Macbeth
Macbeth is the story of an initially loyal thane whose ambition will be triggered by a witchy prophecy leading him to commit the ultimate evil deed: the murder of the king Duncan.
The act 2 scene II given to analyze concerns particularly the murder of Duncan, and therefore represents a turning point in the flow of the story. This passage also constitutes an introduction of Lady Macbeth and her relationship with her husband.
As a matter of fact, Shakespeare allows the spectator to focus not on the deed itself but rather on its effect on the characters, their relationship and at last the psychological effects of murder.
Indeed, Duncan’s murder reveals the relationship between Macbeth and his Lady, and suggests that even women are capable of cruelty.
The act 2 scene II as mentioned before, concerns the murder of King Duncan. The setting for this scene remains implicit as the spectator and reader cannot witness the deed.
The focus is made on Lady Macbeth and this character’s stream of consciousness as she describes her thoughts, actions and the “stern” (l.3) atmosphere aloud. She describes the plan that consisted in “drugg[ing] their possets”, talking about the two chamberlains supposed to guard Duncan’s bedroom. The chamberlains according to her “mock their charge with their snores”, but it rather seems that she is the one mocking them and their inability to protect the king. Indeed, Lady Macbeth seems very pleased and proud of her own “bold[ness]”.
Indeed, this is through Lady Macbeth’s line “he is about it” that the spectator learns that, as she speaks, Macbeth is killing the king. And the line ‘I have done the deed” indicates that the murder is accomplished. It is remarkable to see how such an evil deed that tear...
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... husband’s ambition and lead him to commit murder with her manipulative schemes and by insulting his manhood and calling him “infirm of purpose” pushing him by this way to prove himself.
In their relationship, she is the mastermind and he is the executor.
As mentioned before, act 2 scene II deals with Duncan’s murder. This murder remains unseen and thus the spectator can focus his attention on the psychological effects of the deed on the two characters of the scene Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. As Macbeth seems about to lose his mind from guilt and paranoia, Lady Macbeth appears as a strong, manipulative and cold hearted woman proving that women are also capable of evil.
Even though it is hidden, the murder is of great importance since the act itself will put Macbeth on the throne but the guilt and paranoia resulting from it with cause both his and Lady Macbeth’s death.
Macbeth is a brave general who fights for his country Scotland, defeating the King of Norway. He is loyal to his king Duncan, but Macbeth has ambition to take over the kingdom for himself. He has lots of doubts of if he is doing the right thing, but still murders Duncan and then Banquo who is another general who fought with Macbeth. These murders and guilt about his treason are leading Macbeth to become insane. This essay shows that although Macbeth’s strong desire for power is influenced by the three witches in the play and also the planning and ambition of his wife Lady Macbeth, in the end he is responsible for his self-destruction.
In regards to Duncan’s murder, Lady Macbeth demonstrates her tragic flaw in her conscious suppression of her muliebrity and her subconscious support of it. In Act I scene 5, she receives a letter from Macbeth. When she hears about the prophecy, she considers killing Duncan to gain power for the first time. Lady Macbeth is too gentle
Act 2 scene 2 is the most violent and intense part of Macbeth although we do no actually witness the murder of King Duncan. It is interesting that Shakespeare chooses to have Macbeth kill Duncan offstage. We can only guess why he wrote the scene that way, I think that Shakespeare wanted to focus not on the murder but on Macbeth’s reaction to it; the bloody details supplied by the audiences imaginations will be much worse than anything that could be done onstage. It is also the most crucial part of the play; it is the first of many murders. This scene takes place at night; I feel the darkness represents what is unnatural, cruel and evil. Everything that happens within the play appears to revolve around this particular scene. Not only is this important because it contains the murderous act, it also conveys to the audience the rapid disintegration of the relationship between the two main characters, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.
After struggling with the thought of killing Duncan, Macbeth is reprimanded by Lady Macbeth for his lack of courage. She informs him that killing the king will make him a man, insinuating that he isn’t a man if he doesn’t go through with the murder. This develops Lady Macbeth as a merciless, nasty, and selfish woman. She will say, or do anything to get what she desires, even if it means harming others. It is this selfishness that makes it hard for the reader to be empathetic towards her later in the play, as it is evident in this scene that her hardships were brought on by herself. If she hadn’t insisted on the murder, she would not be driven in...
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth tells the story of a general who commits regicide in order to become king. Early in the play, Macbeth is conflicted as to weather or not he wants to kill his kinsman the king. In the first two acts Macbeth is not portrayed as a ruthless killer; he is a sympathetic character who succumbs to the provocation of his wife and a prophecy foretold by three mysterious witches. In contrast, Lady Macbeth is a manipulative, immoral woman. Her ambition is so strong that she is willing to do anything to see her husband succeed. However, in the third act things begin to change. The death of the king and lord and lady Macbeth’s rise to power catalyze profound transformation in their personalities.
...en shown that Lady Macbeth's deception did have a dramatic change on the play and it lead to the changes of many others fates of others including the death of Banquo, the death of Lady Macbeth, and the death of Macbeth himself. This all could of been avoided if Macbeth simply stayed in line and had not listening to the witches which he would have not done if it was not for his deceivious wife and her simple mindedness. It is believed that Lady Macbeth's decision of the killings lead to the pointless slaughters that Macbeth ordered to secure his spot as the king. “None of woman born shall harm Macbeth”, another big factor was that Macbeth was told none of woman born would be able to kill him, this gave him the thought that he had tremendous power and invincibility leading to an easy and unexpected downfall for him but clear for the audience that his end was coming.
