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The role of lady macbeth in macbeth
Role of lady macbeth essay
The role of lady macbeth in macbeth
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“MACBETH!!” Lady Macbeth shriek. Lady Macbeth wasn’t the greatest wife after all. She pressured Macbeth to kill King Duncan to be able to take his place to become king. Macbeth didn’t want to kill Duncan because it would be on his conscience for the rest of his life. Lady Macbeth is responsible for King Duncan’s death for a couple reasons, but you can still argue that Macbeth was also responsible as well. Lady Macbeth is more responsible for the cause of Duncan’s death. In Act 1, Scene 3 Macbeth was approached by three witches that told him that he was going to become king. Banqou was there as well when the three witches told Macbeth about being king, but he knew that something was ominous about this prophecy. Banqou was smart about it because
Although Macbeth had changed his mind and basically refused to murder Duncan, Lady Macbeth was able to eventually convince him to carry through with the plan. Even though Macbeth was the one who executed the plan, Lady Macbeth was the mastermind behind the scheme. Her greed for power was the one major factor that possessed her to convince Macbeth of the plan and carry through with it. Macbeth murdered Duncan at Iverness, and became hysterical after doing so.
A lot like Macbeth, the character Banquo was also a highly skilled soldier, and very much trusted by their king, even though Macbeth respects Banquo’s bravery he also fears his wisdom. While Macbeth is quick to action and has little to no time for thought Banquo chooses not to turn his thoughts into action, Banquo is however a lot more cautious as shown when he and Macbeth met the three witches. Banquo actually considers the reasons for what the witches are offering and later realizes they are telling him his future and thinks that the witches are attempting to make him greedy for power. Macbeth however reacts oppositely. Banquo actually considers the reasons for what the witches are offering and rather than thinking about the outcomes of his
It is with great grief that the nobles of Scotland announce the death of their leader, King Duncan, who was murdered on the night of Tuesday, September 3rd 1034, during his trip to the Castle of Inverness, where he was visiting one of his kinsman.
Macbeth knows from even before he kills Duncan that Banquo’s loyalty lies with Duncan (2.1.26-28). Banquo suspects that Macbeth killed Duncan. (3. 1.1-4). Banquo suspicions of Macbeth seem to show later in the scene in lines 15-18. He says he is bound to serve the king, but this line in much colder than the interactions between Macbeth and Banquo in Acts One and Two. This possibly tipped Macbeth off to the fact that Banquo was doubting his loyalties. Also, Macbeth knows of the witches’ prophecy to Banquo that his descendants will be kings. (1.3.65-68). Macbeth fears that everything he has done will go to Banquo’s heirs even due to the fact Macbeth does not have children and the possibility of what the witches said coming true (3.1.63-64). Macbeth fears for his throne due to this prophecy and Banquo’s questionable loyalties. He decides he needs kill Banquo to ensure that he has absolute security in his throne and not allow Banquo’s heirs to inherit the throne without any
After the death of King Duncan, Macbeth becomes the more controlling one, and Lady Macbeth’s guilt eventually becomes too much for her to handle which leads to her death. Lady Macbeth is in fact the one that performs the preparations for the murder of King Duncan, but still shows some signs of humanity by not committing the murder herself because he resembles "My father as he slept". After the murder has been committed, she also shows signs of being a strong person because she calms Macbeth down in order to keep him from going insane.
Although both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth had their respective roles in killing Duncan, one of them must be guiltier than the other. Although both of them had their roles in the murder, Lady Macbeth did more than her husband. That doesn’t mean that Macbeth was innocent, as he did a lot as well. Lady Macbeth did much more as she was the one to get the guards drunk, and plan the murder as well as returning the daggers into the crime scene while being so cold and calm about it. Lady Macbeth’s part doesn’t end there as her biggest part in the murder was manipulating her husband into killing Duncan.
