Skip to main content

Is "How tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me" from Macbeth a pathetic fallacy, personification, or a metaphor?

William Shakespeare's Macbeth presents two of drama's all-time villains: Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth.


Lady Macbeth becomes obsessed with the desire for power when she learns that witches have prophesied Macbeth's ascension to the throne of Scotland. When Macbeth tries to back out of their plan to assassinate King Duncan, Lady Macbeth chillingly declares:



I have given suck, and know


How tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me.


I would, while it...


William Shakespeare's Macbeth presents two of drama's all-time villains: Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth.


Lady Macbeth becomes obsessed with the desire for power when she learns that witches have prophesied Macbeth's ascension to the throne of Scotland. When Macbeth tries to back out of their plan to assassinate King Duncan, Lady Macbeth chillingly declares:



I have given suck, and know


How tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me.


I would, while it was smiling in my face,


Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums


And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you


Have done to this.



Lady Macbeth is saying that she has nursed a child and knows how emotional the experience is. She goes on to say that rather than go back on her word, she would be willing to beat the nursing child's brains out. That's a pretty dramatic (and heartless) statement.


So, is the statement a pathetic fallacy, another kind of personification, or a metaphor?


A pathetic fallacy is created when we attribute human emotions to something that is not human. Well, cold and evil as she may be, Lady Macbeth is still human, so that's not it.


Personification is a more general term than pathetic fallacy, but it still involves attributing human qualities to a non-human, so once again the fact that Lady Macbeth is human eliminates that choice.


A metaphor is a comparison of two unlike things that is not literally true. Writers create them to add a shade of meaning to their characters or descriptions. This doesn't seem to apply either, with one possible exception. It is never made clear whether or not Lady Macbeth is or ever has really been a mother. She certainly doesn't act like one. So if in fact she has never had a child, her statement that she has “given suck” might be meant in the figurative sense. Perhaps she is just saying that she can “imagine” the emotions involved. If so, you might be able to make a case for calling this a metaphor.

Popular posts from this blog

In chapter one of The Great Gatsby, what advice does Nick's father give him? How does this make him a good person to tell this story?

Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches... Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches into a discussion of how pe...

How did the United States become an imperial power?

"Imperial power" is a bit of a vague label. It tends to mean several things at once, so let's unpack it. In the sense of "this country was built on conquest by force," the "imperial power" part of America actually predates the United States proper. The territories that would become the United States were imperial colonies, established by the great European empires of the 17th and 18th centuries. Much of the US Constitution and American governance generally goes back to England, history's largest and most successful imperial power, but vital aspects of American culture come from other imperial powers, such as France and Spain. Much of American culture comes from sources other than the old empires, but they were key influences on what the United States became. In the sense of "this country treats conquest by force as a fundamental component of its culture, economy and politics," the United States has always been an imperial power. Even earl...

How and why does James Gatz become Jay Gatsby? Describe the young Gatsby/Gatz.

James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune,... James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune, whereas they arose from well-to-do families. Gatz became Gatsby through determination and discipline. At the end of the novel, the narr...