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How Does Lady Macbeth Change In Character

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No matter how confident a character may appear to be, the smallest of words and the smallest of actions can have the greatest impact. Macbeth is an example of a tragedy by William Shakespeare that dramatises the damaging effects of selfishly seeking ambition. Lady Macbeth who is perhaps the most memorable character within the play, commits a surprising suicide considering her first appearance as a dominating and strong-willed figure. Her drastic character development shows the audience the influence that external and internal forces can have on an individual’s choices and actions. Three key factors that lead to her change in character are: the murder of Duncan, her loss of control over Macbeth, and the revelation of her crimes.
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In this case, Macbeth acts on his own accord to murder Banquo and refuses to inform her saying, “Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck,/ Till thou applaud the deed.” (III.ii.45-46) Such an occurrence is unknown to Lady Macbeth as she was a woman whom Macbeth would tell everything to. The realization that their relationship will never be the same, leads to regret for causing Macbeth’s darkness. It serves as a transition for her changing character and expands another important theme of, “choices and consequences”. Similarly, Lady Macbeth’s confidence continues to diminish due to the unforeseen effects of Duncan’s murder. Her regret is evident when she says, “Nought’s had, all’s spent/ ‘Tis safer to be that which we destroy/ Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy.” (III.ii.4-7) In this quotation she realizes that the price for becoming queen is heavier than anticipated. Her blind ambition leads her to lose everything in which she as a character, learns from. The fact that she also finds it better to be the killed rather than the guilty may be a foreshadow for her choice to commit suicide. Lady Macbeth’s lack of control is a consequence she bestowed on herself. From these mistakes, the audience learns the weight of actions especially to those who are

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The film Macbeth illustrates Lady Macbeth and Macbeth to have very different personalities than their original counterpart of the play. Lady Macbeth is portrayed as a much more grieving mother. Her characteristics change and are more revealed during the killing of the Macduff family. Throughout the film Lady Macbeth is demonstrated as a much more emotional character, with her grieving over her child's death, to the breakdown during the terrifying burning of the Macduff family. The new characteristics of the character also again give a new feel to the storyline of the character.

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When she first hears of her husband’s news, she tells him he needs to do whatever it takes to achieve this goal. When she finds out he is hesitant, she starts manipulating him into getting her way by telling him, “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”(I.VII.55-56). This quote shows the readers how she believes she needs to do whatever it takes to get the power no matter how bad it is by using phrases like “Be so much more than a man” and “Be more than what you are”. This reveals that her morals are bad and she will not feel remorse for doing the wrong thing. After Macbeth kills the king and becomes king himself, Lady Macbeth starts to feel guilty.

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Sean Smith Mrs. Anthony Senior English 8 March 2018 The Danger of Ambition In Shakespeare’s “The Tragedy of Macbeth”, the author proposes a perpetual loop of struggle through his use of fate and imagery of the character’s deaths in order to express the consequences for one’s actions if they are foolish enough to make these decisions. “The Tragedy of Macbeth” is a uniquely portrayed concept of fate, internal struggle, and paradox; the story depicts a human with intentions to receive power.

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yet who would have thought the old man had so much blood in him” (5.1.36). Lady Macbeth feels as if she can not be mentally cleansed until her hands are. Lady Macbeth's failure to relieve the guilt causes her to commit suicide. “The queen, my lord, is dead… she should have died hereafter” (5.5.20). Lady Macbeth had too much guilt to deal with which is why she needed to be in peace.

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This contrast immediately gives the reader an insight into the torment that guilt and regret can cause. There is a clear definition between Lady Macbeth before and after the murder of King Duncan. This character change emphasizes greatly the theme of the impacts upon a person due to the unnatural acts they have performed. In Lady Macbeth’s case the impact was guilt and regret both of which tormented her to point of serious mental illness, insomnia and ultimately a self induced demise. The author 's intention in bringing a once strong and evil character to the mercy of their own morality is to educate readers upon the impacts that guilt could have upon their own life if they were to perform the unnatural just as Lady Macbeth did.

