Essay on the Dynamic Relationship of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth

Macbeth’s relationship with Lady Macbeth stays the same after he becomes king in that he show her same respect that he did before becoming king. He uses words of love when talking to her. Such tokens of love can be seen before Macbeth becomes king when he writes the letter to Lady Macbeth that contains these words: “This have I thought good to deliver/Thee, my dearest partner of greatness…”(I.v.10-11) Macbeth writes a letter to his wife about the witches’ prophecies and uses the phrase, “my dearest partner of greatness,” showing that he respects her and truly cares for her wellbeing. This same reaction can be seen after Macbeth seizes the throne. When Lady Macbeth and Macbeth express their unhappiness after becoming king and queen, Macbeth says to his wife in a loving way, “Be innocent

Duncan’s murder. She has no misgivings about the Witches’ prophecies. As aforesaid, she is a stronger character than Macbeth. She seems to

Macbeth needed Lady Macbeth to do this, for without her, he would have continued to see the horrible act as something he shouldn’t do. In this regard, Lady Macbeth does this very well, she makes Macbeth see things in a different light, tells him how he is erroneous in his thinking and gets him to think how she wants him to. The following quote shows these domineering and manipulating qualities of hers quite well: “Art thou afeard/To be the same in thine own act and valor/As thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have that…/And live a coward in thine own esteem,/Letting ‘I dare not’ wait upon ‘I would’/Like the poor cat I’ the adage?” (1.7.43-49) This passage of Lady Macbeth also sums up her thoughts quite nicely: “What beast was’t it then/… made you break this enterprise…/when you durst do it, then you were a man,/…to be more than what you were, you would/Be so much more the man.” (1.7.53-57) Both of these quotations display Lady Macbeth’s thoughts about Macbeth: he is weak, and he must be a man, while she is strong and would do the murder without a thought. These thoughts clearly show how ambitious she is, and how determined she wants to influence Macbeth’s actions.

Persuasion is a process that is effective only on the weak-spirited. When Macbeth learns of his future, his weaknesses and ambition are exposed to us: "The Prince of Cumberland: that is a step on which I must fall down, or else o'er-leap, for in my way it lies." (1.4.49-51). Macbeth yearns for his seat on the throne. He is already a very respectable man. He is the noble, loyal, and worthy Thane of Glamis (and Cawdor, which he is currently unaware of) as well as a valorous soldier, but Macbeth is still completely absorbed in the witches' prophecies and even considers killing the example of innocence and goodness, King Duncan. He is full of greed and ambition, only lacking the evil to fulfill his lust for the power that resides in the throne of Scotland. These qualities make Macbeth a weak and easy man to persuade and corrupt, ultimately leading him into madness, his decline, and lastly his death. Alongside these flaws, the power of the supernatural and man's weakness of pride will ensure that the fall of Macbeth will be inevitable. Hecate, the Queen of Witches explains to her subordinates how they will lead him to his doom in this exact fashion:

v. 40-54). She is asking the gods to take away her feminine side so she can kill Duncan without remorse, as a man should. With her determined ambition she influences Macbeth to become ambitious himself and to be courageous and kill Duncan. Later in the play, with his newfound ambition, he makes plans to kill the Macduff family on his own.

She knows he needs motivation. Macbeth’s ambition was so great that he often thought of killing the king to become the king. He recalls a moment when he thought of killing Duncan after the encounter with the three witches.

The Tragedy of Macbeth shows several different forms of relationships ranging in different levels of commitment, trust and understanding. Whether it be Macbeth and the Witches having an informational/friendly relationship that ultimately ended in many murders or Macbeth and Lady Macbeth having not only a family relationship but a political and even criminal relationship that resulted in too much power and greed. Relationships like these formed the plot of this play and make it interesting. Relationships are formed in so many levels and outsides easily can change the views of these relationships causing those involved to change their beliefs and opinions of others because the other relationships take more of a precedence than the original.

In the early stages of the play, the Macbeths seem to be a devoted couple. Their love and concern for each other remains strong and constant throughout the play, but their relationship changes dramatically following the ruthless killing of King Duncan in Act II.

How the Relationship Between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth Changes and Develops During the Course of the Play

The relationship among Macbeth and Lady Macbeth alters throughout the play Macbeth as they both in turn take on the role of the more dominant character. Their attitude to each other constantly changes throughout the play, although events in the play certainly draw Macbeth and Lady Macbeth apart their love for one another is evident throughout the play. Macbeth shows his love by saying a few compassionate words in his letter to Lady Macbeth about the meeting with the three weird sisters. Lady Macbeth shows that she cares for him by planning the murder of King Duncan so Macbeth can become king. By the end of the play Macbeth doesn’t care about his wife’s health that much, when she dies his taught was she was bound to die one day.

Shakespeare has significant effect on gender role in the play. Shakespeare demonstrates this through Macbeth’s struggle for power, and his wife, Lady Macbeth. To be the leader in their relationship, Macbeth acts more feminine than masculine in their relationship during the early stages of the play. Macbeth and his wife seem to be a great couple. Things start to turn sour when Macbeth lusts for power and

Shakespeare introduces Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in the beginning of the play as a couple who are unique, but functional. As Macbeth continues to debate murder, Lady Macbeth pushes him and spoils his innocence. In Act I, when Macbeth learns that he will become king, he heavily debates whether or not to take action on his prophecy, on the other hand, Lady Macbeth takes no time for consideration when she reads Macbeth’s letter about his news. Her desire and drive clashes with Macbeth’s calm and equivocating demeanor.When

Lady Macbeth continues to convince and persuade Macbeth into thinking her plan will pay off. Eventually Macbeth decides against the murder of his king but Lady Macbeth shames him for not being able to murder, threatening to take away her love from him if he does not. This threat shocks Macbeth into saying “yes”. Lady Macbeth outlines her plan to kill King Duncan while asleep as a guest in their castle.

she is trying to make out that unless he does this he wont be a man.

In this essay I will discuss the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. I will explain how their relationship is different to traditional relationships of the time. At the time, Jacobean people believed that the men were stronger then the woman. They believed that, when married, the husband would be in control and the wife would have no choice but to do what their husband asked. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s relationship was every different.