Shakespeare's Monologues
Shakespeare's Monologues
Lady Macbeth is the wife of the Scottish nobleman, Macbeth. She manipulates her husband into murdering the king because of a prophecy given to Macbeth saying he would be king. The regicide her guilt drives her into madness and to her eventual death.
Lady Macbeth is sleepwalking while a doctor and lady's maid look on. In her dream she sees a bloodstain on her hand and is disturbed by its refusal to be washed away in the same way her guilt can't be washed away. She makes allusions to her ambition and manipulation of Macbeth before alluding to their murder of the king. She attempts to reassure her husband in her sleep, frets more about the blood, and then orders them both to bed and goes.
Character description, monologue synopsis, and monologue scoring, provided by Rebecca Ziegler as part of the Spring 2019 THT 352 class.
Yet here's a spot.
Out, damned spot! out, I say!—One: two: why,
then, 'tis time to do't.—Hell is murky!—Fie, my
lord, fie! a soldier, and afeard? What need we
fear who knows it, when none can call our power to
account?—Yet who would have thought the old man
to have had so much blood in him.
The thane of Fife had a wife: where is she now?—
What, will these hands ne'er be clean?—No more o'
that, my lord, no more o' that: you mar all with
this starting.
Here's the smell of the blood still: all the
perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little
hand. Oh, oh, oh!
Wash your hands, put on your nightgown; look not so
pale.—I tell you yet again, Banquo's buried; he
cannot come out on's grave.
To bed, to bed! there's knocking at the gate:
come, come, come, come, give me your hand. What's
done cannot be undone.—To bed, to bed, to bed!
| Number of syllables | Scored text | Meaning of beat |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Yet here's a spot. | [Beat 1] to confirm |
| 9 | Out, damned spot! out, I say!—One: two: why, | [Beat 2] to command |
| 11 | then, 'tis time to do't.—Hell is murky!—Fie, my | |
| 11 |
lord, fie! a soldier, and afeard? What need we |
[Beat 3] to judge |
| 12 | fear who knows it, when none can call our power to | [Beat 4] to justify |
| 10 | account?—Yet who would have thought the old man | [Beat 5] to repent |
| 8 |
to have had so much blood in him. |
[Beat 6] to loath |
| 11 | The thane of Fife had a wife: where is she now?— | |
| 10 |
What, will these hands ne'er be clean?—No more o' |
|
| 11 |
that, my lord, no more o' that: you mar all with |
[Beat 7] to interrupt |
| 3 |
this starting. |
|
| 9 |
Here's the smell of the blood still: all the |
[Beat 8] to wonder |
| 14 |
perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little |
[Beat 9] to confirm |
| 4 |
hand. Oh, oh, oh! |
|
| 11 |
Wash your hands, put on your nightgown; look not so |
[Beat 10] to order |
| 11 |
pale.—I tell you yet again, Banquo's buried; he |
[Beat 11] to rationalize |
| 6 |
cannot come out on's grave. |
[Beat 12] to reassure |
| 10 |
To bed, to bed! there's knocking at the gate: |
[Beat 13] to advert |
| 9 | come, come, come, come, give me your hand. What's | |
| 12 |
done cannot be undone.—To bed, to bed, to bed!
|
[Beat 14] to reassure |
Definitions from David & Ben Crystal / Shakespeare's Words are under copyright, and may not be used without their express permission. All other definitions are from sources in the public domain.
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