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Lady Macbeth appeals to the evil spirits from hell to fill her with cruelty and to metaphorically thicken her blood. She wants to block the flow of natural feelings of conscience and remorse, so that she can carry out the unthinkable deed of murdering the king.
Explanation of the famous quotes in Macbeth, including all important speeches, comments, quotations, and monologues.
After he kills Duncan, Macbeth comes to Lady Macbeth with his hands covered in blood. Horrified by his act, Macbeth laments that not even all of “Neptune’s ocean” would be enough to clean his hands. The blood on Macbeth’s hands symbolizes the guilt he feels for murdering Duncan.
Here we pull together a selection of Lady Macbeth quotes that range from her early mocking of Macbeth for his apparent lack of strength to do her bidding, through to her regret and seeming empathy at the violent, murderous events that unfold:
Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth: "Blood will have blood" (3.4.121), and asks what Lady Macbeth makes of the fact that Macduff does not appear at the royal court. He decides to visit the weird sisters to find out more about his fate.
After Macbeth murders Duncan, he runs into Lady Macbeth and attempts to clean his hands of Duncan's blood. Here, he expresses his anxiety that the blood will not come off, using a metaphor for the guilt he feels over what he has done.
MACBETH. Blood will lead to blood, as the saying goes. Gravestones have been known to move, trees to speak, and the jackdaws, crows, and rooks to cackle out the names of even the most secret murderers. [To LADY MACBETH] How late is it?
