Lady Macbeth calls upon evil spirits to unsex her and fill her with cruelty so she can commit the murder of King Duncan without hesitation or remorse. She asks to be stripped of her femininity and empathy in order to carry out the deed.
Lady Macbeth invokes evil spirits to "unsex" her and fill her with cruelty so that she can commit the murder of King Duncan without feeling any remorse or guilt.
Lady Macbeth asks the spirits to fill her with cruelty, to make her remorseless and able to carry out the murder of King Duncan. She does this because she feels that she lacks the natural capacity for such ruthless actions and wants to be empowered to commit the deed without hesitation.
One of my favorite passages from Macbeth is Lady Macbeth's soliloquy in Act 1, Scene 5, where she calls upon the spirits to "unsex" her and fill her with cruelty to commit the murder of King Duncan. It showcases her ambition, manipulation, and inner conflict.
We understand her better as a result. She prays to the "spirits that tend on mortal thoughts" to fill her "top full with direst cruelty", because she does not want any sympathetic portion of her nature (if there is any) to prevent her from persuading Macbeth to the murder. We understand how committed she is.
Lady Macbeth asks the spirits to "unsex" her and fill her with cruelty so that she can carry out the murderous plans to kill King Duncan without feeling any remorse or weakness. She also asks to be given the strength to commit the act and overcome any natural feelings of tenderness or compassion that may interfere with her ambition.
She makes a speech starting with the words, "Come thou spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here and fill me from the head to the toe top-full of direst cruelty."
"You spirits who tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here and fill me from the crown to the toe top full of direst cruelty." It is not abundantly clear who these "murdering ministers" are that she wants to make her cruel. It is some kind of unnamed spiritual force of evil.
One example of apostrophe in Macbeth is when Macbeth addresses the dagger before him, saying "Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going." Another example is when Lady Macbeth cries out to the spirits to "unsex" her and fill her with cruelty. These instances show characters speaking to objects or abstract concepts as if they were living beings.
Lady Macbeth's opening speech in Act 1, Scene 5 reveals her ambition and desire for power. She asks the spirits to unsex her and fill her with cruelty to help her commit the murderous deeds she desires. This speech sets the tone for her character and foreshadows the role she will play in driving Macbeth to carry out his murderous plans.
Lady Macbeth is thematically linked to the Witches, as both are female figures who play a part in Macbeth's downfall. Like the witches, whom Banquo reports have "beards," Lady Macbeth defies conventional gender stereotypes by being bloodthirsty and ambitious, traits considered un-womanly in Shakespeare's day. She also has hints of witchcraft in his invocation of the "spirits that tend on mortal thought" to "make thick [her] blood, and fill [her] from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty." In the text of the play, however, Lady Macbeth does not appear onstage with the witches at any point, nor is there a character designated "Fourth Witch."
"You spirits who tend on mortal thoughts", whoever they are.
At Inverness, Lady Macbeth reads a letter from Macbeth that describes his meeting with the witches. She fears that his nature is not ruthless enough to murder Duncan and complete the witches prophesy. He has ambition, but not enough. She implored Macbeth to hurry home so that Lady Macbeth can goad him into the murder he must commit. When a messenger arrives to confirm that Duncan is coming, Lady Macbeth calls on the heavenly powers to fill her with cruelty. When Macbeth arrives, she urges him to 'act like a flower, but behave like a serpent underneath. She then says that she will make preparation for the King's visit and subsequent murder