LADY MACBETH
Go get some water, And wash this filthy witness from your hand. - Why did you bring these daggers from the place? They must lie there: go carry them; and smear The sleepy grooms with blood.
MACBETH
I'll go no more: I am afraid to think what I have done; Look on't again I dare not.
Having failed at coaxing Macbeth from his anxiety, Lady Macbeth now turns to instruction, directing her husband with the imperatives "go", "wash", "carry", "smear". Her concern is to cover their tracks; whilst there are no actual witnesses, the "filthy witness" (the blood on Macbeth's hands) clearly implicates them in the murder. The lines introduce the motif of water and cleansing, one which will soon be connected thematically to salvation. Here, though, it is introduced as no more than a literal cleansing. For Lady Macbeth, the act can be washed away and the issue resolved. Her confidence falters with the sudden realisation that Macbeth is carrying the daggers. This is a new complication and there is no safety for them. At this, Lady Macbeth seems to increase the intensity of her instructions and become a stronger presence on the stage. Despite this, Macbeth cannot be moved; he will "go no more". He feels firmer here than he has before and his desire for murder appears to have collapsed. Even thinking about the murder is too much and he cannot bring himself to "look on't", as though the visual confirmation makes it more real. He keeps returning to his fear - "afraid", "dare not" - and the metre of his line falters with his resolve in the murder.
- Ken