Lady Macbeth Essay

The play Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a classic tragedy that includes a lot of death in the form of murder. The most significant death in the play is the death of King Duncan, whom Macbeth killed. Although Macbeth was the one who killed the king, it was Lady Macbeth who was the brains behind the act. Through the guilt of her actions, Lady Macbeth goes mad at the end of the play and in the end, kills herself. Although some may believe that she is a victim of her ambition, it is ultimately Lady Macbeth’s ambition, manipulation, and encouragement towards Macbeth’s actions that make her deserving of her fate at the end of the play. Lady Macbeth is a very ambitious character from the very beginning. As soon as she learns about the witches’

Her ambition is also displayed through her actions of manipulating her husband. Lady Macbeth’s soliloquy “unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full (I.V)” shows how much ambition she has and how much power she desires to have at once. Similarly, Lady Macbeth’s manipulation of her husband acts as a trigger for a series of events that causes her fate at the end of the play. She began to manipulate him by questioning Macbeth’s masculinity and ambition. She also began to doubt his courage. This caused her to emotionally manipulate him. By pushing her husband to commit regicide on King Duncan, she must hold the guilt of that action for the rest of her life. This leads to her physiological torment at the end of the play. Lady Macbeth’s manipulation ultimately leads to her and Macbeth becoming distant. As Macbeth was swarmed by guilt and paranoia, he left Lady Macbeth on her own, which allowed her to feel more guilty for her actions. Lastly, Lady Macbeth’s encouragement towards Macbeth committing regicide on King Duncan led to her downfall due to the guilt and physiologic distress. She encouraged him by being the one to devise a plan and all that he had to do was to go through with