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Research Paper On Lady Macbeth

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Lady Macbeth. A woman of history who brings some heat to the table when her name is mentioned. Shakespeare’s play Macbeth is a play that’s still relevant today. It’s common to see directors write their own interpretations of the many characters in this play. One most commonly looked at is Lady Macbeth. In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, Lady Macbeth’s shifting motivations from manipulation to control and finally overwhelming guilt prove her only real concern was herself and the power she holds. This play starts off introducing Macbeth as a war hero, someone who is looked up to. Lady Macbeth on the other hand, is seen as a manipulative side piece to Macbeth. Although both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth experience changes in their inner emotions, Lady …show more content…

Furthermore, literary critics Elizabeth Foley and Beth Coates state Lady Macbeth is murderous, determined, powerfully manipulative, dangerously charming, and prepared to do whatever it takes for her husband’s power to be in her life. (Foley and Coates 98). This proves Lady Macbeth’s control and influences over her husband and her top priority of being queen. Roughly halfway through the play, Lady Macbeth starts to feel some guilt when suspicion rises over the couple after Duncan and his guard's deaths. In Act 3.2 Macbeth reveals he no longer cares as much about taking the throne. Lady Macbeth’s guilt takes over and she tells Macbeth: “Where our desire is got without content:/ ‘Tis safer to be that which we destroy/ Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy” …show more content…

In scene 5.1, Lady Macbeth is so overwhelmed with her guilt that she begins to sleepwalk. Not only does Lady Macbeth feel guilty for her actions against King Duncan, she recalls the murders of Banquo and Lady Macduff. As Lady Macbeth begins to sleepwalk she is seen by a doctor and gentlewoman. When Lady Macbeth is sleepwalking, she reads a letter that she has written which is symbolic of her sololiqy mentioned above in Act 1.5. Lady Macbeth starts to obsessively wash the blood she is imagining on them from the deaths. Lady Macbeth shouts: “Here’s the smell of blood still:/All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little/ Hand. Oh! oh!

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In the Sleepwalking Scene, Lady Macbeth’s paranoia is exposed through her obsessive hand washing and shouting: “Out, damned spot, out, I say!” Unable to escape the guilt which entraps her, Lady Macbeth is reliving the night of Duncan’s murder. The “damned spot” which Lady Macbeth refers to is the blood left by the murder of Macbeth, a symbol of guilt. This scene is ironic as in Act 2 Scene 2, Lady Macbeth stated: “A little water clears us of this deed” Despite saying that by simply washing their hands, the murder would be forgotten, she is now repetitively rubbing her hands but unable to remove thoughts of the murder. Additionally, in the 17th century, sleep was a symbol for conscience and sleepwalking was a sign of a disturbed mind and indeed, in Act 5 Scene 5, driven by madness, she commits suicide.

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Although critics argue that Lady Macbeth was a ruthless character from the start, Shakespeare chooses to have her display actions over time that can be characterized by modern medicine as displaying a mental illness. Right from the start, Lady Macbeth displays a lack of humanity due to her burning passion and ambition to become queen. Through dramatic irony, readers are able to see through her amicability towards King Duncan, characterized by letting him into her own home with open arms, and ultimately, not displaying her true intentions. This passion to gain more power only becomes stronger and stronger over time as she persuades Macbeth to commit murder, even going as far as questioning his “lack of courage” (Jamieson). Once there is an

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Lady Macbeth exhibits stronger traits of an evil character, objectively making her eviler than Macbeth himself, as she is presented to be manipulative and brutal. Her manipulative tendencies in Act 1 Scene 7 truly acknowledge how corrupt she is in contrast to Macbeth. After receiving the news regarding Macbeth’s new title of Thane of Cawdor and the meeting with the witches, Lady Macbeth recognizes this as an opportunity for power. Due to her status as a woman in a Jacobean society, Lady Macbeth is socially constrained from pursuing any ambitions. With the information that is shared with her, Lady Macbeth’s persistent ambition leads her into manipulating Macbeth to murder King Duncan, overriding Macbeth’s morality.

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and it is clear, both to the audience and characters, that “...[her] heart is sorely charged” (Macbeth, 5.1.42-44). Lady Macbeth appears to be in crisis, unlike the character introduced in the beginning, as she feels the consequences of her manipulative actions. Her overwhelming sorrow inevitably leads to her demise. Lady Macbeth’s revelations reflect the idea that “[women are] more selective about when they engage in competition; they're willing to get ahead at high cost but not at any cost” (Kluger, Time.com). When Lady Macbeth felt King Duncan was the only obstacle preventing Macbeth from becoming king, she was more open to taking ambitious actions.

