The head side features a flower and the underside a serpent. “Look like th’innocent flower, But be the serpent under’t”Īnother much used quotation, but less well-known is that it refers to a medal James I had struck after the thwarting of the Gunpowder Plot. This subtle and apparently innocuous response to Macbeth’s statement that Duncan is to stay in their castle is a signal to Macbeth that she is thinking exactly the same thing that he is about the opportunity that this visit brings him. Is it only the matter of social class that separates them? Just as they do in their Witches’ Prophecy, Lady Macbeth also calls on evil spirits. “Come you spirits, That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here.”Īlthough oft-quoted, you can use this to kick-start an intriguing discussion over the difference between Lady Macbeth and the Weird Sisters. These are often based on the range of her influence upon Macbeth or the presentation of her as a ‘fiendlike queen”.Īs one of Shakespeare’s most powerful and active female characters Macbeth’s ‘dear wife’ provides rich material for essay responses. The character frequently appears in exam questions. She’s destroyed by the guilt she has fought so hard to suppress. Yet she ends the play, and her life, as a broken figure. She’s able to push her husband, ‘brave Macbeth’, to do anything for her (including murder Duncan). Shakespeare shows her as a strong and ruthless woman. Teaching ideas for ensuring Macbeth stays freshĪlthough she actually appears in around a third of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth’s influence looms large across the text.
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