“Yet do I fear thy nature; it is too full o' th' milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way.”

What does it mean?

Lady Macbeth worries that her husband is too gentle to do something cruel to become king. "The milk of human kindness" is still used today for natural kindness.

Key vocabulary

thy

an old word for "your"

milk of human kindness

natural kindness and care for others

catch the nearest way

take the quickest (and here, most ruthless) route

• “To be, or not to be, that is the question.”– William Shakespeare
• “All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players.”– William Shakespeare
• “The course of true love never did run smooth.”– William Shakespeare
• “Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds.”– William Shakespeare