The tragedy of Macbeth arguably has some of the most complex and interesting characters, and it is certain that this is because Shakespeare wanted to show the effects of guilt and the toll it takes on different people. However, it is unequivocal that Lady Macbeth is beyond the idea of complexity and by far the most interesting in my opinion. He carefully crafted the ‘power couple’ of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as constructs for the idea of guilt, but while Macbeth is drowning in this feeling from the offset, his wife is fueling with ambition as she knows 'what's done is done" and cannot be undone’ as she moves on with her life. What is most interesting is the fact that Lady Macbeth flips her whole mentality as she slowly fades from an ambitious …show more content…
She accuses him of being ‘too full of the milk of human kindness’ to kill his king, Duncan, portraying him as weak and lacking the Jacobean male ideology of dominance. He was obviously triggered by this phrase and does not want to be seen as a man who looks like ‘the innocent flower’ and wants to be ‘the serpent under it'. The word "serpent" has connotations of evil and darkness from the semantic field of animals created by Shakespeare and scattered throughout the play. He has decided to trust his wife with her evil thoughts and shift the natural order without thinking of the possible ramifications to come. Lady Macbeth practically gaslights him into being this ‘perfect man’ who feels no guilt or remorse with her femme fatale tendencies. She is the architect of Duncan's death, and, without her, it may never have occurred, as Macbeth would not have gained the confidence and ambition to go forward with it. With this, we can see how she was far from the expected woman of Jacobean society, who is supposed to be petite, submissive, and overall weak, yet she is far from this, amplifying her femme fatale …show more content…
He is the antithesis to lady macbeth in the sense of their hamartia however lady macbeth is the one who encouraged and built up his hubris to cause his downfall. Within act 1, he is a nervous wreck who is too scared to commit an act of regicide even though he trusted in the witches. Lady Macbeth pushes him and edges him into believing that shifting the DROK and natural order is the way it is supposed to be. He lets go of his fears, regrets and guilt as he “forgets the taste of fears” in act 5 while Lady Macbeth is contemplating her decision as it slowly drives her insane, knowing that not even “the perfumes of Arabia will sweeten this little hand”. This hyperbolic language shows us that Lady Macbeth knows now that nothing in the great expanse of the world will clear her of the blood from Duncan, clearly showing us the extent of her change in personality and moral thinking. She cannot handle this guilt much
She’s more of the brains behind the plan to kill King Duncan rather than the actual murderer. In Act 1: Scene 5, she receives the letter from Macbeth and she says “Yet I do fear thy nature; It is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness”, she knows that he will end up not wanting to go through with their plan. Although he could have said no she still pushed him to proceed. Maybe if Macbeth would’ve put his foot down instead of cowering down and doing whatever Lady Macbeth said, he wouldn’t be in the predicament of having to kill his friends that he is in now. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are much like Adam and Eve.
Mourning the weakness and inability of her gender, Lady Macbeth urges her husband to follow through with their devious designs. Inevitably, he gives in and completes the first of many horrendous deeds. Out of all his associates, Macbeth’s wife may actually have pushed him to murder to obtain the kingdom, with or without a prophecy. Yet, she could have had apprehensions of her own, or doubted her husband’s ability, thus deciding to keep her ambitions to herself. One thing is certain: she is a twisted enough person to contemplate such a purely evil
Ultimately, Macbeth's obsession with maintaining his power and status consumed him, driving him towards more heinous crimes that only increased his feelings of guilt and paranoia. Similarly, Lady Macbeth was initially portrayed as a powerful, manipulative, and ambitious woman who encouraged her husband to pursue his aspirations ruthlessly. However, after coaxing Macbeth into killing King Duncan, she became consumed by guilt and paranoia, which eventually led to her descent into madness. The guilt of her crime weighed heavily on her conscience, and she was often seen writhing in agony, attempting to wash imaginary
The play Macbeth by William Shakespeare has many different characters with many different emotions. In the play, the main themes of the play are guilt, fate, and allegiance. The character that shows the most guilt is Lady Macbeth. She is Macbeth’s wife and deals with a large amount of guilt and remorse. Macbeth receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland.
She had conceived the idea of implementing this crime, relentlessly teased her husband for feeling guilty for taking part, and showed no sign of remorse for taking the king’s life. I like to assume that she is the principal antagonist in Macbeth. Macbeth was the one who physically stabbed
Lady Macbeth was a very powerful woman who was head strong in her decisions. Lady Macbeth was very wicked and did spiteful things like giving the soldiers alcohol to blame the murder on them. Lady Macbeth thinks that no one is going to find out about the murder of Duncan because her hands will be clean of the murder. Lady Macbeth wanted Macbeth to kill Duncan so he could be king. Lady Macbeth only wants the fame and fortune; she does not care about anyone’s feelings but her own.
