My Take Macbeth - Act 1 Scene 5
I mean, is it a shock to anyone that my first analysis is Lady Macbeth's first scene?
Yes? Oh, hi, you must be new! My name's Fei, nice to meet you! *shakes hand*
ANYWAYS, the scene is the one with the letter (Here's a Link if you don't have a copy), and, as with most scenes with Lady Mac, I find it to be very powerful. In my opinion, though, this is where we first see the real power, I mean, the scene basically runs like this:
*Gets a letter*
L.Mac: Shit. My husband's too weak to kill the king.
(NO-ONE'S MENTIONED KILLING THE KING YET!)
L.Mac: Oh well, he'll come around.
Messenger: The King's coming.
L.Mac: Perfect. Duncan's as good as dead, I need to be prepared *prepares*
*Macbeth enters*
L.Mac: *Sucking up to persuade him*
Macbeth: The king's coming.
(AS IF SHE DIDN'T ALREADY KNOW THIS HONEY)
L.Mac: Oh? When's he leaving then?
Macbeth: Tomorrow.
L.Mac: Nope. He'll be dead by then. Shut up, and leave it to me.
Macbeth: We'll speak more.
L.Mac: LEAVE IT TO ME.
Ok, it's not like you couldn't have translated this, but I love the way she says all of this, and this is basically how I see it. There ARE other interpretations, and all of them are valid, but this is how I see it.
Lady Macbeth takes control. She also asks to be unsexed, which is a MASSIVE DEAL. I have two ideas about this line:
First, the stereotypical school version, where due to the time, a woman would not be able to physically do any of these things, therefore she becomes another creature almost, kind of like the witches (which is kind of fun to explore really if you think about it)
Second, there's the thought that she actually does go through a gender crisis. I also like this one because I have been through (and probably am still in) a gender crisis. I, like many others, do believe that Shakespeare was Bisexual, and because there was so much comp het back then, he may have had a gender crisis, or known someone who did, which means he knew what she felt (and I like the idea that she was an undercover enby)
ANYWAYS, whatever the purpose of the line, it's one of the important lines.
Ok, I know I've bored you thoroughly now, but I have just one more line I'd like to analyse for you, and it is this one:
"Dearest partner of greatness"
Macbeth, absolutely unprompted, likened Lady Macbeth to a partner, an equal (whilst also implying she was equally as great as him), which is also a massive deal back then. It's a fantastic line. Truly.
To sum up, Lady Macbeth is a manipulative amazing undercover enby, Macbeth is a himbo who reveres her, and they are an amazing power couple which I am immensely jealous of.











