For thy undaunted mettle should compose

Nothing but males. Will it not be received,

75When we have marked with blood those sleepy two

Of his own chamber and used their very daggers,

That they have done ’t?

Wherein you dressed yourself? Hath it slept since?

And wakes it now, to look so green and pale

At what it did so freely? From this time

Such I account thy love. Art thou afeard

40To be the same in thine own act and valor

As thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have that

Which thou esteem’st the ornament of life,

And live a coward in thine own esteem,

Letting “I dare not” wait upon “I would, ”

45Like the poor cat i' th' adage?

To 🤬 the sides of my intent, but only

Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself

And falls on th' other."

Which shows that he didn't want to commit the murder, and therefore thinks that the plan is not good enough, and thinks that he will get caught. as he states at the very beginning that hew would do the murder if it could be quick and he could escape the consequences. 

With his surcease success; that but this blow might be the be-all and the end-all here, but here, upon this bank and shoal of time, we’d jump the life to come. But in these cases we still have judgment here, that we but teach bloody instructions"

The beginning of the scene is a soliloquy of Macbeth, he is saying that they weren't any good reasons to kill Duncan and that he shouldn't do it, he says that if there weren't any consequences he would kill him however he thinks when he kills Duncan he will become a murderer which is foreshadowing because after he kills him ambition  becomes more powerful.
At the end of the scene Macbeth proceeds to say "If we should fail?" this shows that Lady Macbeth has persuaded him into killing Duncan but Macbeth is still unsure about how he will do it, he is very hesitant about committing this murder but he did listen to his wife and he got fooled by her tricks and techniques of persuasion.

Letting “I dare not” wait upon “I would, ”

Like the poor cat i' th' adage?"

This use of imagery in this quotation surprised me, due to the ways Lady Macbeth uses to manipulate her husband and people around her. This is because I found shocking how Lady Macbeth uses a simile to compares Macbeth to a cat, calling him a coward and questioning his own husband's manlyhood. This seemed very ruthless and unfair towards him, as his character is based around the idea of him being courageous and a hero, meaning such things said by her wife would be very effective in catching his attention and manipulating him to commit murder. This is a very important part of the scene, as it shows the relationship between Macbeth and his Wife, an dhow much more authoritative she is than here husband, as she exerts a lot of power over him.

Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been

So clear in his great office, that his virtues

Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against

The deep damnation of his taking-off;

And pity, like a naked newborn babe,

Striding the blast, or heaven’s cherubim, horsed

Upon the sightless couriers of the air," Acknowledging thta king Duncan was a good and pure leader, who never did anything wrong to him and who was family to him, and how, if Macnbeth went on to kill him, he would be damned by God for ever, as such a murder would be an injustice, and thatb the only valuid point to the murder would be his ambition. However, once Lady Macbeth gets to know her husband's intention to not kill Duncan, she becomes furious, saying thatb if Macbeth goes over his word, he is a coward and that he does not truly love her, as she says, "Was the hope drunk

Wherein you dressed yourself? Hath it slept since?". This words appeal to Macbeth, as he's known for his reputation of being a brave man. This shows how Macbeth is manipulated by his wife to commit murder.

Not bear the knife myself. Besides, this Duncan hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been"

Here it is seen that Macbeth at the beginning of the act, he doesn't want to kill Duncan and he is naming the reasons why to stay true to Duncan

Lady Macbeth is the most responsible for killing Duncan because at the beginning of this scene Macbeth wasn't convinced and didn't want to kill Duncan but once he was leaning towards the option of not killing him, Lady Macbeth walks in the room and manipulates Macbeth into thinking that killing Duncan is the best option and she threatens his love for her and his manhood, as well as she uses his power to fulfill her ambition of becoming a queen.

Wherein you dressed yourself?"

And then comparing him to a cat and calling him a coward, questioning his manlyhood, as she says, "Letting “I dare not” wait upon “I would, ” Like the poor cat i' th' adage?"
As I alluded to before, I believe these two sentences were so effectoive, as they questioned Macbeth's braveness and manlyhood, which are two of the main themes of his personality.

I would, while it was smiling in my face,

Have plucked my 🤬 from his boneless gums

And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you

Have done to this." using feminine imagery in order to emphasize her point of not being able to go oiver her words and doing anything yto achieve their goals, as she is so driven by greed. This shows us how Lady Macbeth is more powerful in the couple, and how she is ruthless and wouldn't let anything stop her from achieving what she wants.

Lady Macbeth manipulates Macbeth’s ego by disrupting gender roles when questioning her husband’s masculinity, denoting that Macbeth is too kind hearted and weak to be a man. This manipulates Macbeths ego and encourages him to take action into murdering king Duncan as he is convinced that in order to be a ‘man’ Macbeth must act. 

"I would, while it was smiling in my face,

Have pluck'd my 🤬 from his boneless gums,

And dash'd the brains out, had I sworn as you 

Have done to this.”-

Within this second quote, Lady Macbeth emotionally manipulates Macbeth. She does this by criticizing her husband for abnegating killing King Duncan and expressing that had she made a promise even to kill her own child, she would have. Continuously, by saying this, Lady Macbeth is uncovering her macabre character whilst also revealing Macbeth’s guilt, denoting he is weak and ‘unmanly’.

 

To 🤬 the sides of my intent, but only

Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself

And falls on th' other." meaning the only valid reason why he should kill Duncan is his ambition and his wife's greed to be queen. In conclusion, I believe this is a very important point to make, as while the characters are intially driven by ambition and greed, these slowly and gradually turn into guilt and paranoia

During this quote, Shakespeare uses imagery when Lady Macbeth tells her husband that in order for the plan to run smoothly, he must fool everyone with a ‘false face’ by pretending to look joyful and ordinary to hide their true gruesome intentions and act of betraying and murdering the king.  

