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Macbeth And Lady Macduff Analysis

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Shakespeare’s Macbeth is set in a time of political upheaval, and it is a classic portrayal of human nature. Lady Macbeth and Lady Macduff are two ladies who each had profound influence upon their husbands; but their differences aside from this likeness are far more striking. The influence they both possessed was used in vastly distinct and dissimilar ways. Lady Macbeth exhibits childlessness, neediness for power, and manipulation; in contrast with Lady Macduff, whose character reflects motherhood, powerlessness, and innocence. One of the most evident ways that these two characters differ is in their qualities as women. Although appearing in only one act of the play, Lady Macduff sets a clear visualization as a traditional woman. When her …show more content…

When King Duncan is on his way to Inverness, Macbeth begins to panic and tries to back out of the plan. It’s not until his wife questions his manhood and belittles him that he agrees to do it. She always shamed Macbeth into feeling like he was less of a man if he didn’t do what she wanted and that’s what was the driving force of the play. Lady Macbeth tells him that he is “too nice” to do what it takes to become king. She ultimately gets what she wants when her husband goes through with killing Duncan, but even then she can’t be satisfied. Lady Macbeth is a very savvy character who really propels this story into motion. In contrast with this, Lady Macduff is a very innocent character who just gets caught up in the mess Lady Macbeth and her husband created. She is presumed to be a good woman and mother and did nothing to deserve her cold-blooded murder. Macbeth is a play with a vast amount of dynamic and contrasting characters but of all of these, Lady Macbeth and Lady Macduff are the most prominent. Lady Macbeth’s power-hungry attitude, lack of children, and manipulative ways make her a complete opposite to the more traditional woman who Lady Macduff represents, being innocent, motherly, and at times, powerless. Shakespeare created these differences to bring light to the themes of his play and to add depth to this story of war and

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714 Words | 3 Pages

After hearing and believing what the witches had to say, Lady Macbeth tries to convince Macbeth to kill king Duncan. However at first, Lady Macbeth tries to make Macbeth the king by handling the situation herself. She says to her husband,”This night’s great business into my dispatch, Which shall to all our nights and days to come Give solely sovereign sway and masterdom” (1.5.. What Lady Macbeth is saying to her husband is that she will take of the plans regarding Duncan, and then says that after that night, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth will be as happy as

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450 Words | 2 Pages

Lastly, in contrast to how Lady Macbeth faced her death, Lady Macduff had a clear conscience and thought only of her family's safety, even as she was being pursued by Macbeth's henchmen. The difference between the life stories of the Scottish lords Macduff and Macbeth was largely due to their wives' influence.   Overall, Lady Macduff was a much better influence on her husband than Lady Macbeth was.

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1304 Words | 6 Pages

A Comparative Between Lady Macbeth and Daisy Buchanan In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby and William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth the main women struggle to cope with the circumstances they face in their lives. Both Lady Macbeth and Daisy Buchanan reveal their feelings of disillusionment through the alienation in their relationships, the murders that take place, and through their common desire to be at the top of the social order. Their actions have an impact on others but most importantly have consequences for themselves.

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1503 Words | 7 Pages

Shakespeare, like any other man in the 16th and 17th century, saw ambitious and dominant women as evil and even disturbing or disturbed. From Macbeth, we can see Shakespeare feels women should be challenged and punished because they are trying to change society. Nowadays these ambitious and dominant women are regarded as brave and respected because of their ambition, such as Lady Macbeth’s ambition to become Queen. Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as mentally disturbed.

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427 Words | 2 Pages

In the play The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macduff proves to be the true hero. Macduff proves to be the true hero of the play for being loyal to his country and killing Macbeth. Macbeth and Macduff differ because Macbeth is conceded and a killer, while Macduff is not. Macduff, the Thane of Fife, proves to be a loyal man when it comes to his country and his people. For example, Macduff deserts his family in order to go to England to meet with Malcolm and the king of England, so all three of them can go back to Scotland to defeat Macbeth for once and all.

