Out, damned spot! Out, I say!

To remember this quote use the following mnemonic.

Out damned spot. 

"Out, damned spot! Out, I say!" Act 5, scene 1, line 31

Note: We have used a beaver in this picture to remind you that an important word is damned. The beaver just wants to get back to her "damned" river.

Meaning

• Lady Macbeth is sleepwalking and imagining that she can see blood on her hands from the murder of Duncan. She desperately tries to wash the invisible stain away, shouting at the "spot" of blood to disappear. This shows that she is tormented by guilt and her mind has been destroyed by guilt. 

Exam Advice

• Theme of Guilt and Conscience - Lady Macbeth, who once dismissed the murder as easy to forget, is now haunted by it, unable to rid herself of guilt.

• Theme of Madness - Her sleepwalking and hallucinations show that her mind has broken under the strain of her crimes.

• Theme of Blood as a Symbol - The imagined "spot" of blood represents her permanent guilt - she can never be clean again.

• Contrast with Earlier Confidence - Earlier, she said "A little water clears us of this deed." This line shows she was wrong and cannot escape what she has done.