down what comes from her, to satisfy my remembrance the more strongly’ is to focus the audience on the upcoming revealing speech.

Lady Macbeth’s disjoined speech signifies the degeneration of her mind; she can no longer think logically.  It begins with ‘Out, damned spot!’, referring to the imaginary blood she feels she has on her hands.  According to the gentlewoman’s comment previously, she continues ‘in this a quarter of an hour’, showing that in reality she did not believe ‘a little water clears us of this deed’.  Her use of the imperative ‘out’ suggests she is commanding the spot to go away, again highlighting her madness.  She then goes back to before the murder, saying ‘one, two’, but quickly reverts back to her fear of retribution with ‘Hell is murky’.  As Hell is such an intense image, it creates an even more ominous tone around her speech.  She speaks of ‘a soldier, and afeard!’ next, which at this point is ironic because her sleepwalking and madness is due to her own fear.  At the end of her first speech she unintentionally revealed her involvement in the crime, which shocks the Doctor, who says ‘Do you mark that?’ and leaves the audience wondering what he will do with this information, creating more suspense.

Lady Macbeth uses more descriptions to show her guilt afterwards.  She uses the rhyming ‘The Thane of Fife had a wife; where is she now?’ which links her to the supernatural, as the witches also talk in rhyme.  This again adds to the sinister atmosphere of the scene.  There is also the image ‘All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand’, showing that her deed cannot be cleaned even by perfume from such a vast expanse of land.  It also suggests a role reversal, as this image echoes Macbeth’s ‘Will all great Neptune’s oceans wash my hands clean?’, suggesting that Macbeth’s guilt which Lady Macbeth once chastised has become her own.

Lady Macbeth’s long sigh of ‘Oh, oh, oh!’ could also add dramatic effect as it is perhaps so long that it is disturbing to the audience, adding to the sinister tone.  It shows that her ‘heart is sorely charg’d’.  It also perhaps creates sympathy for Lady Macbeth, who is now so overcome with guilt and fear of retribution that it is difficult to watch.  The Doctor does say some people who sleepwalk ‘have died holily in their beds’, but Lady Macbeth immediately contradicts with ‘Banquo’s buried’, further emphasising that she will die from guilt and be sent to ‘murky’ Hell.

The Doctor finally sums up the situation with ‘Unnatural deeds do breed unnatural troubles; infected minds to their deaf pillows will discharge their secrets’.  The situation for Lady Macbeth seems hopeless now, as only ‘God’ can help her.  In his speech, she is described as if she were weak and out of control of her own life, needing someone to remove ‘all annoyance’ from her, ending such a sinister scene in a surprisingly poignant way.

From this scene, Shakespeare illustrates the inevitable consequences of retribution disrupting the natural order and committing murder has.  Even if one can escape from others and avoid being discovered, one cannot escape from their own conscience, as illustrated by Lady Macbeth’s change from strong and evil to weak and helpless; presented through effective use of suspense and dramatic tension.