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789 Words | 4 Pages

As soon as Macbeth is informed of the prophecy that he will be king, from the witches, he tells Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth starts persuading Macbeth to kill the current king, King Duncan, and rule Scotland, with Lady Macbeth by his side. Macbeth opposes the idea of killing Duncan at first, but at the end he is broken and Lady Macbeth’s will is done. This implies that Lady Macbeth is very persuasive and can control Macbeth, ‘we’ll not fail’ Lady Macbeth to Macbeth. In the Jacobean era, the wife would not be able or allowed to argue with her husband, however Lady Macbeth made Macbeth kill the king, which suggests that she wants to be powerful and doesn’t care how she gets it.

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1514 Words | 7 Pages

Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth, focuses on the tumultuous events that surround a regicide. Despite being the shortest of Shakespeare’s plays, in his critical study of the play A. C. Bradley concludes that due to its vehement nature the audience is left with an impression “not of brevity but of speed” . The principal female character of Lady Macbeth is arguably one of his most contentious. Consumed with intense passion, ambition and greed she challenges the subservient role of the traditional Elizabethan woman. She has disturbed, horrified and intrigued both contemporary and modern audiences alike through her powerful diction.

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1476 Words | 6 Pages

Lady Macbeth takes on a “manly” role, which is surprising because of how patriarchal the society is. However, she “gradually falls apart, consumed by guilt, and eventually commits suicide”. (Klett) Lady Macbeth does not conform to medieval Scotland’s female stereotype of being a domestic wife.

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1469 Words | 6 Pages

In this essay I will be comparing two female characters from different texts and different time periods. We will be looking in depth at Lady Macbeth from Shakespeare 's play 'Macbeth ', and Sheila from J.B. Priestley 's 'An Inspector Calls '. We will be looking at their roles in their respective plays, and how their characters develop over time. It is clear that both ladies are in strong relationships, but how they act within these relationships is vastly different.

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107 Words | 1 Pages

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

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1087 Words | 5 Pages

Lady Macbeth plays a key part in driving Macbeth’s motivations and encourages Macbeth to overcome his strong sense of guilt and take action on the prophecies. Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth that he is “green” (I.VII.40) and “a coward” (I.VII.46) and that he resembles the proverbial “poor cat”. (I.VII.48) The willingness of Lady Macbeth to reach the epitome of betrayal is displaced that heightens the understanding of the overpowering and strong nature of Lady Macbeth as well as the deep and murderous motivations she wishes to impose on her husband. Shakespeare exposes to the audience to the persuasive and emotive techniques Lady Macbeth uses to manipulate and drive Macbeth's motivations. This

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1655 Words | 7 Pages

Paul Vu Dr. Elizabeth C. Ramírez THTR 475A.03 2 May 2017 Macbeth and Medea: Breaking Expectations Macbeth by William Shakespeare and Medea by Euripides are known for their powerful critiques on the social expectations of women. Women during the time of Elizabethan and Greek theatre were often stereotyped and considered the weaker sex. Men were depicted as strong individuals who supported and protected women. However, both Shakespeare and Euripides broke expectations by portraying strong and iconic female characters in their respective plays. The idea of a strong female character was often unheard of during the time of Elizabethan and Greek Theatre.

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1959 Words | 8 Pages

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.

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851 Words | 4 Pages

The violence and harm she would do to her child causes alarm and adds to her villinous character. This is contrasted with Lady Macduff’s gentle and carring tone she has with her son in Act 4 Scene 2 when she calls him “monkey”. Pet names show closeness and affection which clearly would lack from Lady Macbeth and her child, as she would kill it if she promised to. Therefore, the women’s supernatural and distrubing characteristics are demonstrated through their ambiguity or desire to rid themselves of feminine

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1013 Words | 5 Pages

When Lady Macbeth is compared to Lady Macduff, they are very different. Lady Macduff embodies what motherhood should look like and she does not invest her time creating evil plots to kill other people. Whereas on the other hand, Lady Macbeth, not as bound to household duties, she sharpens her knowledgeable capabilities for the use of her own and the power which she holds. This is a very untraditional and unnatural factor that a woman would hold. Lady Macbeth also is seen as the more dominant role in the Macbeth marriage.

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