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Paradoxes in Macbeth
9
Paradoxes in Macbeth
"A little water clears us of this deed."
Elizabeth Coffey
"What, will these hands ne’er be clean?"
Act V, Scene i, Line 37
Lady Macbeth contradicts herself when she asks if her hands will never be clean. When her hands were bloody in Act II, Scene ii, she felt that a little water was all that was necessary to clean them. Now she finds that, when her hands are unsoiled, her guilt makes her feels so dirty that she does not believe she will ever be clean again.
Act II, Scene ii, Line 70
"What he hath lost noble Macbeth hath won. "
Act I, Scene ii, Line 68
Spoken by King Duncan about Macbeth, this means that as the treacherous Thane of Cawdor is discovered as a traitor and prepared for execution, Macbeth receives his forsaken title, won through his honorable deeds in the day’s battle.
"I know this is a joyful trouble to you, but yet ‘tis one."
Act II, Scene iii, Lines 41-42
Spoken by Macduff, who wants Macbeth to know that, even though it is an honor to accommodate the king, it is understood to be a troublesome situation nonetheless.
"‘Tis safer to be that which we destroy than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy."
Scene III, Act ii, Lines 8-9
Lady Macbeth believes that their murder of King Duncan was meaningless because they cannot be content with the fear that their guilt will be discovered. Here she expresses that she would feel safer if she were dead than she does while filled with anxiety in their positions of power.
"To show an unfelt sorrow is an office which the false man does easy."
Act II, Scene iii, Lines 135-136
Spoken by Malcom, the heir to the throne, who is suspicious of the residents of Macbeth's castle. Anyone could have murdered his father, and he is fearful because sadness can be easily mimicked, therefore the murderer can't be determined by their outward appearance.