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Women in Macbeth
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In every story, there is a set of characters used to propel the plot forward. Often times, these characters are based off of age-old archetypes- the hero, the damsel in distress, the prophet. These archetypes have been used for centuries, and can be found in many pieces of classic Western literature. During the time period in which Macbeth was written, women were not well-represented in literature. However, as usual, Shakespeare broke the mold and created diverse and unique female characters, each one crucial to the storyline. Each female character represents a different archetype, and yet, each one seems to defy the archetype in one way or another. The temptress archetype is “Characterized by sensuous beauty, this woman is one to whom the protagonist is physically attracted and who ultimately brings about his downfall” (“Archetype”). Being Macbeth’s wife, Lady Macbeth …show more content…
is one of the strongest influences on Macbeth’s conscious. It is clear that he loves her, especially since he listens to everything that she says. Even though his obedience comes from a place of love, she is not driven by the same force. Instead, her actions stem from a need for power and control. This is seen when she says “You hand, your tongue: look like the innocent flower,/ But be the serpent under’t” (Macbeth). In this passage, Lady Macbeth is convincing Macbeth to kill King Duncan in order to become the new king. She wants Macbeth to engage in an underhanded scheme so that their name can rise to power. Using her emotional influence over Macbeth she convinces him to murder a man. However, Lady Macbeth does not completely fit the temptress archetype. Often times, the power and influence that the temptress has over the hero is sexual. She is a beautiful woman who can control with her looks. In contrast, Lady Macbeth uses her emotionally manipulative skills rather than sex. This is a testament to Shakespeare’s ability to write characters that are recognizable, but still manage to have their own unique traits. The weird sisters influence Macbeth’s journey in a different way.
These three witches serve as the prophets of the story. They tell Macbeth what the future will hold, and he shapes his actions to fit that prophecy. In a way, the weird sisters can be seen almost as narrators to the story. They deliver the future and pull the story along. They are completely neutral characters- they do not hurt Macbeth, per se, but they are not beneficial to his journey, either. In the beginning of the play, the weird sisters say “All hail, Macbeth! that shalt be king hereafter” (Macbeth). This is where the weird sisters deviate from the prophet archetype. Although this prophecy came true, it eventually lead to Macbeth’s downfall. Typically, prophets lead a character to victory or to a happy ending. Since Macbeth is a tragedy, this did not happen. Although the weird sisters prophesied that Macbeth would become king, the dark tone and somber nature of the play hinted that this would not lead him in a positive direction. For this reason, the weird sisters do not accurately and perfectly portray the prophet
archetype. The final female character that is featured in Macbeth is Lady Macduff. She is only seen in one scene, and it is the scene where she is killed. Out of all the female characters, Lady Macduff conforms closest to an archetype. She is the damsel in distress, which is described as being “A vulnerable woman who needs to be rescued by the hero. She is often used as a trap to ensnare the unsuspecting hero.” Lady Macduff cannot do anything to fix her situation. Unlike the other women in the play, Lady Macduff is completely helpless, which perfectly fits the damsel in distress archetype. Unlike the damsel in distress, Lady Macbeth is never saved. She is killed, along with her children. No hero ever comes to save her. Again, this deviation from the archetype can be attributed to the fact that this is a tragedy. Although Macbeth does not feature many female characters, those that are present are rich with detail and complexity, while still loosely representing classic literary archetypes. This imprecise interpretation of the classic characters stems from the tragic nature of the play. It is based in reality, and in reality, characters like the temptress and the damsel in distress simply don’t exist.
Lady Macbeth’s atypical and complex character directly challenged the archetypal principles and beliefs of the Jacobean era which as a result, drew major fascination through the ages. Lady Macbeth was Shakespeare’s device to not only stimulate audience’s emotions, but to also provide historical context and elicit dominant themes which reflected Jacobean society. Her ambiguous character and remarkable influences in the play raised a lot of controversy and fascination amongst both modern and Jacobean audiences. She can either be seen as linked to the witches in a feminist bid to overthrow the balance of power, or as a representation of the evil side of Macbeth. Nevertheless, it was her distinct characteristics and actions which ultimately catalysed the chain of conflicts of the play. Again, this reinforces her important role in the play.
