In Act 5 Scene 1 Lady Macbeth asks, "What, will these hands ne'er be clean?" In what way does this remark indicate a whole host of changes in Lady Macbeth related to innocence and guilt, strength and weakness, and sanity and insanity?
In the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth was the one who convinced Macbeth to follow through with he murder of the king, which set off all the other killings throughout the play. On page 33, she states "...unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full oOf direst cruelty." At the beginning, she felt no guilt; she wanted to commit the killings herself, but it was not women like; it was a mans job. Overtime as more and more killings occured, her strength was falling and her insanity was increasing. She was losing her mind over all the death, causing her to hallucinate blood on her hands. The revelation of never being an innocent person again went to her head. Do you guys feel that if Lady Macbeth had kept her sanity, she would've stayed alive or would she of died by the end of the play whether it was by her own or another's hand?
Had she maintained sanity, I think she still would have been killed by the end of the play. Macduff would have killed her as revenge for his wife being killed.
I think Lady Macbeth was never as strong, nor as innocent, as she liked to believe. The quote you chose, Sam does a great job revealing how vulnerable she actually was. She asked to be “unsexed” as she convinced herself that gender was the only factor preventing her from killing Duncan herself. She says had he not held such resemblance to her father in his slumber, she would have done so. Although Macbeth physically killed Duncan, she too had the spots of his blood, or the guilt and paranoia, stained on her hands. She convinced her husband to follow through, as well as drugged and framed the servants for the murder. In this moment, she acknowledges the fact that she would forever be tainted by this, which I credit to her strength since a coward would continue to deny the fact. Although she never killed anyone herself, I agree, being involved in this and the feeling of permanent uncleanliness, drove her to a state of insanity.
I agree. Perhaps Lady Macbeth's motive in the killing was that she thought her (and Macbeth's) life would be great if they ruled and if Duncan were gone. However, this does no necessarily mean she won't feel guilty about what she has done and won't regret it later on. The fact that Macbeth was so hesitant to stab Duncan may have agitated Lady Macbeth to the point where she wished to be "unsexed" so she could do it herself and get it over with. Personally, I believe she really got caught up in the moment, and ended up contributing to the crimes. Nonetheless, this is an action that Lady Macbeth will never forgive herself for or forget about.
I think that Lady Macbeth began her descent into madness when she wiped the blood of Duncan on the guard's bodies. It was then when her hands were first dirtied by the killings. After the deed was done she and Macbeth cleans their hands but when she sleepwalks in Act 5 Scene 1 it is clear that she feels in part responsible and guilty as she can't clean the blood from her hands. I think she also feels guilty about the other killings because the murder of Duncan sets off this chain of events.
I agree that she starts to lose her sanity after framing the guards, but I think she recognizes the guilt as early on as she asks whether her hands will ever be clean again. Duncan’s murder disrupts her state of mind much more than the others ever did; she did not convince her husband to proceed with those that followed and did not directly interact with them in the way she set up and framed the guards in the beginning.
I don't necessarily think that Lady Macbeth started going mad the moment after she framed the guards; I think it happened later than that, possibly when Banquo was killed; I think that because people don't usually realize the true extent of their actions until a while later; when our team won the sectional title last year, sure I was happy in the moment, but it took until the weekend after for the fact that we won the title to really sink in and hit me. I feel the same is true for Lady Macbeth's descent into madness.
Emma, I think that Lady Macbeth becomes guilty of what she has done also because Duncan looked very much like her father. I feel like that played a very big role in her guilt.
I don't think Lady Macbeth truly thought of the outcome from convincing Macbeth to kill the king. She was extremely power hungry and did not realize how her actions would affect others in the future. She should have realized their life would not be a simle, happy, and royal one, but one filled with guilt, distrust, and axiety. Do you think Lady Macbeth had too much confidence in the killings and their outcome in the beginning?
I don't think anyone, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth included, expected that taking the throne (and maintaining power!) would be such a stressful and bloody task. Near the beginning of the play, Macbeth is worried that their plot to kill Duncan will fail. Lady Macbeth replies, "We fail? But screw your courage to the sticking place and we'll not fail" (p. 43). That quote demonstrated to me that Lady Macbeth was extremely confident that they would be able to kill Duncan with no problems and be able to take the throne.
Contrast Lady Macbeth's confidence in the aforementioned quote with something she said when she was sleepwalking, "What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account?—Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him" (p. 163). Not only does Lady Macbeth sound anxious and afraid of her future, but she also seems surprised herself that the old man had so much blood in him; I think she's referring to Duncan, and how she is realizing just how many different people were in the way between Macbeth and the throne. I also think she also seems to be regretful in her original confident and harsh behavior towards Macbeth. Ironically, when she told Macbeth to "look like th' innocent flower, but be the serpent under 't" (p. 35), it seems as if now the serpent hiding beneath the flower has bitten her and Macbeth as revenge for all the chaos they wrecked upon society and the natural order of things.
I agree with Haofeng, I think that they thought that taking over would be really easy and that nobody would ever suspect them. I also feel like they set off a chain of events which lead them down a slippery slope making them think that this person NEEDED to die, even though there could've been other solutions.
This remark indicates a whole host of changes in Lady Macbeth. Primarily, is shows how guilty and weak she feels after the murder of Duncan and many more characters. I think Lady Macbeth did have confidence in the killings and their outcomes in the beginnings. It seemed as if Macbeth was quite hesitant to kill Duncan to begin with, and In order for the murder to be carried out, Lady Macbeth had to really convince him and help bring out his "manliness." As the story progresses, the two positions switch; Lady Macbeth is not so keen with the murders, while Macbeth has a growing aggression towards the killings.
Lady Macbeth feels as if the crime she committed will forever be a massive boulder hanging above her head. Her "hands [will] ne'er be clean" because she is unable to forgive herself of the crime and is always haunted by it.
I definitely agree with what you had to say in the last sentence of your first paragraph. I feel like Lady Macbeth was one of those people who wanted a certain outcome but really wasn't prepared for what it would take to achieve that goal. (The outcome of Macbeth being king). As she realizes what sacrifices she has to make in order achieve that goal, she goes crazy.
In the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth was the one who convinced Macbeth to follow through with he murder of the king, which set off all the other killings throughout the play. On page 33, she states "...unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full oOf direst cruelty." At the beginning, she felt no guilt; she wanted to commit the killings herself, but it was not women like; it was a mans job. Overtime as more and more killings occured, her strength was falling and her insanity was increasing. She was losing her mind over all the death, causing her to hallucinate blood on her hands. The revelation of never being an innocent person again went to her head. Do you guys feel that if Lady Macbeth had kept her sanity, she would've stayed alive or would she of died by the end of the play whether it was by her own or another's hand?
ReplyDeleteI feel like she wouldn't have been able to keep her sanity at all as the killings continued.
DeleteHad she maintained sanity, I think she still would have been killed by the end of the play. Macduff would have killed her as revenge for his wife being killed.
DeleteI think Lady Macbeth was never as strong, nor as innocent, as she liked to believe. The quote you chose, Sam does a great job revealing how vulnerable she actually was. She asked to be “unsexed” as she convinced herself that gender was the only factor preventing her from killing Duncan herself. She says had he not held such resemblance to her father in his slumber, she would have done so. Although Macbeth physically killed Duncan, she too had the spots of his blood, or the guilt and paranoia, stained on her hands. She convinced her husband to follow through, as well as drugged and framed the servants for the murder. In this moment, she acknowledges the fact that she would forever be tainted by this, which I credit to her strength since a coward would continue to deny the fact. Although she never killed anyone herself, I agree, being involved in this and the feeling of permanent uncleanliness, drove her to a state of insanity.
DeleteI agree. Perhaps Lady Macbeth's motive in the killing was that she thought her (and Macbeth's) life would be great if they ruled and if Duncan were gone. However, this does no necessarily mean she won't feel guilty about what she has done and won't regret it later on. The fact that Macbeth was so hesitant to stab Duncan may have agitated Lady Macbeth to the point where she wished to be "unsexed" so she could do it herself and get it over with. Personally, I believe she really got caught up in the moment, and ended up contributing to the crimes. Nonetheless, this is an action that Lady Macbeth will never forgive herself for or forget about.