Who truly was responsible for King Duncan’s death in William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”? While yes we do know that Macbeth was the one who killed the king, had he not talked to the witches he would have never learned about the prophecies that would impact his life. On the other hand, it is said that these prophecies were destined to happen, so at some point in time fate “kicks in” at some point in the beginning of the story, I believe it happens when Duncan learns of the former thane’s treachery. After Macbeth learns of these prophecies he writes his wife, Lady Macbeth, telling her of the three sisters and what they told him. Ecstatic that she will become queen based off what Macbeth told her, she was the one to implant the idea of murder in
Although the witches play a large part in the death of Duncan, Lady Macbeth has equally as much of an impact on Macbeth’s mentality. From the moment she receives the letter of the witches prophecies, her immediate plan is to kill Duncan. She continously haggles and pushes the idea of murdering Duncan onto Macbeth. When Lady Macbeth says “Only look up
Macbeth and lady macbeth are both evil and want to killed duncan.Macbeth is a brave soldier and a powerful man. Is never comfortable in his role as a criminal, as know as the thane of cawdor because of his valiant fighting and general of the king's army known as the thane of glamis. Lady macbeth is the wife, but want to have power. She is ruthless and stronger and she is urges her husband to kill duncan.macbeth is the one who drunked the guards and he's the one who killed duncan. But lady macbeth is the one who made the plan up. She planned to kill duncan.So i think who is most responsible of king duncan's death is lady macbeth.
However, it was Lady Macbeth who convinced him to slay the king so that he could usurp the throne: “Hie thee hither, / That I may pour my spirits in thine ear”. So we can say that Lady Macbeth has more responsibility for Duncan’s murder than Macbeth himself as she used her position as a wife and a woman to induce his husband to commit the sin. She knew the “adoration” Macbeth had for her (“My dearest love” referring to Lady Macbeth) and used her status as a woman to judge Macbeth a coward if he didn’t kill Duncan. Even though Macbeth holds some blame for not being the strong, valiant man he is, in battle with her wife and standing before those childish yet effective arguments she used, Lady Macbeth is the immediate cause for Macbeth’s actions.
Lady Macbeth is the first to spawn the idea of killing Duncan to gain the throne for her husband, she then begins to slowly cultivate and persuade her husband into executing this plan along with her when Duncan comes over with his family for dinner. At first it seems that the plan was doomed to fail as Macbeth is very hesitant to commit the horrendous deed, for fear of being caught in the act and facing the repercussions of his action. It is Lady Macbeth that is able to set the plan into motion afterwards when she
Throughout history women have fought for the same rights of men. In the time of William Shakespeare they were seen in society as weak and vulnerable. They were seen to be good, caring and not as powerful as men. Men were the superior and ruled the land. Shakespeare has taken the stereotypical image of the women of the time and turned it on its head in ‘Macbeth’. Lady Macbeth is shown as a very powerful, strong woman. She has an evil about her that Shakespeare has used to make ‘Macbeth’ a supernatural play. Women were seen to be good and not as powerful as men, in ‘Macbeth’ Lady Macbeth is the dominate character and commands and persuades Macbeth to commit the murders and crimes that he does.
If MacBeth had never been persuaded to kill Duncan, MacBeth probably would not have committed any other murder crimes throughout the rest of the play. One could blame Lady MacBeth for persuading her husband to become a killer --- blame women’s ability to manipulate men into having bad character. Though, one could also blame MacBeth, seeing as he was responsible for his own decisions. MacBeth had the option of how strongly he stood up to his wife for his moral beliefs, and he chose to barely defend his opinion. It’s clear that neither MacBeth nor his wife were solely responsible for his final decision to murder King Duncan. Without his wife’s persuasion, MacBeth would not have killed the king, but MacBeth could have chosen to not be so easily persuaded by his wife.
Shakespeare manipulates the audience’s opinions on whom was most responsible for the death of Duncan in many ways, I feel he does this to create question and surprise to the play. Shakespeare leads you along one path of thought, to then divert your thoughts onto another. Many people have different opinions and interpretations to this play; A.C Bradley once wrote “Lady Macbeth is the most commanding and perhaps the most awe-inspiring figure that Shakespeare drew. Sharing, as we have seen, certain traits with her husband she is at once clearly distinguished from him by an inflexibility of will, which appears to hold imagination, feeling, and conscience completely in check. To her the prophecy of things that will be becomes instantaneously the determination that they shall be:
While not the only contributing factor, Lady Macbeth does play a substantial role in the downfall of her husband. She is a like a catalyst for Macbeth and essentially pushes him to do what he would not have been able to do on his own. Macbeth himself highly ambitious and determined, but his wife is even more so. At first he refuses to kill Duncan but she persists and eventually gets him to do it. It is important to note here that Lady Macbeth pushes Macbeth forward by manipulating him. In this sense, she can be related to Cathy Ames from East of Eden by John Steinbeck. Also, being a woman, she is confined by the conventions of society which prevent her from doing much. At what point she even wishes that she were 'unsexed' so she could commit the murder herself. Because of this, she pours her ambition and desire for power into Macbeth. Again she accomplishes this through manipulation. For example, at one point when Macbeth is disagreeing with her idea of killing Duncan, she questions his manhood: