Macbeth - Act 1 Scene 5
Inverness. Macbeth's castle.
Enter LADY MACBETH, reading a letter
Macbeth's description of the day's events seems curiously matter-of-fact, possibly an indication of his direct and blunt approach, which changes over the course of the play.
Lady Macbeth describes another side of Macbeth: she fears that he is too proper, honorable, and duty-bound to accomplish all that his ambition could lead him to.
Lady Macbeth is often characterized, for good reason, as a figure of ambition and temptation. We could also see her, however, as a wife who sees her husband's full potential, and wishes him to realize it. The results are dreadful, but the intentions can be understandable, up to a point.
LADY MACBETH
'They met me in the day of success; and I have
learned by the perfectest report, they have more
in them than mortal knowledge. When I burned
in desire to question them further, they made
themselves air, into which they vanished.
Whiles I stood rapt in the wonder of it, came
missives from the King, who all-hailed me
'Thane of Cawdor;' by which title, before, these
weird sisters saluted me, and referred me to the
coming on of time, with 'Hail, King that
shalt be!' This have I thought good to deliver
thee, my dearest partner of greatness, that thou mightst
not lose the dues of rejoicing, by being ignorant of what
greatness is promised thee. Lay it to thy heart, and
farewell.'
Glamis thou art, and Cawdor; and shalt be
What thou art promised; yet do I fear thy nature:
It is too full o' the milk of human kindness
To catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great;
Art not without ambition, but without
The illness should attend it; what thou wouldst highly,
That wouldst thou holily: wouldst not play false,
And yet wouldst wrongly win: thou'ldst have, great Glamis,
That which cries 'Thus thou must do’, if thou have it;
And that which rather thou dost fear to do
Than wishest should be undone. Hie thee hither,
That I may pour my spirits in thine ear,
And chastise with the valour of my tongue
All that impedes thee from the golden round,
Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem
To have thee crowned withal.
Enter a Messenger
What is your tidings?
The arrival of the Messenger, heralding the arrival of Macbeth and then Duncan, speeds up the play's events. Lady Macbeth has little time to plan and consider, and must take advantage of this opportunity immediately, or else risk letting it slip by.
Messenger
The King comes here tonight.
LADY MACBETH
Thou'rt mad to say it:
Is not thy master with him? Who, were't so,
Would have informed for preparation.
Messenger
So please you, it is true: our Thane is coming.
One of my fellows had the speed of him,
Who, almost dead for breath, had scarcely more
Than would make up his message.
LADY MACBETH
Give him tending:
He brings great news.
Exit Messenger
This immensely disturbing speech provides insights into Lady Macbeth's character. The fact that she enters into this devil's bargain can position her as unnatural, bordering on demonic; at the same time, the fact that she needs to call on external forces for help is an indication of her own frailty, even as she seeks to replace it with hard strength.
The raven himself is hoarse
That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan
Under my battlements. Come, you spirits
That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,
And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full
Of direst cruelty! Make thick my blood,
Stop up the access and passage to remorse,
That no compunctious visitings of nature
Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between
The effect and it! Come to my woman's breasts,
And take my milk for gall, you murdering ministers,
Wherever in your sightless substances
You wait on nature's mischief! Come, thick night,
And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell,
That my keen knife see not the wound it makes,
Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark,
To cry 'Hold, hold!'
Macbeth here articulates a distinction between his former killings, which were military exploits, done in the light of day, and his future actions, which will be illicit, secret, and dark.
Enter MACBETH
Great Glamis! worthy Cawdor!
Greater than both, by the all-hail hereafter!
Thy letters have transported me beyond
This ignorant present, and I feel now
The future in the instant.
MACBETH
My dearest love,
Duncan comes here tonight.
Lady Macbeth becomes her husband's instructor in politics, teaching him to control his face and conceal his thoughts. There is a division of labour in their partnership: he is the warrior, she is the politician.
LADY MACBETH
And when goes hence?
MACBETH
Tomorrow, as he purposes.
LADY MACBETH
O, never
Shall sun that morrow see!
Your face, my Thane, is as a book where men
May read strange matters. To beguile the time,
Look like the time; bear welcome in your eye,
Your hand, your tongue: look like the innocent flower,
But be the serpent under't. He that's coming
Must be provided for: and you shall put
This night's great business into my dispatch;
Which shall to all our nights and days to come
Give solely sovereign sway and masterdom.
Macbeth may have more to say here, but is interrupted by his wife, who gets the last word in this conversation, though this is the last time she does.
MACBETH
We will speak further.
LADY MACBETH
Only look up clear;
To alter favour ever is to fear:
Leave all the rest to me.
Exeunt