Feihu Yan

1/12/14
English T4
Ms. Atufe
Subtext Analysis from Act One Scene Five
1. thou wouldst be great, Art not without ambition, but without The illness should attend
it (Act 1 Scene 5, line 18-20)
This sentence in the scene shows Lady Macbeths ambition. She understands Macbeth inside out
and knows he is too noble and kind to steal the position of a king. She is definitely a very strong
character and she is worried about Macbeth, his own thought and plan for the prophecy.
2. The raven himself is hoarse That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan Under my
battlements. (Act 1 Scene 5, line 42-44)
It is obvious that Lady Macbeth is plotting something unfortunate for the king. She is determined
that this entrance must be the death of Duncan without even discussing it with Macbeth. She
speaks determination.
3. Your face, my thane, is as a book where men May read strange matters. (Act 1 Scene
5, line 70-71)
From this sentence, we see that Lady Macbeth is not only ambitious, determined, but also smart
and cunning. In order to hide her devious plan, she admonishes her husband to change his
abnormal facial expression. The tone of the sentence expresses disapproval and almost
condescending, which is unusual at the time in a marriage. It seems that she might be a strongerwilled character than Macbeth.