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1304 Words | 6 Pages

However, the sleepwalking and Lady Macbeth believing her hands still have blood on them signifies that they will be forever punished for the crime they committed. She feels disillusionment and is unable to cope with the guilt that haunts her which ultimately results in Lady Macbeth killing

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917 Words | 4 Pages

Oh, oh, oh!” (5.1.53-55). Lady Macbeth is reliving the trauma she faced internally for killing Duncan. She begins to wash her hands and cries that the blood won’t go away.

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cries,“What will these hands ne’er be clean” ( 5.1.45). She asks in her sleep if her hands will ever be cleaned of the blood of those she helped killed. The blood stained her hand forever which shows her guilty conscience. This unexpected consequence of her actions and her unclean hands reminds her of her wrongdoing. The stains of blood reminds Lady Macbeth and Macbeth of their wrongdoing making them suffer the unexpected

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Lady Macbeth is one of the most complex characters in Shakespeare's play "Macbeth". She is portrayed as a powerful and ambitious woman who plays an important role in driving her husband Macbeth to his own quest for power. Lady Macbeth is determined to become queen and uses manipulative tactics to commit murder. Lady Macbeth's desire to become "unsexed" is an example of how she defies the gender roles of her society. By asking the spirits to remove her feminine features, Lady Macbeth rejects the traditional expectations of women in her society, which were to be passive, nurturing, and maternal.

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Here’s the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. Oh, Oh, Oh!” (Act 5, Scene 1) Though she continuously rubs her hands to get rid of the blood, Lady Macbeth can not washed away the guilt that stains her hands.

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932 Words | 4 Pages

Shakespeare writes, “What, will these hands ne'er be clean?” (5.1.39). In this quote Shakespeare is illustrating Lady Macbeth struggling to scrape this blood off her hand, but the blood isn’t truely there. This is the Duncan’s blood and the guilt from his murder has finally broke her. She is gone insane and she is sleep walking and talking.

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Macbeth is a brooding and intense figure whose inner turmoil is conveyed through his physical presence. There are several scenes where Macbeth is shown alone, staring into the distance or pacing as if wrestling with some internal demon. Lady Macbeth is another who is portrayed differently. In the play, Lady Macbeth is a powerful and manipulative figure who goads her husband into committing murder then she herself covers it up. Her famous soliloquy in Act 1, Scene 5 in which she calls on spirits to “unsex” her and fill her with “direst cruelty” is a chilling portrayal of a woman who is willing to sacrifice her own humanity for the sake of ambition.

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In August 1606, the play Macbeth – written by the ultimate playwright William Shakespeare- was published. Macbeth discusses how murder and greed can be altered to a point where it becomes a person's way of acting and thinking. Lady Macbeth is the leading character in the play of Shakespeare. Her ambitions and power is the main reason for her corruption. She used her position to gain power and stay strong enough to support her husband and lord, Macbeth, however it drove him to evil, causing him to murder and cause distractions.

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1878 Words | 8 Pages

The title character imagines the results of his brutal act against Duncan but kills him nonetheless. Afterward, he expresses fresh guilt by simultaneously divulging and withholding the open secret of his deed. After murdering Banquo, the feast honoring him demonstrates Macbeth’s further derangement, but his gradual insanity does not excuse the subsequent cold-blooded massacre of an entire family. Lady Macbeth tries to save herself by masking her husband’s instability, but ultimately, her sleepwalking spell places her own mental illness on display. This goes to show that it is not always easy for people in a position of power - or anyone, for that matter - to face their weaknesses head-on and admit that at some point in their lives, they need

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668 Words | 3 Pages

She begins to sleepwalk and says, "Here's the smell of the blood still: all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. Oh, oh, oh!” (5.1.56-58) She cannot bear the thought of being responsible for the death of others. This behavior mimics Macbeth’s when he first killed Duncan.

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Celia Beyers Tinti Period 1/5 12 April 2015 Literary Analysis: Macbeth In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, he presents the character of Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is shown, as a character that schemes into making rebellious plots. She reveals the desire for wanting to lose her feminine qualities in order to be able to gain more masculine ones.

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