Question

In this excerpt from act I, scene V, of Macbeth, what does Lady Macbeth imply about Macbeth?

LADY MACBETH:
Glamis thou art, and Cawdor; and shalt be What thou art promis'd; yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o' the milk of human kindness To catch the nearest way: thou wouldst be great; Art not without ambition; but without The illness should attend it. What thou wouldst highly, That wouldst thou holily; wouldst not play false, And yet wouldst wrongly win: thou'dst have, great Glamis, That which cries, "Thus thou must do, if thou have it: And that which rather thou dost fear to do Than wishest should be undone." Hie thee hither, That I may pour my spirits in thine ear; And chastise with the valor of my tongue All that impedes thee from the golden round, Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem To have thee crown'd withal.

He lacks ambition.

He is hesitant.

He lacks courage.

He has moral scruples.

Answer 1

I think it is these two, because you can pick more than one.

I may be wrong tho.

He lacks ambition

He lacks courage

Answer 2

Well "Art not without ambition; but without the illness should attend it." means he has ambition, but does not have what it takes to use it to gain something.

"Though wouldst be great" means he wants to be great, but "What thou wouldst highly, that wouldst though holily; wouldst not play false, and yet wouldst wrongly win" means he wants to do things in a good or holy way, he doesn't want to cheat in life or play unfairly, but he does want something that shouldn't be his.

She is basically calling him out, saying he wants to be king but doesn't have what it takes to make it happen.

So I believe the answers would be He lacks courage, and He has moral scruples.

For future reference.