Character Study of Lady Macbeth
Lady Macbeth comes into the play in act 1 scene 5, when Lady Macbeth
is reading the letter from Macbeth. Lady Macbeth fears that Macbeth’s
heart “is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness”. She knows that her
husband has is “not without ambition, but without the illness should
attend it”.
Lady Macbeth’s immediate response to the letter is the thought of
killing the king. “Hie thee hither, that I may pour my spirits into
thine ear” she wants her husband to hurry back so she can talk to him
about killing the king.
Lady Macbeth’s determination to be queen is evident when she refers to
“the raven” who “himself is hoarse” and “croaks the fatal entrance of
Duncan”. It is here that we realise she means to end his life, she
calls upon evil spirits to “unsex me here” abandoning all her feminine
qualities, her “direst cruelty” to evident when she opposes her nature
asking for it to “take my milk for gall.”
She warns him warns him of such things such as “your face, my thane,
is a book where men may read strange matters” She tells him how to
behave when around the king “…bear welcome in your eye, your hand,
your tongue; look like th’ innocent flower, but be the serpent
under’t”. She is so certain of her own strength and determination that
she can say “leave all the rest to me”
Act 1 scene 7, when Macbeth has doubts with regard to killing Duncan,
Lady Macbeth is quick to manipulate him knowing exactly what to say.
“Was the hope drunk?” Lady Macbeth calls Macbeth a coward “and live a
coward in thine own esteem”. She is clever to say this because Macbeth
is brave and won’t tolerate being called a ...
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...beth responds “cure her of that” notice how he cares
less for her now. His guilt has now become her guilt. Macbeth does not
understand the implication of her guilt, believing it would be easy
to, “pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow” and “cleanse the stuffed
bosom of that perilous shift which weighs upon her heart”
Act 5 scene 5, Macbeth hears the cry of Lady Macbeth committing
suicide. Lady Macbeth went from being normal to being overcome with
selfishness and greed to become queen. She called upon the spirits to
take away her feminine qualities, which made her wicked and cold
hearted. She manipulated her husband and persuasively more than once
changed his mind on killing Duncan. Her guilty conscience grew more as
Macbeth guilty conscience grew less. Eventually her guilt was too much
and this lead to her death.
The Tragedy of Macbeth, by William Shakespeare illustrates two seemingly ordinary nobles whose lives intertwine in a whirlwind of power, corruption, and the supernatural resulting in their descents. They were both so wrapped up in this greedy world they failed to consider the consequences of their actions more realistically. Macbeth started to succumb to the belief that deeds "must be acted ere they be scann’d,"(III.IV.140). Lady Macbeth in particular loses sight of rationality from the play’s beginning to end. She feigns an image of ruthlessness and believes she can handle the intrusion of unearthly evil in her mind and soul. She presents a seemingly stable foundation of control in which she clutches with an iron fist.
The one who is at fault in the play of Macbeth written by William Shakespeare is not all who presume it is. Some say the blame is on the Witches, some say Lady Macbeth, but Macbeth is the real man at fault. He was at choice of his decisions, only slightly pressured by his wife, Lady Macbeth. Macbeth dug himself into a hole he was not able to climb out of. There was no return to the light side for him as he had no regrets, he was inhumane, and cold-blooded. There are many examples that show his inhumanity towards others throughout the play, one cold-blooded act to another with no turning back. It was a painful ending for Macbeth since no one showed sympathy for him as his head ended up on a sword. Macbeth is at fault for all the critical events within the play as he is the one that killed Banquo, King Duncan, and Macduff’s family.
(Act 5 scenes 2). This could be a sign of guilt along with her mental illness that starts to control her. Next Lady Macbeth starts falling into a deep dark depression. Lady Macbeth starts having crazy thoughts. All her guilt comes down to her hard work.
In the mind of Lady Macbeth, ambition is represented as the ruling motive, an intense overmastering passion, which is gratified at the expense of every just and generous principle, and every feminine feeling (Moulton 516). Lady Macbeth learns, by letter, of the prophecy made by the Three Witches from her husband. She takes this knowledge to be true. Macbeth will one day be the King of Scotland, but she fears he is too kind and compassionate to kill King Duncan. Then, she makes this famous speech to the gods, “Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full of direst cruelty! Make thick my blood, stop up th’ access and passage to remorse; that no compunctious visitings of Nature shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between th’ effect and it! Come to my woman’s breasts, and take my milk for gall, you murth’ring ministers, wherever in your sightless substances you wait on Nature’s mischief! Come, thick night, and pall th...
