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Brave Macbeth - Well he deserves that name
Brave deserves
Macbeth is brave and hes deserved that name, he's been fighting for the king. As the play develops: royals are a terrible judge of character, old Thane of Cawdor betrays the king, so when Macbeth becomes Thane of Cawdor this foreshadows Macbeth betrayal - macbeth judged purely off his bravery (patriarchy) a man's character is judged off his bravery, so as Macbeth's brave they presumed he must be perfect, which he's not. Brave also foreshadows Macbeth's bravery to do things others are not, like killing the king which other characters wouldn't have done.
Let not light see my black and deep desires
Light black desires
Light can be a metaphor for God, people, or the good, personification as light can't actually see. Macbeth is having black (dark) desires before meeting Lady M, black juxtaposed light, and they're deep inside him, almost apart of him, they're stuck with him, Macbeth already influenced before speaking to Lady M. The power of the supernatural, Macbeth is changing and the catalyst is when he meets the witches just before this quote.
Unsex me here, and fill me, from the crown to the toe, topfull of direst cruelty
Unsex fill crown topfull direst
Unsex means to reduce her femininity (take away the qualities that make her feminine), theme of masculinity. She needs to be evil, feel no emotion, sacrifice her looks and beauty (give up all things that make her feminine). Fill her with the direst cruelty, worst possible evil. Crown to the toe, completely immersed. This can be used for women in general, as they suffered so much from patriarchy that to become powerful she would need to sacrifice so much, had to become as masculine as possible. Topfull has positive connotations, this is a contrast to cruelty as she needs to better herself to be crueler.
When thou durst do it, then you were a man
Durst were man
Were is past tense, shows that for Macbeth to show that all those times he was brave and showed his masculinity, this will prove it all. It shows the danger of patriarchy, it oppresses man. To be a patriarchal man, he needs to be courageous, most importantly in front of Lady M, she abuses this knowledge to get him to kill the king. When he has second thoughts, in this quote she is implying that until you dare to kill the king you are not manly enough to be my husband. This could be argued to tip him over the edge, therefore a possibility is that Macbeth may have only killed Duncan to prove his masculinity to Lady M and not his desire to become King.
Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand
Neptune's blood hand
Hyperbole shows Macbeth's in disbelief of what he just done, he's shocked that he has killed Duncan and is overwhelmed of what consequences could come because of this. The blood symbolises the guilt of Macbeth's actions, Macbeth feels terrible as this is his first time doing a bad action, he's killed in battle before but he's not used to killing and innocent man in their weakest moments (whilst their asleep), but as the play goes on this feeling of guilt starts to go away the more bad things he does. He kills Banquo (doesn't feel as guilty), the he kills Lady Macduff (doesn't feel guilt at all), and the he kills her son (does t feel any guilt), he becomes emotionless. This quote can be linked to Act 5, Scene 1 where Lady M is trying to wash the blood off her hand, she tells Macbeth to get over what he's feeling, but now it's happening to her.
Linked to Macbeth being overwhelmed by the blood on his hand after killing Duncan. Repetition highlights the overwhelming anger and fear Lady M is experiencing, the blood could represent the guilt of her previous actions. She may have gotten so caught up in trying to become powerful and wealthy that she didn't feel guilty, but she is now starting to feel guilty about it. She's going crazy like Macbeth, this is foreshadowing her future suicide in a few scenes.
Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow
Brief Life's walking
This is articulating Macbeth's disappointment, after his pursuit of his ambition to become king he arrives at a conclusion. That life has become a burden, tedious and heading for one destination, death. He sees that life is short, like a candle, and all the passion he feels towards anything is a lot of meaningless noise. The candle represents human life, Macbeth calls it a brief candle, meaning only that only burns briefly. When it goes out, it's completely dark, as if it was never there. It's existence almost pointless.
Look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under't
Look serpent under't
Lady Macbeth is a two-faced character. She acts masculine when she needs to, and she acts feminine when she needs to. So she is telling Macbeth to do the exact same, she's telling him to look innocent, but be evil. She is telling Macbeth to be as two-faced as possible. The serpent is symbolic of temptation and lost innocence through its link to the biblical story of Adam and Eve. This juxtaposes the innocent flower which emphasises Lady M's warning to be as two-faced as possible in order to not be a suspect.
Full of scorpions is my mind
Full scorpions mind
Unpleasant animal imagery like the witches in Act 4, Scene 1, and a metaphor. Scorpions are poisonous creatures, they are poisoning his mind, this is foreshadowing the eventual downfall of Macbeth (hamartia) . His actions are like a man possessed, this is from his hubris (excessive pride/self confidence)