Lady Macbeth's Imagery

In her soliloquy, Lady Macbeth uses a lot of imagery in order to express her current state and that which she hopes to achieve. While there are many different examples within her speech, I was most interested in her lines "And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty!" and "That my keen knife see not the wound it makes" (44-45, 53).

The first line, about cruelty, painted a picture for me of Lady Macbeth literally filling up with cruelty, as though she were a vase and cruelty was a liquid. It's interesting to think of being filled up with cruelty, since cruelty isn't a tangible substance. It's important to note that she talks about filling her "from the crown to the toe top-full" because this means that she must consider herself to be currently empty of cruelty. If she considered herself a somewhat cruel person, she wouldn't have to be completely filled up. Additionally, the fact that she needs to be "top-full" shows that she believes that she will need to be extremely cruel in order to get the deed done. While this shows that she hopes to come to a state of mind where she can be merciless and kill without remorse, it also shows that she doesn't think she is a natural killer. By expressing her necessity to be full of cruelty, she is also expressing her opinion that otherwise her nature would prevent her from killing Duncan.

The next line, about the knife, made me imagine Lady Macbeth stabbing Duncan with her knife while looking away and covering her eyes; she knows that she is doing it, but is trying to prevent herself from realizing the full reality and consequences of it. This shows compassion for others, because she does not wish to see Duncan die. If she had no compassion for others, she would be able to kill and realize it without remorse or hesitation. Another important detail is that she describes the knife as her "keen knife", meaning that she hopes to be in a state of mind where she is eager to kill the king. It's not good enough for her to be able to do it and not pay too much attention to it, but she recognizes that unless she is enthusiastic about it, she will hesitate or chicken out.

As with any good use of language, Lady Macbeth's imagery tells us a lot about her character. We can learn that in her current state she considers herself to be devoid of cruelty and compassionate of others, while she hopes to become completely filled with cruelty, ignorant of the consequences, and actually eager to kill.