In Shakespeare's tragedy, Macbeth, the characters and the roles they play are critical to its plot and theme, and therefore many of Shakespeare's characters are well developed and complex. Two of these characters are the protagonist, Macbeth, and his wife, Lady Macbeth. They play interesting roles in the tragedy, and over the course of the play, their relationship changes and their roles are essentially switched.
Lady Macbeth is a vicious and overly ambitious woman, her desire of having something over rules all the moral behaviors that one should follow. On the beginning of the novel, Macbeth receives the news that if Duncan, the current king, passed away he would be the next one to the throne. So, Lady Macbeth induces Macbeth into killing Duncan by filling his mind with ambition and planting cruel seeds into his head. After accomplishing his deed of killing the king, he brings out the daggers that were used during the murder, and says, “I’ll go no more. I am afraid to think what I have done; look on’t again I dare not.” This is his first crime and Macbeth is already filled with guilt and regret. He shows the reader to be the weak one of the duo. Lady Macbeth as the cruel partner still has some sentiment and somewhat a weakness in her heart and mind. When talking about Duncan she says, “Had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done’t.” Weakness is still present and will always be there throughout the novel but this one change the fact that Lady Macbeth is still the stronger and cruel one.
Macbeth’s ambition to obtain power convinces him that it is his destiny to become King of Scotland, and that he should do anything to fulfill that destiny, even if it involves him committing tremendously immoral acts such as murder. After Macbeth realizes that the witches may actually speak the truth due to the second prophecy (Thane of Cawdor) becoming true, he begins to have an eerie and frightening thought of him killing his king and friend, Duncan, in order to ac...
Shakespeare's Macbeth presents more than the simple tale of a murder and revenge. Macbeth wants to be king, and Duncan stands in his way. However, Macbeth hesitates. His wife, Lady Macbeth, must urge him on strongly, like a rider whipping a horse. Macbeth does not want to commit the murder because it creates a conflict in his unconscious mind. Specifically, the act of plunging a knife into Duncan's breast is like the sex act, making the murder a homosexual act for Macbeth. For Lady Macbeth, on the other hand, it is a reversal of the normal sexual roles. She has plays the dominant, male role, forcing her husband and Duncan both to take the submissive, female role. She is much stronger than her husband, and she uses her strength to force him into the act of murder.
The play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, explores the darkest corners of the human psyche. It artfully takes its audience to a place that allows one to examine what a human being is truly capable of once tempted by the allure of power. In the play, Scottish noble Macbeth and his wife inevitably fall prey to their own self corruption. Initiated by prophesies made by three mysterious witches, the Macbeths set their sights on the throne. When the curtains open on the plot to murder King Duncan, Lady Macbeth is the driving force. Her criminal mind and desire for ruthlessness have led many a critic to define her as evil. Closer examination, however, reveals that she is a multifaceted character; other sides to her persona include: genuine good will towards her husband, coy manipulation, and feminine tenderness.
The main theme of Macbeth-the destruction wrought when ambition goes unchecked by moral constraints-finds its most powerful expression in the play's two main characters. Macbeth is a courageous Scottish general who is not naturally inclined to commit evil deeds, yet he deeply desires power and advancement. He kills Duncan against his better judgment and afterward stews in guilt and paranoia. Toward the end of the play he descends into a kind of frantic, boastful madness. Lady Macbeth, on the other hand, pursues her goals with greater determination, yet she is less capable of withstanding the repercussions of her immoral acts. One of Shakespeare's most forcefully drawn female characters, she spurs her husband mercilessly to kill Duncan and urges him to be strong in the murder's aftermath, but she is eventually driven to distraction by the effect of Macbeth's repeated bloodshed on her conscience. In each case, ambition helped, of course, by the malign prophecies of the witches is what drives the couple to ever more terrible atrocities. The problem, the play suggests, is that once one decides to use violence to further one?s quest for power, it is difficult to stop. There are always potential threats to the throne?Banquo, Fleance, Macduff?and it is always tempting to use violent means to dispose of them.
Macbeth is overwhelmed with the significance of his filthy deed. His wife is concerned only with the details of what must be done next - with facts. She has no imagination. The passage between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth after the murder is one of the finest examples of atmosphere ever created in drama."(62)
In a world where murder is seen as a way to check if the prophecies of the witches are real, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth get caught by greed, the only escape seems to be a murder that will stop the nightmare of the killings. Once the murder has been committed, the revolt against it becomes very absurd and very illegitimate, making Macbeth a tragedy of the dark that develops in the night. In Act II scene II, Shakespeare uses tension and dramatic interest along with stage effects and language techniques to illustrate how Macbeth, with the help of Lady Macbeth influencing him to do so, commit the dreadful murder of King Duncan, and the after effects of this deed.
Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's problem plays which have puzzled the critics all over the years. It is compact and full of significant scenes, and it has two important characters, Macbeth and his wife. It is a clear study of human nature, which I personally think Shakespeare had mastered. The final act opens with the sleepwalking scene and this scene is of great significance because it reveals the true nature of lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is one of the enigmatic characters. Once she is a woman made out of steel and suddenly she collapses; she returns to be a gentle wife. The sleepwalking scene also shows lady Macbeth as a complementary character to her husband.