Out damned spot‘ is a line spoken by
Lady Macbeth in
Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth.
She is walking and talking in her sleep about the assassination of King Duncan, in which she is implicated. Both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have been unable to sleep since they murdered Duncan, but when she does manage to fall asleep she is plagued with a nightmare about the murder and the blood they have shed. In this episode she is observed by a serving woman and a doctor who are overhearing her confession of the regicide she has committed.
As she walks she rubs her hands as though washing them, trying to get rid of the blood. The spot she’s referring to is a spot of blood on her hand. She’s rubbing it, trying to erase it, but cannot. “Here’s yet a spot,” she cries, desperately rubbing. “Here’s the small of blood still
you would be correct. You win a yak, Just pay taxes and shipping fees.