Friday, January 28, 2011

What does it mean when Lady Macbeth says to Macbeth "Nor time nor place did then adhere, and yet you would make both"?

This quote is from Lady Macbeth's angry rebuke of her husband in Act I, Scene 7. Macbeth has just told her, after much reflection, that he will not murder Duncan. Lady Macbeth challenges his manhood, saying that he had already thought to kill Duncan, and that then, he was a man. Now, as he vacillates, she no longer views him that way. This quote means, essentially, that when he initially thought about killing the king to fulfill his ambition, neither the time nor place was right to do so. It was easy to think such thoughts at that point, and indeed Macbeth could plan to do so. Now, in this scene, the King is asleep in Macbeth's own castle, a perfect opportunity to go through with their plans. Yet, as Lady Macbeth says, he is allowing the possibility of the murder, no longer remote or far-fetched, to "unmake" him. By challenging her husband in this way, she goads him into murdering Duncan.

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