An example of Metaphor in this scene is when lady Macbeth says her words are like poison being poured into Macbeths ear. Her words are:
“That I may pour my spirits in thine ear;
And chastise with the valour of my tongue
All that impedes thee from the golden round,“
She has just read a letter from Macbeth about the witches prophecy of kingship and she is very exited! However, contrary from how Macbeth has been conveyed to us so far in the play (noble, brave, strong, but still has ambitions and “dark desires”) lady Macbeth thinks he lacks the killer instinct to replace Malcolm as the kings heir, and decides that she will try and influence Macbeth to become the king, no matter what it takes.
This metaphor works by comparing Lady Macbeths hope of badly influencing Macbeth to a form of murder. In Shakespeares day, a simple and easy way to kill someone was to pour poison into their ear while they slept, so this metaphor is saying that Lady Macbeth will “kill” Macbeths good and (mostly) pure thoughts and replace them, or “poison” them to do her will, which is to make him king.
The reason Lady Macbeth would want to do this to Macbeth is because she wants power, Queenship, and privilege that women in those days never got. In Shakespeares time men were thought to be superior and women were thought to not be valuable to society, so she would have been very frustrated when Macbeths gets a chance at being king, but she doesn’t. This is shown in the quote “unsex me here,” when lady Macbeth is telling the witches to remove her status as a women, so she can have the ambition and power of men.
