Here's the smell of the blood still: all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.
Act V, Scene 1 · Lady Macbeth
Context
Still sleepwalking, Lady Macbeth continues trying to wash imaginary bloodstains from her hands, now claiming she can smell blood that won't go away.
Analysis
The hyperbolic geographical reach—'all the perfumes of Arabia'—contrasts starkly with the domestic smallness of 'this little hand,' creating bitter irony. She once believed a little water would clear them of the deed, but now envisions marshaling an entire region's resources and still failing. The sensory shift from visual spot to olfactory 'smell' shows guilt colonizing more of her perception, becoming inescapable.
Essay Tip
Support a thesis that Lady Macbeth's earlier confidence in appearance controlling reality ('a little water clears us') is systematically dismantled here—Shakespeare uses scale and sensory expansion to show how thoroughly guilt has invaded her world.