English Literature, 20th cent. to the Present: Biographies

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature Further reading

Macbeth, Lady

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | | Copyright

Macbeth, Lady a remorseless or melodramatic woman, especially one leading or assisting a weak man, with allusion to the scene in Shakespeare's Macbeth in which Macbeth balks at returning to the room in which he has murdered Duncan to replace the daggers with which he killed the king, and so ensure that Duncan's attendants are believed to be his murderers. His wife undertakes the task, with the words ‘Infirm of purpose! Give me the daggers’.

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Macbeth, Lady." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Macbeth, Lady." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-MacbethLady.html

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Macbeth, Lady." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-MacbethLady.html

Learn more about citation styles

Macbeth, Lady

The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature | 2003 | | Copyright

Macbeth, Lady, ambitious wife of Macbeth in Shakespeare's play; L. C. Knights's essay ‘How many children had Lady Macbeth?’ (1933) is a teasing riposte to the sort of biographical speculation favoured by A. C. Bradley.

Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.

MLA
Chicago
APA

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Macbeth, Lady." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 31 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Macbeth, Lady." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 31, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-MacbethLady.html

MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "Macbeth, Lady." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved May 31, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-MacbethLady.html

Learn more about citation styles

Free newspaper and magazine articles

	Fantasizing infanticide: Lady Macbeth and the murdering mother in early... Magazine article from: College Literature; 6/22/2005
	I'dhave beencrazy nottoplay Lady Macbeth;... Newspaper article from: Daily Post (Liverpool, England); 5/20/2011
	Full of sound and fury 'Lady Macbeth' a very good slice of Shakespeare, but... Newspaper article from: Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL); 3/25/2005