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Lady Macbeth's Soliloquy In Act 1

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4a. Lady Macbeth’s soliloquy in Act I, Scene v, lines 1-30 reveals that she is a ruthless, foreboding, and greedy character. In her soliloquy, she states that she will do whatever it takes for Macbeth to claim the throne, including killing Duncan. She knows that her although her husband is ambitious, he is not wicked and is too kind to commit the murder. Lady Macbeth however, is the opposite; she wants to convince Macbeth to kill Duncan or else she will do the deed herself. She states that King Duncan is ill-fated because she will not think twice about murdering him and seizing the throne. Lady Macbeth also says “unsex me,” meaning that she wants the passive, kind, and weak traits to be taken away from her and instead she wants to be filled up with cruelty. Macbeth is hesitant, but Lady Macbeth tells him to leave it all to her, therefore revealing that her thoughts and plans are ruthless, foreboding, and greedy. …show more content…

Macbeth’s soliloquy in Act I, Scene vii, lines 1-28 reveals that he is still hesitant about killing King Duncan and is feeling wary about what to do. He states that if he could get the assassination done and over with without consequences, he would risk his soul in the afterlife to do it. However, criminals are still punished and Macbeth is feeling guilty because Duncan trusts him as his cousin, his host, and his subject. Also, Duncan is a good and beloved leader who is not corrupt, and if he is assassinated, there will be an outcry and people will be very upset. Therefore, since there are many arguments against the murder of Duncan, Macbeth’s soliloquy reveals that he is having second thoughts about committing this

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Prior to Duncan’s death, Lady Macbeth recognizes Macbeth’s inner turmoil and she takes matters into her own hands. Lady Macbeth advises him of her plan to kill Duncan and explains that she will conduct the evening's events. She states, “Look like the time. Bear welcome in your eye,/ Your hand, your tongue. / Look like th' innocent flower,/ But be the serpent under ’t. /He that’s coming / Must be provided for, and you shall put / This night’s great business into my dispatch, / Which shall to all our nights and days to come” (Shakespeare 1.5.55-61).

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Before Macbeth is completely dedicated to executing Duncan his confidence falters that is until Lady Macbeth voices her feelings "... I fear thy nature - it is too full o' the milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way". Lady Macbeth persuades Macbeth in to believing that unless he murders Duncan he will never be King. As a result, Macbeth does murder Duncan and many more after. It is apparent that Macbeth's flaw is his ambitiousness.

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In Act 1, Scene 7 of the play, Lady Macbeth uses sharply crafted language to emasculate Macbeth, altering his earlier resolve and pushing him toward murder. Despite finding resolve, seen by the audience in his soliloquy, Macbeth's decision is altered, influenced by Lady Macbeth as she threatens, taunts and undermines him. When Macbeth states ‘We will proceed no further in this business’, Lady Macbeth retaliates with a barrage of comments, labelling him as a coward. ‘Which thou esteem'st the ornament of life, And live a coward in thine own esteem’. The notion of cowardness appeals to Macbeth's manhood, ultimately playing into the insecurities of men.

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In act one scene 7, Macbeth doubts if he should kill the king; however, his wife, Lady Macbeth, manipulates him into proceeding. It might be difficult for Macbeth, the renowned warrior, to hear his wife accusing him of cowardice. Therefore, under Lady Macbeth’s influence, as she questions his manhood, he commences the murder in order to prove to her that he is not a “coward.” This is important to note because his soliloquy shows his determination to proceed.

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Therefore, she could be the one to kill Duncan and take over the power all on her own. In her “unsex me here” speech she explains how she wants “spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, [to] unsex [her] here, and fill [her] from the crown to the toe topful of direst cruelty” (I.v.l 33). She is very determined to kill the king as it will increase the Macbeths social status. Macbeth kills King Duncan which leads him and Lady Macbeth to believe that they conquer all and will not be disappointed in their accomplishment of murdering Duncan.

