Essay Comparing Macbeth and Lady Macbeth

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

Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor,/All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (Shakespeare 1.3.48-49), says Macbeth will receive the title of Thane of Cawdor but most importantly the title as king. The information that the witches has provided gives Macbeth a reason to write a letter informing his wife, Lady Macbeth, about the news he has received. As they play progresses Lady Macbeth becomes increasingly impatient, therefore she devises a plan to kill King Duncan. Macbeth, an honorable warrior, does not easily agree with the plan to murder King Duncan, and Lady Macbeth becomes persistent and questions Macbeth’s manhood. "When you durst do it, then you were a man/And to be more than what you were, you would /Be so much more the man" (Shakespeare 1.7.47-51), says Lady Macbeth to Macbeth, stating that in order for Macbeth to be more of a man he has to kill King Duncan.

He might of been the courageous hero at the beginning of the play but progressed in a downward spiral which caused his condemnation, and made him into a tragic hero. Macbeth was a strong nobleman. He along with Banquo were leaders of the King Duncan’s army. The captain describes Macbeths strength and power that won him the battles, “But all’s too weak:/ For brave Macbeth -- well he deserved that name- / Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel,/ Which smoked with bloody execution,/ Like valor’s minion carved out his passage/ Till he faced the slave;” (1.2.17-22). But then Lady Macbeth pressured Macbeth into killing Duncan to become king by calling him a female and tearing his self confidence down.

One would expect, stereotypically, that Macbeth would be the one trying to convince his queasy wife that killing the King would be a blessing. Instead, Shakespeare turns things upside down and puts the pants on Lady Macbeth. Just as we're beginning to accept this, he turns it around again, with Lady Macbeth's suicide and Macbeth's heroic (although evil) bravery. Act IV contains two noticeable echoes of the "Fair is foul and foul is fair" theme. First, while Malcom and Macduff are talking, we learn of Malcom's terrible nature, and that he would rape, pillage and steal were he king.

The witches Prophecy upon Macbeth cause him to feel restless and have thoughts about if it is destined for him to become king. Macbeth ends up going through with the murder of Duncan. After the murder takes place, Macbeth’s morals and his judgement begin to become opaque. Guilt commences Macbeth an... ... middle of paper ... ...itant about making the prophecy of killing Duncan a reality until, Lady Macbeth makes him feel un masqulin. Macbeth now convinced that he must prove his manliness by becoming king and he must make this happen by murdering Duncan.

After the successful murder of Duncan, Macbeth entered a life of evil. Ambition was also clearly stated when he thought of killing his friend Banquo to protect the kingship. The witches’ predictions sent Macbeth into his own world where he could not be deterred from becoming king. Macbeth displays his cowardice by avoiding Lady Macbeth’s initial plan to murder King Duncan. By overcoming his personal matters to plot the death of the king, Macbeth only displays that women are manipulative, and often have their way with men.

He follows the direction of his wife, the Captain, and the witches, all of whom push him to do things to get power When Macbeth finally takes control of the kingdom, he kills Banquo on his own then everything falls apart and the people try to dethrone him. Also, during the Renaissance period it was uncommon for women to try to advance themselves in anyway. The drama states,” Lady Macbeth: ‘What cannot you and I perform upon/ The unguarded Duncan? what not put upon/ His spongy officers, who shall bear the guilt/ Of our great quell?’” (Shakespeare 21). Lady Macbeth is trying to convince her husband to kill Duncan in order for him to become king.

After she reads her husband’s letter about his meeting with the witches, she suggests for Macbeth to kill Duncan so she could be queen. At the beginning Macbeth hesitates to talk about such a thing and even lists the reason not to kill: he is his king, his uncle and his guest. Not completely sure about it and victim of his own desires for power he finally accepts Lady Macbeth’s plan for murdering the ruler of Scotland. This decision portrays Macbeth’s dirty morality and easily manageable personality. Macbeth’s character is a clear example of how ambition corrupts man’s personality.

William Shakespeare's Macbeth Macbeth is Shakespeare’s shortest and bloodiest tragedy. It tells the story of a brave Scottish general, Macbeth, who receives a prophecy from three witches that one day he will become king of Scotland. Consumed with ambitious thoughts and spurred to action by his wife, he murders King Duncan while he is asleep and seizes the throne for himself. A number of themes are conveyed in the play but perhaps the predominant theme is related to ambition and how raw ambition, if left unchecked, can have disastrous effects, which is most definitely relevant to modern audiences. This theme is explored through the utilization of characterization and plot.

This voluntary misinterpretation, committed in pursuit of power, leads Macbeth to perform certain actions which result in the death of the king, Macbeth's friends, and eventually his own death. From the beginning of the play, Macbeth desires great power. Lady Macbeth's statement to Macbeth that "When you durst do it, then you were a man;" (I.vii.55) suggests that she and Macbeth have contemplated and possibly committed murder for the sake of advancement before. Macbeth provides further support for this in his reaction to the witches' prophecy that he will be king. After Macbeth is made Thane of Cawdor, he realizes that the witches were right, and immediately begins to ponder the other part of their prophecy.