DeleteI think that Lady Macbeth began her descent into madness when she wiped the blood of Duncan on the guard's bodies. It was then when her hands were first dirtied by the killings. After the deed was done she and Macbeth cleans their hands but when she sleepwalks in Act 5 Scene 1 it is clear that she feels in part responsible and guilty as she can't clean the blood from her hands. I think she also feels guilty about the other killings because the murder of Duncan sets off this chain of events.
ReplyDeleteI agree that she starts to lose her sanity after framing the guards, but I think she recognizes the guilt as early on as she asks whether her hands will ever be clean again. Duncan’s murder disrupts her state of mind much more than the others ever did; she did not convince her husband to proceed with those that followed and did not directly interact with them in the way she set up and framed the guards in the beginning.
DeleteI don't necessarily think that Lady Macbeth started going mad the moment after she framed the guards; I think it happened later than that, possibly when Banquo was killed; I think that because people don't usually realize the true extent of their actions until a while later; when our team won the sectional title last year, sure I was happy in the moment, but it took until the weekend after for the fact that we won the title to really sink in and hit me. I feel the same is true for Lady Macbeth's descent into madness.
DeleteI see you with the sectional title humble brag.
DeleteEmma, I think that Lady Macbeth becomes guilty of what she has done also because Duncan looked very much like her father. I feel like that played a very big role in her guilt.
DeleteI don't think Lady Macbeth truly thought of the outcome from convincing Macbeth to kill the king. She was extremely power hungry and did not realize how her actions would affect others in the future. She should have realized their life would not be a simle, happy, and royal one, but one filled with guilt, distrust, and axiety. Do you think Lady Macbeth had too much confidence in the killings and their outcome in the beginning?
ReplyDeleteI don't think anyone, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth included, expected that taking the throne (and maintaining power!) would be such a stressful and bloody task. Near the beginning of the play, Macbeth is worried that their plot to kill Duncan will fail. Lady Macbeth replies, "We fail? But screw your courage to the sticking place and we'll not fail" (p. 43). That quote demonstrated to me that Lady Macbeth was extremely confident that they would be able to kill Duncan with no problems and be able to take the throne.
DeleteContrast Lady Macbeth's confidence in the aforementioned quote with something she said when she was sleepwalking, "What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account?—Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him" (p. 163). Not only does Lady Macbeth sound anxious and afraid of her future, but she also seems surprised herself that the old man had so much blood in him; I think she's referring to Duncan, and how she is realizing just how many different people were in the way between Macbeth and the throne. I also think she also seems to be regretful in her original confident and harsh behavior towards Macbeth. Ironically, when she told Macbeth to "look like th' innocent flower, but be the serpent under 't" (p. 35), it seems as if now the serpent hiding beneath the flower has bitten her and Macbeth as revenge for all the chaos they wrecked upon society and the natural order of things.
DeleteI agree with Haofeng, I think that they thought that taking over would be really easy and that nobody would ever suspect them. I also feel like they set off a chain of events which lead them down a slippery slope making them think that this person NEEDED to die, even though there could've been other solutions.
DeleteThis remark indicates a whole host of changes in Lady Macbeth. Primarily, is shows how guilty and weak she feels after the murder of Duncan and many more characters. I think Lady Macbeth did have confidence in the killings and their outcomes in the beginnings. It seemed as if Macbeth was quite hesitant to kill Duncan to begin with, and In order for the murder to be carried out, Lady Macbeth had to really convince him and help bring out his "manliness." As the story progresses, the two positions switch; Lady Macbeth is not so keen with the murders, while Macbeth has a growing aggression towards the killings.
ReplyDeleteLady Macbeth feels as if the crime she committed will forever be a massive boulder hanging above her head. Her "hands [will] ne'er be clean" because she is unable to forgive herself of the crime and is always haunted by it.
I definitely agree with what you had to say in the last sentence of your first paragraph. I feel like Lady Macbeth was one of those people who wanted a certain outcome but really wasn't prepared for what it would take to achieve that goal. (The outcome of Macbeth being king). As she realizes what sacrifices she has to make in order achieve that goal, she goes crazy.
Delete