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Year 10
AQA

Lady Macbeth's feelings of guilt in ‘Macbeth’

I can explore how Lady Macbeth’s feelings of guilt change over the course of ‘Macbeth’.

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Year 10
AQA

Lady Macbeth's feelings of guilt in ‘Macbeth’

I can explore how Lady Macbeth’s feelings of guilt change over the course of ‘Macbeth’.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Lady Macbeth appears to be suffering from a psychological disorder that causes her to sleep-walk
  2. This psychological disorder could be interpreted as a result of her guilt
  3. Lady Macbeth's language echoes that of her husband in earlier scenes
  4. Lady Macbeth's language might be suggesting that there is no salvation for the crimes that she has committed

Keywords

  • Salvation - In Christianity, salvation means you are delivered from sin and its consequences. The opposite of salvation is damnation.

  • Guilt - Guilt is an emotion you feel when you have done something bad. Guilt makes you feel worried and unhappy.

  • Symbol - If something is a symbol, it represents or expressed an idea. In 'Macbeth', blood is a symbol of guilt.

  • Echoes - If language echoes previous language in a text, it means it is similar. The slight differences help us notice something new.

  • Foreshadowing - Foreshadowing is a literary device. It gives the reader or audience a hint or indication of what might happen later in the story.

Common misconception

Lady Macbeth doesn't think guilt is a powerful emotion.

Lady Macbeth acknowledges that guilt can make people 'mad' or 'brainsickly' in 2.2. This is why she tries to reject the emotion.


To help you plan your year 10 english lesson on: Lady Macbeth's feelings of guilt in ‘Macbeth’, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Consider watching different adaptations of 5.1 to look at different ways that directors and actors choose to interpret Lady Macbeth's final appearance.
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Teacher tip
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Equipment

You will need access to William Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'.

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Content guidance

  • Depiction or discussion of sensitive content
  • Depiction or discussion of serious crime
  • Depiction or discussion of violence or suffering
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Supervision

Adult supervision required

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Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
In 'Macbeth', what happens to Lady Macbeth at the end of the play?
She is murdered by Macbeth.
She flees to England.
She supports Macbeth in the final battle.
Correct answer: She chooses to take her own life.
We are not told; she doesn't appear after 3.4.
Q2.
In 2.2 of 'Macbeth', Macbeth feels guilty about the regicide. He worries that an "ocean" won't clean the blood from his hands. Lady Macbeth responds with, "a little clears us of this deed".
Correct Answer: water, 'water', 'Water', Water, "water"
Q3.
In Act 2, after killing King Duncan, what is Macbeth worried he will no longer be able to do?
eat
Correct answer: pray
Correct answer: sleep
fight
love
Q4.
Which is the correct definition of foreshadowing?
A device whereby we are given a hint of what will happen later in the character.
A device whereby we are given a hint of what will happen earlier in the story.
A device whereby we are given a hint of what won't happen later in the story.
A device whereby we are given a hint of what has happened in the story.
Correct answer: A device whereby we are given a hint of what will happen later in the story.
Q5.
Which of these quotation from Lady Macbeth in Act 2, Scene 2 of 'Macbeth' foreshadows her demise in Act 5, Scene 1?
"smear The sleepy grooms with blood"
"Infirm of purpose!"
Correct answer: "These deeds must not be thought...it will make us mad"
"My hands are of your colour"
"Give me the daggers"
Q6.
Why would the first Jacobean audiences of 'Macbeth' consider regicide the worst crime you could commit?
Because monarchs were men and it was a patriarchal society.
Because people had tried to kill King James I.
Because Macbeth has just been promoted: it's ungrateful.
Correct answer: Because monarchs were thought to be appointed by God.
Because Lady Macbeth goaded Macbeth into it so it wasn't a brave decision.

Exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
In 'Macbeth', Macbeth worries about his salvation. What word means the opposite of salvation?
blood
guilt
Correct answer: damnation
remorse
madness
Q2.
At the beginning of Act 5 of 'Macbeth', what do the Doctor and Lady Macbeth's servant see Lady Macbeth doing?
Correct answer: sleepwalking
Correct answer: sleeptalking
being a ghost
Correct answer: obsessively cleaning her hands of blood
taking her own life
Q3.
In 5.1 of 'Macbeth', Lady Macbeth's language echoes that of Macbeth in 2.2. Which quotation most closely echoes Macbeth's "Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand?".
"smear/ The sleepy grooms with blood"
"My hands are of your colour but I shame To wear a heart so white"
"a little water clears us of this deed"
"Out, damned spot! out, I say!-"
Correct answer: "all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand"
Q4.
After the regicide in Act 2 of 'Macbeth', Macbeth worries that he will never sleep again, saying "the sleep".
Correct Answer: innocent, Innocent, 'Innocent', 'innocent', "innocent"
Q5.
In Act 2 of 'Macbeth', Lady Macbeth warns Macbeth against giving in to feelings of guilt. She says, "You do unbend your noble strength, to think So of things."
Correct Answer: brainsickly, 'brainsickly', Brainsickly, 'Brainsickly', "brainsickly"
Q6.
At the end of 'Macbeth', Lady Macbeth is presented as consumed by guilt. Why might Shakespeare have presented her in this way?
Correct answer: To show the repercussions of subverting the status quo.
To show the repercussions of being a woman.
Correct answer: To show the repercussions of committing regicide.
To show the repercussions of angering King James.
To show the repercussions of being a monarch in Scotland.