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Macbeth
Worksheet 1: Lady Macbeth
Worksheet 1: Lady Macbeth
Lady Macbeth:
The Art of Persuasion
1. Re-read the section from Lady Macbeth’s
entrance (line 29) to the end of Act 1, Scene 7.
2. Lady Macbeth uses a number of powerfully
persuasive techniques in this crucial scene
(listed below and on the next page). Rate each
part of her argument, giving up to three stars.
3. Choose the argument that you found most
effective and write a short paragraph (75–100
words) explaining why it is such an effective
persuasive technique.
Image: © See Saw Films/Studio Canal/REX/Shutterstock
Lady Macbeth Persuasive technique Rating (in terms of
persuasiveness)
Was the hope drunk
Wherein you dressed yourself? Hath it
slept since?
And wakes it now to look so green and pale
At what it did so freely?
Lady Macbeth’s rhetorical
questions mock her
husband. She accuses him
of cowardice and bravado.
From this time
Such I account thy love.
She uses moral blackmail,
saying that Macbeth’s
feelings for her are also
false.
Wouldst thou have that
Which thou esteem’st the ornament of life,
And live a coward in thine own esteem,
Letting ‘I dare not’ wait upon ‘I would’,
Like the poor cat i’th’adage?
Lady Macbeth ridicules
her husband’s masculinity.
The rhetorical question
implying he wants to
be king but won’t take
any risks to get what he
wants.
