MACBETH Act 1 SC 5-7

Summary: Act 1, scene 5
. . . 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.
In Inverness, Macbeth’s castle, Lady Macbeth reads to herself a letter she has received
from Macbeth. The letter announces Macbeth’s promotion to the thane ship of Cawdor
and details his meeting with the witches. Lady Macbeth murmurs that she
knows Macbeth is ambitious, but fears he is too full of ―th’ milk of human kindness‖ to
take the steps necessary to make himself king (1.5.15). She resolves to convince her
husband to do whatever is required to seize the crown. A messenger enters and
informs Lady Macbeth that the king rides toward the castle, and that Macbeth is on his
way as well. As she awaits her husband’s arrival, she delivers a famous speech in
which she begs, ―you spirits / That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, / And fill me
from the crown to the toe top-full / Of direst cruelty‖ (1.5.38–41). She resolves to put her
natural femininity aside so that she can do the bloody deeds necessary to seize the
crown. Macbeth enters, and he and his wife discuss the king’s forthcoming
visit. Macbeth tells his wife that Duncan plans to depart the next day, but Lady
Macbeth declares that the king will never see tomorrow. She tells her husband to have
patience and to leave the plan to her.

Duncan, the Scottish lords, and their attendants arrive outside Macbeth’s castle.
Duncan praises the castle’s pleasant environment, and he thanks Lady Macbeth, who
has emerged to greet him, for her hospitality. She replies that it is her duty to be
hospitable since she and her husband owe so much to their king. Duncan then asks to
be taken inside to Macbeth, whom he professes to love dearly.

If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well
It were done quickly . . .
...
. . . He’s here in double trust:
First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,
Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,
Who should against his murderer shut the door,
Not bear the knife myself.
Inside the castle, as oboes play and servants set a table for the evening’s
feast, Macbeth paces by himself, pondering his idea of assassinating Duncan. He says
that the deed would be easy if he could be certain that it would not set in motion a
series of terrible consequences. He declares his willingness to risk eternal damnation
but realizes that even on earth, bloody actions ―return / To plague th’inventor‖ (1.7.9–
10). He then considers the reasons why he ought not to kill Duncan: Macbeth is
Duncan’s kinsman, subject, and host; moreover, the king is universally admired as a
virtuous ruler. Macbeth notes that these circumstances offer him nothing that he can
use to motivate himself. He faces the fact that there is no reason to kill the king other
than his own ambition, which he realizes is an unreliable guide.
Lady Macbeth enters and tells her husband that the king has dined and that he has
been asking for Macbeth. Macbeth declares that he no longer intends to kill
Duncan. Lady Macbeth, outraged, calls him a coward and questions his manhood:
―When you durst do it,‖ she says, ―then you were a man‖ (1.7.49). He asks her what will
happen if they fail; she promises that as long as they are bold, they will be successful.
Then she tells him her plan: while Duncan sleeps, she will give his chamberlains wine to
make them drunk, and then she and Macbeth can slip in and murder Duncan. They will
smear the blood of Duncan on the sleeping chamberlains to cast the guilt upon them.
Astonished at the brilliance and daring of her plan, Macbeth tells his wife that her
―undaunted mettle‖ makes him hope that she will only give birth to male children
(1.7.73). He then agrees to proceed with the murder.
Analysis: Act 1, scenes 5–7

These scenes are dominated by Lady Macbeth, who is probably the most memorable
character in the play. Her violent, blistering soliloquies in Act 1, scenes 5 and 7, testify
to her strength of will, which completely eclipses that of her husband. She is well aware
of the discrepancy between their respective resolves and understands that she will have
to manipulate her husband into acting on the witches’ prophecy. Her soliloquy in Act 1,
scene 5, begins the play’s exploration of gender roles, particularly of the value and
nature of masculinity. In the soliloquy, she spurns her feminine characteristics, crying
out ―unsex me here‖ and wishing that the milk in her breasts would be exchanged for
―gall‖ so that she could murder Duncan herself. These remarks manifest Lady
Macbeth’s belief that manhood is defined by murder. When, in Act 1, scene 7, her
husband is hesitant to murder Duncan, she goads him by questioning his manhood and
by implicitly comparing his willingness to carry through on his intention of killing Duncan
with his ability to carry out a sexual act (1.7.38–41). Throughout the play,
whenever Macbeth shows signs of faltering, Lady Macbeth implies that he is less than a
man.
Macbeth exclaims that Lady Macbeth should ―[b]ring forth men-children only‖ because
she is so bold and courageous (1.7.72). Since Macbeth succumbs to Lady Macbeth’s
wishes immediately following this remark, it seems that he is complimenting her and
affirming her belief that courage and brilliance are masculine traits. But the comment
also suggests that Macbeth is thinking about his legacy. He sees Lady Macbeth’s
boldness and masculinity as heroic and warrior-like, while Lady Macbeth invokes her
supposed masculine ―virtues‖ for dark, cruel purposes. Unlike Macbeth, she seems
solely concerned with immediate power.
A subject’s loyalty to his king is one of the thematic concerns of Macbeth. The plot of
the play hinges on Macbeth’s betrayal of Duncan, and, ultimately, of Scotland. Just
as Lady Macbeth will prove to be the antithesis of the ideal wife, Macbeth proves to be a
completely disloyal subject. In Act 1, scene 7, for instance, Macbeth muses on
Duncan’s many good qualities, reflects that Duncan has been kind to him, and thinks
that perhaps he ought not to kill his king. This is Macbeth’s first lengthy soliloquy and
thus the audience’s first peek inside his mind. Yet Macbeth is unable to quell his desire
for power. He evades answering his own questions of loyalty and yearns unrealistically
for the battlefield’s simple and consequence-free action—―If it were done when ’tis
done,‖ he says, ―then ’twere well / It were done quickly‖ (1.7.1–2).
At the same time, Macbeth is strongly conscious of the gravity of the act of regicide. He
acknowledges that ―bloody instructions . . . being taught, return / To plague th’inventor‖
(1.7.9–10). This is the first of many lines linking ―blood‖ to guilt and cosmic retribution.
As her husband wavers, Lady Macbeth enters like a hurricane and blows his hesitant
thoughts away. She spurs Macbeth to treason by disregarding his rational, moral
arguments and challenging his manhood. Basically, she dares him to commit the
murder, using words that taunt rather than persuade. Under her spell, all of Macbeth’s
objections seem to evaporate and he is left only with a weak ―If we should fail?‖ to set
against her passionate challenge (1.7.59).
The idea of a moral order is present in these scenes, albeit in muted
form. Macbeth knows what he does is wrong, and he recognizes that there will surely be
consequences. As we have seen, his soliloquy reveals his awareness that he may be
initiating a cycle of violence that will eventually destroy him. Macbeth is not a good man
at this point in the play, but he is not yet an evil one—he is tempted, and he tries to
resist temptation. Macbeth’s resistance, however, is not vigorous enough to stand up to
his wife’s ability to manipulate him.
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Summary: Act 1, scene 5

. . . Come, you spirits

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