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As one of the Bard’s most iconic tragedies, Macbeth resides in a niche of unique characterisation, structure and tone. The tale of Macbeth is constructed in a way to enable a sense of forward momentum, allowing the development of the characters to follow every beat of a storyline crowded with desire, conflict, violence and ambition. Fluidity in storytelling and emotional development is facilitated by the use of constant elements, namely, the symbolic introduction of the witches, Lady Macbeth’s desire to escape her womanhood and the cycle of violence that ultimately results in Macbeth’s downfall. Shakespeare’s turbulent yet consistent expression of the constant conflict between duty and desire is key to interpreting the inevitable deterioration

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Macbeth is the Shakespearean play that features the triumphant uprise and the inevitable downfall of its main character. In this play, Macbeth’s downfall can be considered to be the loss of his moral integrity and this is achieved by ambition, despite this, Lady Macbeth and the witches work through his ambition, furthering to assist his inevitable ruin. Ambition alone is the most significant factor that led to Macbeth’s downfall. The witches are only able to influence his actions through Macbeth’s pre-existing and the three witches see that Macbeth has ambition and uses it to control his action. Ambition alone is displayed throughout the play to be the most significant cause for Macbeth’s downfall.

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Previous to her first plotting of evil, Lady Macbeth is seen as a morally righteous and sane person who simply has a well off life with her husband. However, she turns completely opposite from the greed she acquires within herself wanting her husband to become king. A now selfish and greed hungry Lady Macbeth, plans and succeeds in the murder of Duncan, the first person in the way of Macbeth’s thrown. The act of taking someone’s life proves further all of her moral

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Lady Macbeth is a cold, calculating woman, especially in the first two acts of the play. As time goes on, her conscience begins to control her until she goes insane in Act 5 and kills herself. Lady Macbeth 's ruthlessness is displayed multiple times throughout the play for instance she states, “That I may pour my spirits in thine ear, and chastise with the valor of my tongue, all that impedes thee from the golden round, which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem, to have thee crowned withal”(1.5.16-20). Here Lady Macbeth is stating how Macbeth doesn 't have the courage to be evil enough to take what was promised to him, and how she will have to do it herself. This not only demonstrates how Lady Macbeth is ruthless but also how she will stop at nothing to get what

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1343 Words | 6 Pages

Through it all would you consider Lady Macbeth’s suicide was a cowardly case? MacBeth did not care about who he had to kill in order to be high and powerful. You can see his obsession to become the king and have that title, just by hearing the witches prophecy. ”All hail, Macbeth!

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Her ambition is not only for herself but also for Macbeth. Nevertheless, with all her fervor, she wants him to be as strong as her. “Make thick my blood./Stop up the access and passage to remorse,/That no compunctious visitings of nature/ Shake my fell purpose/Come to my woman’s breasts,/And take my milk for gall” (1.5.44-49). Lady Macbeth never wavers in her goal.

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Lady Macbeth orders a servant to fetch Macbeth and before he arrives, she bemoans “Naught’s had, all’s spent, Where our desire is got without content,” indicating that even though she has gotten everything she wants, Lady Macbeth is still not happy because she had to kill to get what she wanted. According to Edith Whitehurst Williams, Lady Macbeth has “a conscience far from dead” that is seen in how she is not happy despite having the power she wanted, since the means of obtaining that power were unsavory (Williams 222). Once Macbeth arrives, Lady Macbeth consults him, advising that “what’s done is done,” meaning that Duncan is dead and their plan is through, so he does not need to do anything more or kill anyone else (3.2.12). Macbeth can sense that Lady Macbeth will not advocate for any more murders and therefore he “does not make her a party to the murder of Banquo” (Williams 222) and so when Lady Macbeth tells him to “sleek o’er your rugged looks”(3.2.27) in order to stop him from his planning of further murders, he simply agrees. At the banquet where Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost, after everyone has left, Macbeth is talking about how he has more schemes to kill people, it is seen that Lady Macbeth’s “dedications to evil… [are] not going to sustain her”(Williams 222).

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907 Words | 4 Pages

Lady Macbeth’s experiences shows use to look at the full effects of our decisions. The consequences of Lady Macbeth making rash decisions and allowing the spirits into her life can show us in the short term many options may seem alluring, but in the long term, those decisions can have major consequences, such as changing our morals and making us respond differently to situations than we would usually

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518 Words | 3 Pages

Macbeth is just the victim of her own selfish ambitious to gain power and prestige. Macbeth's ascension into the life of evil, is like a domino effect. When Lady Macbeth hears of her husband's forthcoming into the throne, she immediately starts her planning of the murder itself, but also she calls on the spirits to help her gain the courage to commit such a horrible crime. “ Come, you spirits that have charge of murderous thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me, from the crown of my head to my toes, completely full of horrible cruelty” (Leary Act I Scene IV). Lady Macbeth attempts to go through with the intended plan, but falters.

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