This essay earned a 89/100. it was a lot of work considering the lines from macbeth for textual support.
Lady Macbeth is one of William Shakespeare’s most famous and frightening female characters. As she is Macbeth’s wife, her role is significant in his rise and fall from royalty. She is Macbeth’s other half. During Shakespearean times, women were regarded as weak insignificant beings that were there to give birth and look beautiful. They were not thought to be as intelligent or equal to men. Though in Shakespeare's play, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is the highest influence in Macbeth’s life. Her role was so large; in fact, that she uses her position to gain power, stay strong enough to support her unstable Lord, and fails miserably while their relationship falls apart. Everything about Lady Macbeth is enough to create the perfect villain because of her ability to manipulate everyone around her. It appears that even she can’t resist the perfect crime.
The definition of a tragic hero, as stated on dictionary.com, is a literary character that makes an error in judgment that, combined with fate and external forces, brings on a tragedy. It has been argued for years whether Macbeth from Shakespeare’s, The Tragedy of Macbeth, can truly be considered a tragic hero or whether he is solely a villainous tyrant. Although there are some valid arguments for the Macbeth is pure evil viewpoint, by looking at Macbeth in a holistic way you can see the tragic, the heroic, and the tragic hero within him. Macbeth is a tragic hero in every sense of the definition.
In Macbeth, Shakespeare examines the significance of time in the form of one’s present and future through the unfortunate character of Macbeth. Macbeth is an ordinary soldier, loyal to the king as the Thane of Glamis, prior to his meeting with the three witches. The three witches reveal to Macbeth his future “All, hail Macbeth! Hail to three, Thane of Cawdor! All, hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (1.3. 49-50). For the most part one does not know his or her own future. Our futures are uncertain and predictions like these do not always come true, yet Shakespeare has set Macbeth up in a way that he knows these predictions will come true. Not long after the witches state their claims
“This tyrant whose sole name blisters our tongues, was once thought honest…” (77). This quote represents the change of Macbeth throughout the play. The use of blood imagery is used to represent the character development of Macbeth from a noble thane to a murdering tyrant. We first see blood imagery characterizing Macbeth when he is called noble for defeating Norway. Then, the idea of un-washable blood shows that Macbeth’s character will change. When Macbeth begins to experience the blood of others on his own hands, it leads him to ultimately become the “villain” or antagonist of the play. Finally, before the death of Macbeth, blood imagery has been used to characterize Macbeth so much that he is now over confident and seems to be fueled by the idea of it. By examining the use of blood imagery, one can determine that blood represents Macbeth’s character development from an honorable thane to a disrespected tyrant.
Gender is evidently out of its traditional order within the play, and thus the three chosen exemplar characters to showcase this are Lady Macbeth, the Witches, and Macbeth. In saying this, Lady Macbeth is a clear example of how the traditional characteristics of a woman are non-existent as they are taken over by masculinity and strength. The witches challenge their womanhood due to the power they hold and attributes they have, all while Macbeth challenges his gender as he shows femininity through weakness and fretfulness.
The story of Lady Macbeth throughout Macbeth is one unlike those of its time in its unusually forward-thinking portrayal of a woman with thoughts and actions which would have been considered indecent. This is seen through the representation of her relationship with Macbeth and how they interact. It is also illustrated through Lady Macbeth’s morals and their effect on how she acts and reacts in situations which would weigh heavily on most peoples’ conscious. Her power-hungry attitude is one often reserved for men, especially in this era of literature. All of these factors create a character in Lady Macbeth which is dissimilar to the classic portrayal of women in the seventeenth century.
