Question

Read the excerpt from act 1, scene 5 of The Tragedy of Macbeth. Lady Macbeth. Give him tending; He brings great news.—[Exit Messenger.] The raven himself is hoarse That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan Under my battlements. Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts! unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top full Of direst cruelty; make thick my blood, Stop up the access and passage to remorse, That no compunctious visitings of nature Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between The effect and it! Come to my woman’s breasts, And take my milk for gall, you murdering ministers, Wherever in your sightless substances You wait on nature’s mischief! Come, thick night, And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell, That my keen knife see not the wound it makes, Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark, To cry, "Hold, hold!” What is the most likely reason Lady Macbeth creates an emotional appeal in this excerpt? to petition the spirits in hopes that they will cast an enchantment over the guests in the castle to implore the unseen beings to help her reform her villainous thoughts to call on the supernatural to remove feminine characteristics that she thinks could hold her back to persuade the three Weird Sisters to use their powers to influence her as they did her husband

Answer 1

The emotional appeal created by Lady Macbeth in this excerpt is to call on the supernatural forces to remove her feminine qualities and help her embrace cruelty and ambition without any hindrance.

Step-by-step explanation:

The most likely reason Lady Macbeth creates an emotional appeal in this excerpt is to call on the supernatural to remove feminine characteristics that she thinks could hold her back. In this soliloquy, Lady Macbeth is expressing her desire for power and her willingness to do anything to achieve it. She wants to be filled with "direst cruelty" and devoid of any remorse or compassion. By asking the spirits to "unsex" her and "fill [her] from the crown to the toe top full" of cruelty, she is essentially asking to be stripped of her feminine qualities and emotions.

Lady Macbeth believes that her femininity may make her hesitate or weaken her resolve to carry out the murderous plan to kill King Duncan. She fears that her natural compassion and nurturing instincts associated with being a woman might interfere with her ability to commit the heinous act. By calling on the spirits to remove these feminine characteristics, she hopes to become more ruthless and single-minded in her pursuit of power.

Therefore, the emotional appeal created by Lady Macbeth in this excerpt is to call on the supernatural forces to remove her feminine qualities and help her embrace cruelty and ambition without any hindrance.