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While Macbeth is contemplating whether or not to kill Duncan, he thinks about the consequence that will come afterward by stating: “his [Duncan’s] virtues / Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against / The deep damnation of his taking-off” (1.7.18-20). This simile compares the the begging of his goodness to the angels’ compelling speech against all the wrongs that have been done to him. Even though Macbeth eventually is going to kill Duncan, he admits that Duncan is a virtuous king. In his head, he is rationalizing Duncan’s death by stating that Duncan’s good deeds will compensate bloody way of dying. Because Macbeth is still sane, he realizes that killing is not justifiable.

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Through the imagery and diction used in this soliloquy, Lady Macbeth reveals what traits she possesses that make her able to manifest such a wicked idea. Her determination, while admirable, is almost manic, and it is clear by the end of the soliloquy that her character has what it takes to commit a

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Lady Macbeth begging for evilness, proves that she never was evil to begin with. Although Lady Macbeth appears strong and evil through her words, her actions throughout the play demonstrate differently. Lady Macbeth initiates the plan to kill King Duncan and convinces her husband to take part. However, when the time comes, she is unable to bring herself to follow through.

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This “future queen” sees the life she could have flash before her eyes and obviously Macbeth was hesitant because King Duncan was a honest man and Macbeth was a “servant” to him and he was family to Macbeth so he really didn’t want to go through with it. This fueled Lady Macbeth to conjure the death of King Duncan as well as covering it up. Lady Macbeth in Act 1, asked the spirits if they could “unsex” her so that she could ultimately be capable to go through with the killing. She felt like her husband (Macbeth) could not do her dirty work that she could wish that she could do herself.

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In the soliloquy in Act three Scene 1 of Macbeth by Shakespeare, Macbeth talks to himself about the problems of being a king and he is afraid of what might happen to him. Macbeth also talks about how Banquo was his friend and how Banquo is the only person he fears. Macbeth’s predicament in the soliloquy is that he is afraid of losing his crown and that Banquo will get in his way. This is important because Macbeth does not trust anyone anyone because he does not feel safe and is convinced that the wrong thing are actually good. Through the literary devices of metaphor and personification, it will help us demonstrate Macbeth’s predicament.

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Macbeth’s state of mind changes dramatically throughout the play. This is revealed through his soliloquy. In his soliloquy, He shows his intention he would like to achieve but its construction shows Macbeth’s mind still very much in confusion. However, most of the time Macbeth shows three different fears considering the consequences of killing king Duncan. At the beginning of Act 1 Scene 7, Macbeth is in turmoil about killing Duncan.

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Macbeth’s soliloquy in Act 5 Scene 5 after hearing about Lady Macbeth’s death acts as a reinstitution of Macbeth’s trace of humanity, he reflects upon his own actions and life itself. Macbeth’s melancholy lamentation over Lady Macbeth’s death reveals the disorientation of time caused by his actions. Although his desires are fulfilled, he realizes in the soliloquy that everything he has done is futile. In the soliloquy, Macbeth brought up the the idea of time.

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Macbeth states to Lady Macbeth, “we will proceed no further in this business” (I, VII) since he almost finally decides to refuse to kill Duncan. However, Lady Macbeth uses different manipulative methodologies towards Macbeth and persuades him to consult the killing of Duncan. “So green and pale” (I, VII), Lady Macbeth even called him a coward. From the same scene, she mentions, “From this time, such I account thy love”, implying that if Macbeth cant stay steady concerning the murder of the king, then she will consider his love for her to be as similarly conflicting. Later in scene, Lady Macbeth states that if she had made such a promise as Macbeth did to her, she would “dash the brains out” of her own child as “it was smiling in her fail”.

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Lady Macbeth is power hungry for the throne and she will do anything to achieve her goal. Her pleasure of having the thought of killing Duncan is revealed. These murderous thoughts that run through her mind shows how desperate she is to acquire power. Although it is the beginning of the play, her dark ambitions sets a dark tone for her character in the play. This coincidentally adds to the assurance of Macbeth’s prophecy which is that Macbeth will become king, but King Duncan is still alive.

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Macbeth is a play written during the 16th century by William Shakespeare. As similar to other plays written by Shakespeare, the play is not totally original. They came from facts and events that are happening during the time it was written (“Background to Macbeth”). Macbeth can be seen as a dark play as it portrays the idea of evilness through characterization and have events like murder happening throughout the story. Throughout the play, Shakespeare inserted various features to make his writing more powerful.

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