 

“What beast was ’t, then, That made you break this enterprise to me? When you durst do it, then you were a man; And to be more than what you were, you would, Be so much more the man.” 

The two previous quotes portray Lady Macbeth taunting Macbeth through the manner in which she belittles Macbeth’s weak spirit while criticising his ideals. In first quote’s case, by stating how Macbeth is a coward afraid to act upon his desire, Lady Macbeth is indicating that he’ll come to be a man who always declares his ambitions but fails to act on them. In the case of the second quote, Lady Macbeth criticises one of Macbeth’s most important ideals, his manhood/masculinity through reminding him of how he first proved his manliness by striving towards his ambition (when he wrote to her about murdering Duncan) and if he fulfills his ambition, only then can he truly prove and live up to his own ideal of masculinity. Thereby, Lady Macbeth’s criticism/belittling of Macbeth’s masculinity, ambition, and courage is what truly affects Macbeth as his whole identity (up until this point) was built on being the epitome of manhood and courage which was portrayed in his battle against McDonald. Therefore, the effect of Lady Macbeth’s taunts on Macbeth is that she effectively convinces Macbeth to stop his cowardice and subtly manipulates Macbeth into following the path of murdering Duncan, all by criticising Macbeth’s identity and values about himself. 

In Macbeth’s case, his paranoia was shown earlier, particularly in this scene during his soliloquy in which he was conflicted on his stance, on whether he should or shouldn’t murder King Duncan. This in turn results in Macbeth becoming paranoid on how this murderous act will cause his own downfall seen through the quote in which Macbeth states that heavenly beings will cry against Duncan’s murder and spread the news of who committed the deed to everyone. Therefore, it's this paranoia about how the murder will affect himself, that Macbeth comes to the stance/decision to not proceed the murder of Duncan, albeit a temporarily. In addition, this paranoia is seen further on in the play following the murder of Duncan in which Macbeth stars to be doubtful of his allies such as Banquo and proceeds to enact their murders too. Therefore, it is the paranoia that Macbeth was plagued with which ultimately led to his demise, thereby being the theme which most significantly affected Macbeth.  

 What beast was ’t, then, 

That made you break this enterprise to me? 

When you durst do it, then you were a man; 

50And to be more than what you were, you would 

Be so much more the man. Nor time nor place 

Did then adhere, and yet you would make both. 

They have made themselves, and that their fitness now 

Does unmake you. I have given suck, and know 

55How tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me. 

I would, while it was smiling in my face, 

Have plucked my 🤬 from his boneless gums 

And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you 

Have done to this.

Letting “I dare not” wait upon “I would, ” 

Like the poor cat i' th' adage?

Comparing macbeth to a cat is what lady macbeth is trying to do as she is trying to dimantle macbeth’s courage that he had gained during the battle.

MACBETH 

 Prithee, peace: 

I dare do all that may become a man; 

Who dares do more is none.

Macbeth explains that he will not do it as he is a man and that a man will do what he will do from his supperiors and that is all he will do. He says that doing anymore is disobeying the supperiors and that makes him nothing.


Lady macbeth tries to get under macbeth’s skin by saying he was a man during the battle as he dared to do things that were dangerous. Now she is saying that that is nothing anymore as he refuses to be a man for his wife as he had promised 

 

 

Here lady macbeth is saying that if macbeth goes through with killing the king he will always be a man in her eyes. He will be the most manly in all of the country as he will be king. She is also saying that if he lets this chance pass, he will never be king and that he will regret it for the rest of his life. 

 

 

 

 

 

Here lady macbeth is saying that if she didn’t have the lady body features that she would even do it. This makes macbeth feel angry as now he even knows that his own wife could do it but he couldn’t

MACBETH 

 If we should fail?

Macbeth now agrees to kill the king but is not confident in the plan that lady macbeth came up with. He wants to step up to his wife and show that he is a man but is doubtful of the plan that she made and that they will get caught.


LADY MACBETH 

 We fail? 

60But screw your courage to the sticking-place, 

And we’ll not fail. When Duncan is asleep— 

Whereto the rather shall his day’s hard journey 

Soundly invite him—his two chamberlains 

Will I with wine and wassail so convince 

65That memory, the warder of the brain, 

Shall be a fume, and the receipt of reason 

A limbeck only: when in swinish sleep 

Their drenchèd natures lie as in a death, 

What cannot you and I perform upon 

70The unguarded Duncan? What not put upon 

His spongy officers, who shall bear the guilt 

Of our great quell?


Here lady macbeth explains that if he has courage, he can go through with anything. He would be able to be king.  

 

Here lady macbeth comes up with a plan that tries to intrigue macbeth. She will blame the servants for getting drunk on wine and then killing the king. Here lady macbeth is taking advantage of macbeth and the trust that everyone has in him, and macbeth refuses to stop lady macbeth as he wants to prove that he is a man. Lady macbeth also paints king duncan in a picture where he looks stupid and unworthy as she says unguarded door. Therefore, she is saying that it is easy to get in as duncan is too stupid to but guards next to his room.


MACBETH 

 Bring forth men-children only, 

For thy undaunted mettle should compose 

Nothing but males. Will it not be received, 

75When we have marked with blood those sleepy two 

Of his own chamber and used their very daggers, 

That they have done ’t?


Here macbeth agrees to do the crime. Says that lady macbeth will only give birth to male children as she has a spirit like a male and that women like her are very unlikely and weird. This reperesents paganism and that they would burn and kill anything they didn’t believe in. Macbeth also makes sure that lady macbeth knows what she is doing so they wont get caught.