Act 1 Scene 7

Key speech: Macbeth does not agree with LM but has not yet said this to her.

“We’d jump the life to come” – highlights Macbeth’s conscience and his knowledge that what he would do is wrong. There is still goodness in Macbeth at this point.

“we but teach bloody instructions, which being taught return to haunt us”  - if they kill. They will be killed.

“Duncan…hath been so clear in his great office…his virtues will plead like angels”  - Macbeth believes Duncan to be good, holy.

“I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition” – Macbeth acknowledges only ambition would have him kill Duncan.  Ambition is depicted as a negative force in someone’s life.

PEE paragraph on how Lady Macbeth is presented here:

“I have given suck, and know how tender tis to love the babe that milks me.

I would while it was smiling in my face

Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums,

And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you

Have done to this”.

Lady Macbeth is presented in Act 1 Scene 7 as having a propensity to violence and lacking maternal instincts. We see this when she exclaims she would, to keep a promise to Macbeth, “dashed the brains out” of her own baby. The word choice of dashd has suggestions of a violent, aggressive action done without thought and with much hatred, This suggests that she would be violent and hateful towards her own innocent baby. The fact she would do this during the tender act of breastfeeding shows how barbaric she is and her propensity to violence is highlighted by the contrast in one of nature’s most beautiful acts compared with the violent action of infanticide. Furthermore the plosive in the word “dashed” highlights further the aggressive nature of Lady Macbeth and her lack of maternal instincts.

This also highlights the intense love Lady Macbeth has for Macbeth, or it could be interpreted to highlight her intense ambition.