Macbeth Act One Scene Five: GCSE English Literature Tuition Bolton, Manchester.

Lady Macbeth reading a letter. Act One, Scene Five.

The audience first encounters Lady Macbeth one on stage, reading a letter from her husband informing her of the witches’ prophecies. Lady Macbeth is presumably within the walls of her castle and therefore we trust that her reactions are authentic, as she is speaking from a place of privacy. As she processes the words of her husband, we gain insights into their relationship and their attitudes to the supernatural world. 

Here are a few ideas about this scene.

1) Macbeth is elated by his ‘success’ on the battlefield and this adds excitement to the account of his meeting with the witches. The elation may also make him vulnerable to their predictions as they enhance his feelings of triumph and invincibility with their flattering premonitions which undermine his surface loyalty to the current hierarchy and monarchy. 

2) Macbeth believes the witches have ‘ more in them than mortal knowledge.’ This belief in the powers of the supernatural world would have been at least partially shared by the audience and it reveals notable blindness on Macbeth’s part that he does not question the witches’ motivation. This is in contrast to Banquo who is more cynical despite his wonder at their powers of manifestation.

3) When Macbeth addresses his wife as ‘ My dearest partner of greatness’ his endearment is presumably genuine and passionate. The use of the superlative ‘dearest’ underlines his marked affection for his wife as well as her value to him. The audience would have recognised the singularity of a marriage at this time where the wife could be regarded as equal to the husband. Unfortunately, it could be argued that this excessive trust in his wife proves ruinous to them both as well as to the kingdom. For in bestowing so much trust in his wife he gives her a power that she is morally and emotionally ill-equipped to deal with.

The word ‘greatness’ also reminds Lady Macbeth that his ‘success’ is hers also and perhaps subtly draws attention to the prospect of becoming Queen, a prospect that the letter directs her to consider. Think also of the implications of Macbeth’s ‘lay it to thy heart.’ He is imploring her to secrecy and reminding his wife of her bond of intimacy with him and his endeavours. 

4) The letter does not seem an innocent sharing of experience to me. It primes Lady Macbeth to mount an emotional assault on her husband’s moral doubts about seizing the Kingship as soon as he returns home. Their intimacy is evidently close and it seems likely that Macbeth is aware of his wife’s ambition. Their childless state also makes it likely that Lady Macbeth will endeavour to fulfil her role as a supportive wife with considerable dedication as she has not managed to provide him with an heir. This failure of maternity and ambivalence towards families dominates the play.

5) The feminine ‘ milk of human kindness’ is mentioned in a derisive manner. Kindness an obstacle not a virtue to Lady Macbeth and she will endeavour to destroy it in both her husband and herself. Ironically, as she attempts to destroy her feminine maternal self she is guaranteeing their lack of offspring and therefore legacy. For if Lady Macbeth invokes the help of the spirits in destroying her feminine self, she becomes incapable of conception. Unsurprisingly this play reveals the sterility of possession where the seizing of power destroys any possibility of creation.

6) Now think about the impact of the messenger’s announcement that ‘ The King comes here tonight.’ Remember that the promises of the witches seem true and she believes that ‘fate and metaphysical aid ‘ are on their side. Surely the announcement constitutes a huge validation? 

7) When Lady Macbeth calls upon the evil forces, ‘Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here.’ Think about her tone and where she believes these forces actually are. 

If she talks commandingly to the spirits as if they will obey her or as co-conspirators do this render her evil uncomplicated by conscience or moral doubt? She might assume the evil is already within her home or by implication within herself. But does bizarrely show she is already corrupt and fallen? 

If she talks tentatively, uncertain if the spirits will do as she pleads, then the uncertainty shows she is choosing to compromise her better self from a position of initial humanity? This reading perhaps makes her haunting at the play’s end more credible as she has contaminated herself and the process of her contamination gives the audience a sense of her fall. 

The decision to ‘ unsex’ herself suggests she craves power and needs the capacity for violence that masculinity engenders in this world. Ironically, if she becomes male, she might even imagine herself as more King than Queen? The problem of succession doesn’t occur at this moment and remember Macbeth has not mentioned Banquo and his prediction in the letter. Notable blindness or omission? This anti-creation dynamic leads to stasis and death. Creation is associated with time and future and Macbeth cannot destroy time. It destroys him culminating in the ‘tomorrow and tomorrow’ speech. 

If we consider the invitation to invade her body and possess it with ‘direst cruelty’ it feels like a violation. Almost like a form of spiritual/moral cannibalism where the evil spirits can feast on her maternity in order to prevent her conscience shaking her ‘fell purpose.’ 

Such a gorging of her femininity as ‘ currency’ or exchange by evil spirits shows how feasts are so malign and grotesque in the play, sustaining no one. Think of Duncan being murdered after eating, Banquo ruining the coronation feast and the witches in Act Three creating a cauldron of abject things. This abuse of the feast through the murder of the guest Duncan shows a betrayal of hospitality and gratitude. Such betrayal consigns Macbeth and his wife to damnation.