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Lady Macbeth's Conscience

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Lady Macbeth plays a significant role in the play, even from the time when we first meet her, she is already plotting against the king. She does not intend to commit murder herself but is more than happy to instigate it. “That I may pour my spirits in thine ear, And chastise with the valour of my tongue All that impedes thee from the golden round, Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem To have thee crowned withal.”. This describes her intentions for Macbeth to become king of the Scots. “That I may pour my spirits in thine ear,” shows how she wants to embed her ideas of killing king Duncan into his mind, because she is his wife this is quite easy for her to accomplish this act of evil. Most Women in the seventeenth century could be expected …show more content…

Her conscience now has such a weight on her that she is being disturbed by the murder in her sleep. It has gotten to the point where some of the people who care most about her have started to notice and she has been taken to a doctor to cure her of her ailment (in this case guilt). Reflecting on when she made a big deal about trying to further herself from women like tendencies, we can see how it has come to bite her in the back as none of these pleas to gain independence from the stereotypes to which she is bound end in fruition. We can also take into account the fact that the audience this play was intended at were still deeply superstitious and believed that the king was divinely chosen and that tampering with this could upset nature. Sleepwalking is a natural phenomenon and due to the exact nature of what happened, we can link the sleepwalking to the fact that the balance of nature has been upset by the murder and that nature wants put things right. This is even mentioned by the Doctor: “unnatural deeds Do breed unnatural trouble:”, Act 5, scene 1, lines 63-64. This strengthens the link between supernatural and ailment to the audience. Lady Macbeth’s death in the play is rather understated, in the events leading up to Lady Macbeth’s eventual death, Macbeth pays little to no attention to his wife’s health, and even when she dies he dismisses it hastily. “She should have died hereafter; […] And all our yesterdays have lighted

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736 Words | 3 Pages

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