Lady Macbeth in 3 Quotes (2) - "live a coward"

The current mini series of posts on Literature of the Hart is focusing on the character of Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare’s famous play Macbeth that is often studied at GCSE.  As an English tutor, I am often asked to help students improve the level of their analytical responses to texts.

The first post looked at Lady Macbeth’s well-known line in Act 1 Scene 5 (“unsex me here”).  Today’s post move on to Act 1 Scene 7 around line 43, where she challenges Macbeth, that he will

“live a coward”

if he does not carry out the planned murder of King Duncan.

How would you comment on the strategy Lady Macbeth uses to persuade Macbeth here?

Do you know any other similar things she says in the play to him?

And how is it related to the patriarchal, warrior culture of the play?

This is an example of my teaching approach which I have developed over 25 years as teacher, Head of English, headteacher and Associate of NACE (National Association of Able Children in Education). I aim to be accessible but I also stretch and challenge students to make excellent progress.  You can book a free 30 minute consultation with me via the Contact Form, and find out more about my experience on the About page.