Macbeth is presented-at the very start of the play-as a mysterious protagonist that seems to have associations with the devil. Mysterious because when Macbeth’s name is first expressed on stage. It was spoken by the witches. Macbeth himself haven’t actually been seen by the audiences. This keeps the audience guessing and creates a sense of obscurity. As a first impression is very important, when the witches said: “There to meet Macbeth”, this will probably have gasp-evoking effect on the audience. Witches are widely feared and hated as they, according to common Shakespearean era believes, were the harbinger of all the illnesses, crop-damaging incidents, etc. They are also known to be able to communicate with the devil. For that reason, the …show more content…
Not only did Lady Macbeth plan on regicide as a mean of gaining more power than already granted, at the start of the soliloquy, she also mentioned ravens: “the raven himself is hoarse”. According to wikipedia, in Greek mythology, ravens are associated with Apollo (the god of prophecy). A raven is also said to be a symbol of bad luck. This could show that the messenger who brought the news of the arrival of King Duncan later on in the day, whom Lady Macbeth associated with a raven, actually was delivering the King to his death. According to Lady Macbeth-with her use of “raven” (prophecy deliverer from the heavens)-this potential end of the King’s life is just a piece of what ‘fate has install for him’. She is using this as a justification for her future regicide. This shows her unrepentant quality and further amplifies her heinous characteristic. Furthermore, “hoarse” could have the connotations of the raven crying so much, because of the plethora of bad events that are going to happen. Contemporary audiences of Shakespeare’s era would be very taken aback by this transgressive lady that is married to the hero and protagonist of the play. Women are supposed weak and timid, but this portrayal of Lady Macbeth totally contradicts that image. This causes more attention to be on her because of this deviation of norm. However, modern readers will just be like: this woman is mad, treason was probably a