When anything in life first begins to grow, it begins as a seed. The seed of a plant, or of a thought, or of an idea. Once created, the seed can do one of two things. It can grow, or it can die. Shakespeare’s play Macbeth tells the story of an innocent man who is turned evil from the seeds planted by those around him, allowing readers to explore the repetition of growth and how it is implied through characters. Throughout the play, growth is used to display Macbeth and Banquo as foil characters, show Banquo’s “goodness” through positive imagery, and to show Macbeth’s “evilness” through negative growth imagery. By analyzing Shakespeare’s use of growth imagery, critical readers recognize that growth enforces the idea that growth triumphs evil, embodied in the actions and consequences of Macbeth and Banquo as they make one of two crucial choices? Good, or evil?
away if she isnt grateful for the food that she has recieved. Katharine eventually thanks her husband, but still does not get enough food to satisfy her hunger. Katharine is then told by his “loving” husband to get ready in her best outfit to meet his dad at his house. The tailor then enters the scene, and Petruchio sends the man to get a bigger cap than he initially brought for his wife. Katharine told Petruchio that she is able to talk for herself, and shows more of a dominant role in the relationship that was not initially expressed before. Then, although Katherine thinks highly of the dress, Petruchio fires the tailor after complaining about the dress that he made. Petruchio decides that it is what’s on the inside that counts, and announces
In Shakespeare’s tragic play Macbeth, Shakespeare creates the ruthless character Macbeth, who is willing to go beyond any measure in order to attain the power of being king, including murder, deceit, betrayal and overpowering the chain of being. Macbeth was first tempted by the idea of kingship when three witches presented him with their portent of Macbeth becoming the next King of Scotland. Ebullient, Macbeth, immediately informed his wife of the news and they both pondered the thought of having the power to rule all of Scotland. Lady Macbeth, a power seeker herself, promptly schemed a plan to kill King Duncan in order for her and her husband to rule, displaying her ready ambition for power. Macbeth’s thirst for power ate away at his conscience
The Weird Sisters heavily influenced Macbeth’s decisions in the play. They were the ones that told Macbeth originally that he will be Thane of Glamis, Cawdor, and king, which eventually led him to his feat for ultimate power. If they wouldn’t have told him his prophecy, he might’ve never begun killing in the first place. Then, later in the play, The Weird Sisters summoned the apparitions to give him another prophecy: “beware Macduff.” This made Macbeth respond with “thou shalt not live” (Macduff), which led to him killing Macduff’s whole family. This proves that what the Weird sisters told Macbeth sent him on his quest for complete power over Scotland.
The weird sisters where a malevolent trio that were bent on destroying Macbeth. They initiated the series of events that destroyed Macbeth and tormented the land of Scotland. With the prophetic greeting, "All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter", the weird sisters gave Macbeth the confidence to fulfill his scheme of regicide (Shakespeare 184). Without the sisters' prophecy that his plans would succeed, Macbeth may never had the temerity to assassinate the King of Scotland and force his way to the throne. Without the confirmation of the witches, Macbeth would have remained an honorable thane and would have averted the path of darkness. Besides simply initiating Macbeth's destruction, the weird sisters helped cement it. An apparition summoned by the weird sisters told Macbeth, "Be bloody, bold, and resolute, laugh to scorn / the power of man, for none of woman born / shall harm Macbeth" (Shakespeare 226). This prophecy gave Macbeth a sense of security because all men are ...
The sisters enjoyed seeing the downfall of Macbeth by his own selfish actions. Without the witches, his desire to be king would have not been great enough for him to commit murder; the witches are his evil side. The weird sisters play as catalysts in the story as they change the storyline with their foresights. Without the witches, the story would of course lose weirdness, but the story would collapse and the conflict would vanish. “I will not be afraid of death and bane till Birnam Forest come to Dunsinane” (Shakespeare 513)....
William Shakespeare wrote andwroteand is famous for a lot of plays. many play and is famous for a lot of them. One of them is Macbeth. Macbeth is a great play, that describes the characteristics of a tragic hero. He Macbeth is a tragic hero being thathero in many ways because his character changes from the beginning toand the end.