This introduction covers The Hand That Cannot Be Washed within Lady Macbeth (character) for GCSE English Literature. Revise Lady Macbeth (character) in Macbeth for GCSE English Literature with 10 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. This topic shows up very often in GCSE exams, so students should be able to explain it clearly, not just recognise the term. It is section 1 of 16 in this topic. Use this introduction to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
📖 The Hand That Cannot Be Washed
Act 5, Scene 1. A doctor watches a sleepwalking woman scrub at her own hand. She speaks in fragments — "Out, damned spot!" — reaching for water that will not clean her.
Four acts earlier, the same woman called on spirits to "unsex" her so she could help kill a king. She told her husband, calmly, that "a little water clears us of this deed".
One woman. The same water. Shakespeare gives us the invocation, then the consequence — and dares us to keep looking.
Practice questions for Lady Macbeth (character)
Which of the following is a famous quotation spoken by Lady Macbeth in Act 1 Scene 5?
Identify ONE technique Shakespeare uses in Lady Macbeth's invocation ("Come, you spirits / That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here") and explain its effect on the audience. [2 marks]