Two excerpts from Shakespeare's *Macbeth* are given below.

Excerpt A (Act 1 Scene 5, Lady Macbeth): "Come, you spirits / That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, / And fill me from the crown to the toe topful / Of direst cruelty!"

Excerpt B (Act 1 Scene 7, Macbeth): "If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well / It were done quickly."

Identify which excerpt (A or B) contains an imperative appeal to supernatural forces, and which contains a conditional clause expressing hesitation. Then, in one sentence, explain how each rhetorical strategy advances the character's ambition.

Question

Two excerpts from Shakespeare's *Macbeth* are given below.

Excerpt A (Act 1 Scene 5, Lady Macbeth): "Come, you spirits / That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, / And fill me from the crown to the toe topful / Of direst cruelty!"

Excerpt B (Act 1 Scene 7, Macbeth): "If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well / It were done quickly."

Identify which excerpt (A or B) contains an imperative appeal to supernatural forces, and which contains a conditional clause expressing hesitation. Then, in one sentence, explain how each rhetorical strategy advances the character's ambition.

Accepted Answer

Excerpt A contains the imperative appeal; Excerpt B contains the conditional clause. Lady Macbeth's command summons the spirits to steel her resolve, driving her ambition, whereas Macbeth's conditional clause reveals his hesitation, tempering his ambition.

Gce Model Questions Vol1 2024 Literature In English Question 31

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