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

like herself. "Yet I do fear thy nature/It is too full o' the milk of

What is a relationship? Is it a sharing of understanding and trials with another human being, a connection between a man and a woman emotionally and sexually, or could it be, just simply, a compassion or love intertwined between two souls? These aspects of relationship and more are illustrated in Shakespeare’s famous tragedy Macbeth. The way Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s relationship changes drastically throughout the play is an example of how fragile a relationship really is. With one word or action a relationship can erode itself away. This play is a perfect example of a promising relationship that messes with a power greater than themselves and in the end falls into a hopeless swamp with no way out, nowhere to turn.

When Ophelia from Shakespeare’s Hamlet says, “We know what we are, but not what we may be,” what Ophelia means by this is that as humans, we do know our personality, but we do not know what we will become or how we will change.

From the beginning of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is viewed as very controlling, strong, and certain; saying that Macbeth ‘Shalt be what thou art promised’. This illustrates Lady Macbeth’s position in the relationship, she is ordering Macbeth to become what the witches have foreseen. We see just how powerful Lady Macbeth is, if she can command her husband to murder the king of Scotland. Her power is also shown in the way she taunts Macbeth, saying he is ‘too full of the milk of human kindness’. This shows how cold Lady Macbeth is, as milk is the food of new born children, she is implying Macbeth is too much like a kind child to murder anyone, which is another method used to spur Macbeth on into killing Duncan. Her coldness and

“Macbeth” by William Shakespeare shows the effect of greed/power on a relationship. Is gaining power more important than a relationship? When Macbeth usurps the throne as King of Scotland, he puts aside his relationships to carry out his work as king, and his relationship with Lady Macbeth is, as a result, impacted. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s relationship shifts somewhat and yet partly remains the same when Macbeth is crowned king of Scotland. Macbeth’s relationship remains the same in that he shows Lady Macbeth respect and continues to use words of love to call her by, but it shifts in that Macbeth becomes more independent and does not confide his plans to Lady Macbeth as he had previously.

his wife. In my opinion he does this so that Lady Macbeth is ready to

In William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, two main characters experience a change that alters their roles and brings out the worst in them. After Macbeth is promised greatness by three witches on a heath, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth try to achieve his prophecy. Because of their over-reaching ambition, they commit numerous murders to obtain their goal of becoming royalty. In order to cope with the guilt, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth undergo a role reversal, where they exchange characters and amount of ambition.

In the play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, the audience is shown the relationship between the character of Lady Macbeth and the character of Macbeth as both a supportive and a destructive relationship. This is because Lady Macbeth supports Macbeth’s destructive ambitions such as killing the King so that he, himself could become the King of Scotland. Not only does she support his ambitions, but she also provokes Macbeth to a point of almost “bullying” Macbeth to submit to his darkest of ambitions and pressuring him into killing the king, a decision that he regrets till the end of his days. The writer, Shakespeare, shows this to the audience to illustrate the point that even the best of us can give in to evils such as avarice, temptation and greed and become a monster because of

In Act 1, Scene 7, Lines 56-57, "When you durst do it, then you were a man; And to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man", Lady Macbeth orchestrates Macbeth’s self-esteem by taunting his manliness when Macbeth doesn’t plan on following through with her plan. Moments later, she tells him how he should act and what he needs to do, in Act 1, Scene 5, Lines 71-75, “When Duncan is asleep...look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t.” She successfully augments Macbeth’s ambition and exhorts him to commit atrocities. After Duncan’s murder, Macbeth no longer values Lady Macbeth’s opinions- his actions are rash and selfish because they are made promptly. Interaction between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth falters since Macbeth is now swept up with erasing his tracks. The two perish as individuals- Macbeth is miserable with guilt caused by cold- blooded Lady Macbeth’s attribution of influence and plan. But instead of comforting her husband and talking him out of murdering more people, Lady Macbeth only gives one feeble attempt.

When Macbeth appears, Lady Macbeth forgets her own miserable thought and looks to her husband, seeking desperately to lift his spirits. He has obviously been spending too much time worrying alone and she tries to

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as they both in turn take on the role of the

Lady Macbeth is a complex and intriguing character in Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth. She is a difficult character to embody as her personality seems split between two sides, one that is pure evil, sly and conniving in contrast to her softer, vulnerable, weak and feminine side. In the play we see her in these two main ways. The reader may feel a certain animosity towards Lady Macbeth throughout the first few acts as her personality appears more and more distasteful, in spite of this towards the end she has a serious breakdown over the guilt that torments her, even in her sleep, regarding her hand in Duncan’s untimely death.

In Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’, Macbeth and lady Macbeth, are the two main characters that have major transformations in characteristics throughout the play.

How Macbeth's Character Changes throughout the Play In this essay I would be looking at Macbeth’s character on how he changes throughout the play and to base this evidence on weather he was a tyrant or a tragic hero. The play focuses on the changing character of Macbeth and his increasing greed for power. Many factors contribute to the changes to Macbeth throughout the play which cause the character to deteriorate from a man with nobility and good intentions to one who is ruled by ambition and greed.

Williams Shakespeare’s Tragedy of Macbeth, opens with a strong relationship between the main characters Lady Macbeth and Macbeth that is based on concern, love and devotion to each other. As the play continues there is a change in their relationship.