Lady Macbeth Now & Then

D. "My hands are of your color, but I shame To wear a heart so white." (2.2.82-83)

In context, Macbeth had already "done the deed", which was killing Duncan with daggers. Later, he begins to tell her how he was hearing a voice saying, "Sleep no more!...Macbeth shall sleep no more." However, she sees that he had brought the bloody daggers along with him when he returns to Lady Macbeth and she freaks out explaining to him that he'd needed to leave them there so that it would be left as pure evidence. Hence, after calling him a coward and taking the daggers from Macbeth, she says that she'll return them to the house and reaffirm the plan to make paint blood on the servant's faces. Then, Macbeth starts to hear knocking noises and is starting to feel panic as well as fear. This is where Lady Macbeth enters and says, “"My hands are of your color, but I shame To wear a heart so white."

Seeing how Macbeth is reacting to this murder act, Lady Macbeth reassures him that he cannot start to become feeble about what he’s done. He’s reminded to be manly about this situation and to "watch this filthy witness from your hand" as if doing so would truly wash the 'filthiness' from his hands. It is evident that her bold characterization stands out in her lines when she says, “but I shame To wear a heart so white”. The color of Macbeth’s hands that she’s referring to is red because of the blood and so is hers. Yet, she ridicules what seems like Macbeth’s sudden paranoia of everything around him, starting with some simple knocking at the door. She feels that she needs to be so powerful and in control of everything because if can’t, then someone needs to be. She wants Macbeth to want the throne as much as she wants it, and she truly wants it. However, she, as well as Macbeth certainly do not want to leave any white spots that’ll prove them guilty, hence she needs to be extra careful and be very competent of doing things in the correct way without mistakes

"The Thane of Fife had a wife. Where is she now?" (5.1.44-45) A gentlewoman and doctor curiously watch and note Lady Macbeth’s actions as she sleepwalks and sleep talks. Lady Macbeth repeatedly washes her hands. This is the action of when she was washing her hands after her and Macbeth had “done the deed”. Later, the doctor concludes, “she needs spiritual aid rather than a physician.”

Lady Macbeth is feeling very frantic. She seems to be as paranoid as Macbeth was after he’d killed Duncan and loathed what he’d done. She’s obviously gone mad as this is evident when the gentlewoman and doctor see her constantly washing her hands in thin air and speaking to herself what she would never tell them in person. She says, “The Thane of Fife had a wife. Where is she now?” She is referring to all of their evil deeds and because the security that she needs to feel is so great, her feelings of fear had transcended all her confidence. There is contrast in her characterization as she used to be the one to push Macbeth into this situation (Adam & Eve?). In conclusion, I feel that this idea of how sometimes our fears get the best of us comes into play with this sharp contrast in Lady Macbeth’s characterization from confident to fearful.

#3

3. Think about hamartia: find one poem that displays a tragic flaw in human nature (either human nature in general or in one human, as expressed in the poem). Write about whether or not the poem’s message is enhanced for you, as a reader, as you contemplate hamartia as it relates to the text.
The poem In the Secular Night shows hamartia through "you". This character that is portrayed throughout the story as one who is alone and this lonliness is what creates this sense of 'fall'. The author alludes to this lonliness as something that creates a separate outlet for the speaker, and people in general, to release that loneliness. The fact that she says, "…the sensed absence of God and the sensed presence amount to much the same thing…” brings up her point that this “…silence between the words” has become too much that she doesn’t feel the need to even believe anyone or any one ‘being’ is there for her. Then, the greatest portrayal of ‘fall’ is the last part of the third stanza when it reads, “Someone’s been run over”. This part could stand as a metaphor in saying that perhaps ‘all is over now’ or ‘nothing matters’ and that perhaps death is the only portal that will cease this loss in emptiness. The reader may approach the last line “The century grinds on” as a new journey into the future that proposes an opportunity for ‘redemption’ but to me, this only says that whether she expels this feeling of anxiety or not, it won’t matter, the world will continue to spin with or without her permission.
For me, this poem's message is enhanced for me as i contemplate hamartia in this text because I too have moments when I just need this lonliness. However, this doesn't mean that I have a craving to be recognized as the speaker in the poem is. I find that although being alone and having 'alone time' is healthy, sometimes being too alone and not being able to open up is unhealthy and unfruitful for any cause. For this reason, all may end in chaos like the last stanza portrays.

#2

2. TPCASTT one poem and discover what it really says to you. Write about the poem and its theme, especially about how the poem’s message sheds light on the universal human condition/experience.



The one poem that I did a TPCASTT and found ME in was the "I meant to have but modest needs" poem. This poem heavily describes the search for satisfaction through prayer, problems with misunderstanding the nature and power of God, and ultimately, how our response to God in the circumstances of life affect our path. The reverent, calm and quiet mood made whatever voice that was prevalent in this poem so passive and enduring. The sibilance and alliteration coupled together tied the mood together to shed light on a greater understanding of human nature. I found that the rhythmic "Iambic"? meter helped the poem flow as well. However, something to note is the fact that this poem does not portray any reverent message at all. Instead, it reads in the fourth stanza, where there is the great general shift, "I left the place with all my might, - My prayer away I threw;..." This tells the reader that there is something wrong, that something is left out. Judging the last stanza, "But I, grown shrewder; scan the skies...", this also shows that there is shift in mood as well from reverent to defnesive and insecure. Overall, this poem shows how to humans, we're always wanting so much; from each other, ourselves, society, and God. This poem sheds light on the universal human condition that we are so fickle. What's more is that we live in such a massive world, yet God is even greater and still, we do not find happiness in God or the world. We often times do not find satisfcation in neither God nor the world, which is problematic. Our human desires will never cease. But I hope to turn that around, starting with myself.