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"unbend"
Imagery
Act 2,
Scene 2
Lines 43-46

An explanation of Lady Macbeth’s use of the word “unbend” to evoke archery imagery in Act 2, Scene 2 of myShakespeare’s Macbeth.

Lady Macbeth

Who was it that thus cried? Why, worthy thane,
You do unbend your noble strength, to think
So brain-sickly of things. Go get some water,
And wash this filthy witness from your hand.

In archery, when you pull the arrow back you bend the bow. When you unbend the bow, you relax the tension and thus the strength of the shot. Lady Macbeth uses this archery imagery to tell her husband that his anxiety is weakening his “noble strength.”