Macbeth is a very gothic, persistent tale of a great general in the Scottish army who causes his own downfall by listening to the dark prophecies of the three witches and his wife, Lady Macbeth. Macbeth’s self-consciousness fails to play an important part in the murder of multiple kinsmen causing the death of his wife and his mental health. Macbeth is not necessarily a horrible leader; the problem with him is that his ambitions exceed his expectancies. Macbeth’s character has constantly evolved from the point he was introduced into the play. Initially he seems as an extremely humble person, but as he learns more about the prophecies, his hindsight fails to overlook the complications of his ambitions. Macbeth’s faith in the apparitions and the witches ultimately cause Macbeth’s downfall and the unnecessary death of his beloved kinsmen such as King Duncan and Banquo.
Perhaps the most fundamental theme of Shakespeare’s Macbeth is the inherent corruptibility of even a seemingly good man when ambition turns to greed, and Macbeth himself, as one would expect, exemplifies this concept throughout the play. While at the outset he is seen to be loyal to his king, generally considered trustworthy, and displaying numerous other laudable qualities, Macbeth ultimately succumbs to the influence of those around him and becomes unequivocally evil, setting aside all his previously held morals and coming to be driven only by his lust for power. This transition is brought about by a wide variety of factors and plays an integral role in the development of the plot. In his tragedy Macbeth, William Shakespeare employs multiple methods of characterization in order to highlight the protagonist’s transformation from hero to villain as a result of the influences of the people surrounding him, namely the Weïrd sisters, Lady Macbeth, and Macduff, including extensive foreshadowing, a general shift in tone corresponding with turning points in the plot, and the inclusion of long-winded soliloquies to mark a critical change in Macbeth’s character.
In Act 1, scene7 she really excel’s herself in how far she will go to manipulate Macbeth, to get her way. He not prepared for her rage when he announces his change of heart.
As Oscar Wilde quotes, “Women have a much better time than men in this world: there are far more things forbidden to them.” This reference to the female stereotype contradicts to Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, as some female characters strive for power and some go beyond of their expectations. In fact, they step out of society’s gender expectations, this disrupts the natural order of hierarchy. As well, it affects certain of female characters mentally to the point where they lose their lives and/or vilified. As a result, Shakespeare shows that the natural order of hierarchy needs to be established. This essay will therefore examine the female characters by comparing the representation of unstereotypical women-Lady Macbeth and the witches and how Lady Macbeth demonstrates a typical woman while acting as a foil.
In scene 5 we learn how powerful she really is by the way she makes a
William Shakespeare's play Macbeth shows us that cheating will not get you were you want to go. Macbeth was written in the 16th century England during the Elizabethan period, because of this the story has a complex plot and many themes that the people in the Elizabethan period would enjoy. The character Macbeth has many traits that Shakespeare used to develop Macbeth throughout the play and even how the character Macbeth advances the theme of the play.
What circumstances has dictated that a person be marked a tyrant? This question is most commonly answered by how a person flaunted their given power. Throughout the course of history, the notion of obtaining power has been a common theme. Kings have invaded lands, nobles have betrayed their leaders, and Princes have killed their fathers all in the name of everlasting power. The question, however, is why humanity has had an unquenchable thirst for power. Many playwrights have explored this particular motif in their plays. The character Macbeth from Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth is a prime example of this characterization. Macbeth has the scourge of the earth and his motivation for his actions unethical. Although Macbeth actions were sinful,
She believes that Macbeth is full of ambition and desire, but she also believes he is too reserved to attack when given a golden opportunity. She does not want to wait and let the prophecy unfold, rather she wants to take control of it. When she hears of Duncan’s plans to spend the night at the Macbeth’s castle, Lady Macbeth sees her chance to call upon the evil spirits asking for the cruelty necessary to bring about the prophecy, “fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty.” (1.5 49-50).... ... middle of paper ...
The play Macbeth was wrote by William Shakespeare in 1606. The play Macbeth was a myth though in the time of Shakespeare there was a king Duncan and his successor was a Scottish noble man by the name of Macbeth but people are positive that nothing else was true.
Lady Macbeth's character is first formed in Act I scene v, the scene opens with her reading a letter from her husband, its content is full of thoughts and tellings of the meeting with the witches earlier that day. Lady Macbeth begins by talking about how her husband now has a goal and addresses his personality. Understandably she would like this prophecy to transpire and there is no question that she would be willing to help him gain the title of king. Lady Macbeth comes to the conclusion that to become king Macbeth must kill Duncan.
In every story there are always characters that as readers are drawn towards and grown fonder of them, no one likes a story that they can not relate to. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth tragedy, Macbeth is the character that most people feel for. Macbeth displays the general characteristics of a tragic hero throughout the play, catharsis, hubris and he is very easy to relate to.