Worksheet 1: Lady Macbeth, Study Guides, Projects, Research of Art

Download Worksheet 1: Lady Macbeth and more Study Guides, Projects, Research Art in PDF only on Docsity! 1 MacbethWorksheet 1: Lady Macbeth Worksheet 1: Lady Macbeth Lady Macbeth: The Art of Persuasion 1. Re-read the section from Lady Macbeth’s entrance (line 29) to the end of Act 1, Scene 7. 2. Lady Macbeth uses a number of powerfully persuasive techniques in this crucial scene (listed below and on the next page). Rate each part of her argument, giving up to three stars. 3. Choose the argument that you found most effective and write a short paragraph (75–100 words) explaining why it is such an effective persuasive technique. Image: © See Saw Films/Studio Canal/REX/Shutterstock Lady Macbeth Persuasive technique Rating (in terms of persuasiveness) Was the hope drunk Wherein you dressed yourself? Hath it slept since? And wakes it now to look so green and pale At what it did so freely? Lady Macbeth’s rhetorical questions mock her husband. She accuses him of cowardice and bravado. From this time Such I account thy love. She uses moral blackmail, saying that Macbeth’s feelings for her are also false. 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’, Like the poor cat i’th’adage? Lady Macbeth ridicules her husband’s masculinity. The rhetorical question implying he wants to be king but won’t take any risks to get what he wants. 2 Macbeth Worksheet 1: Lady Macbeth Lady Macbeth Persuasive technique Rating (in terms of persuasiveness) I have given suck, and know How tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me – I would, while it was smiling in my face, Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums, And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you Have done to this. Here Lady Macbeth uses her femininity to belittle her husband. She claims that she would be fully prepared to go against her own maternal instincts and kill her own child rather than break a promise. But screw your courage to the sticking-place, And we’ll not fail. By using flattery and appealing to her husband’s bravery, Lady Macbeth encourages him to work closely with her and achieve their great ambition. 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 That 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 lies as in a death, What cannot you and I perform upon Th’unguarded Duncan? What not put upon His spongy officers, who shall bear the guilt Of our great quell? Lady Macbeth’s simple plan is designed to give her husband confidence. She will take care of drugging Duncan’s guards at the feast, so they will sleep through the murder. She suggests that it will be easy to put the blame on the chamberlains and reminds Macbeth of their shared strengths. Who dares receive it other, As we shall make our griefs and clamour roar Upon his death? At the end of the scene, Lady Macbeth reassures her husband by telling him to put on an act in public after Duncan is found murdered. By planning ahead and rehearsing Macbeth’s reactions, she boosts his confidence and reduces his misgivings about killing Duncan.