At first, rather than putting all the blame on Macbeth she is proud of her involvement in the murder stating: “My hands are of your colour but I shame to wear a heart so white.” Initially this villainizes her as she is in control rather than being an obedient wife going against Jacobean stereotypes
She influenced Macbeth in the play when the text states, “But screw your courage to the sticking place, And we'll not fail. When Duncan is asleep whereto the rather shall his day's hard journey soundly invite him his two chamberlains will I with wine and wassail so convince that memory, the warder of the brain, shall be a fume, and the receipt of reason a limbeck only: when in swinish sleep their drenched natures lie as in a death, 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?” This is showing influence on Macbeth because she is saying that there will be no failing and that it needs to be done with a plan.
He does not want to be a loyal servant to the king, but rather be the king with loyal servants to serve him. And because of these ambitious thoughts lurking in his mind, he must ask the “Stars, hide your fires; / Let not light see my black and deep desires” (1.4.52-53). So that no one can see through his wall of false appearance and discern his true deepest desires. Hence, Macbeth appeared to be an honorable and exemplary candidate for the role that king Duncan bestows upon him, but in reality he is only dishonorable for he has notion of regicide to become king himself and must appears to be loyal to a king “whose murder yet is but fantastical” (1.3.139). Also, Lady Macbeth hides herself behind the wall of her false appearance which makes her seem as if she is the greatest of hostess, but in reality she too has “black and deep desires” (1.4.52-53), to kill king
Macbeth is a brooding and intense figure whose inner turmoil is conveyed through his physical presence. There are several scenes where Macbeth is shown alone, staring into the distance or pacing as if wrestling with some internal demon. Lady Macbeth is another who is portrayed differently. In the play, Lady Macbeth is a powerful and manipulative figure who goads her husband into committing murder then she herself covers it up. Her famous soliloquy in Act 1, Scene 5 in which she calls on spirits to “unsex” her and fill her with “direst cruelty” is a chilling portrayal of a woman who is willing to sacrifice her own humanity for the sake of ambition.
Shakespeare engineered a most impressionable character in Macbeth who easily succumbs to the extensive magnitude of opposing constraints. This character is Macbeth, who is the protagonist in the play and husband to a conniving wife, who in the end is the sole cause for Macbeth 's undoing. Conflicting forces in the play compel internal conflicts within Macbeth to thrive on his contentment and sanity as he his torn asunder between devotion, aspiration, morality and his very own being. He has developed a great sense of loyalty from being a brave soldier; however, his ambition soon challenges this allegiance. As his sincerity begins to deteriorate, his own sanity starts to disintegrate until the point where he cannot differentiate between reality
William Shakespeare portrayed the character Lady Macbeth to be extremely ruthless, malicious and manipulative. Thus, being the reason she could easily convince Macbeth to do her will, yet still put on such a convincing performance in front of those who knew nothing of her and her husband’s actions. Lady Macbeth shows her complexity constantly throughout the story when she shares her view-point on masculinity by demasculinizing her own husband, when she strategically plans the murder of the King Duncan, and finally when she finally goes crazy because of the guilt she possesses for not only her own actions but also turning her own husband into a
She is malicious not only in words but also in her intent. Her sole object is to obtain power and wealth, with its attendant treasures. Lady Macbeth lacks humanity and regrets that she was not born as a man. She understands that power and violence are synonymous with manhood and bravery. Additionally, Lady Macbeth interests’ and ambition, override her love for even her husband, Macbeth.
She insults him and calls him a coward while also questioning his manhood which makes Macbeth come to a realization that not killing the king is the way of a coward and he is motivated to carry out the plan and murder the king because of Lady Macbeth’s insults and speech that she gives him. By successfully persuading Macbeth into murdering the king this shows that Lady Macbeth is controlling towards people and she can be a very manipulative person. It shows that she is the type of person that gets things done by manipulating other people to do her dirty work for her. Lady Macbeth can simply achieve her own goals by getting into anyone’s head and turning their own conscience against them in, which is essentially what she did to her husband. Macbeth would have never went through with killing King Duncan if Lady Macbeth had never persuaded him because he really does have a soft heart and is good and honorable.
On many occasions she rules her husband and dictates his actions. Although near the end of the play Lady Macbeth’s personality and strength begins to deteriorate. Later committing suicide after having many detailed memories and thoughts from the murder. Shakespeare not only shows how guilt can change a person’s personality but he also portrays untraditional gender roles.