Lady Macbeth Comparison

Lady Macbeth in William Shakespeare’s play ‘Macbeth’ is a character who suffers greatly in because of her human weakness, which is her vaulting ambition. This ambition is not for her, but for her husband. This woman, who seemed so in control at the beginning of the okay, only cared for her husband and his success, later becomes so consumed with guilt and remorse that it results in her tragic death. Through the discussion of characterisation and lkey scenes, I shall reveal that Lady Macbeth’s human flaw is  not only a major contributor to the ruthlessness of her husband but creates a huge influence in how the play unfolds.

Macbeth is confused as he is arguing with himself on what he should do. He states reasons not to kill Duncan, because Macbeth is his noble kinsmen and the act would bring dishonor. However, he also states reason why he should kill him, because Macbeth will then become king and fulfill the witches ' fortune. Lady Macbeth, who appears in the beginning as the driving force for the murder of King Duncan, also develops internal conflict. At first, Lady Macbeth seems to be a woman of extreme confidence and will. But, as situations become more and more unstable in the play, guilt develops inside her. For instance, she exclaims; "Wash your hands. Put on your nightgown. / Look not so pale. I tell you again, Banquo 's / Burried; he cannot come out on 's grave" (Shakespeare V, ii, 65-67). Lady Macbeth sleepwalks and frets about her evil wrongdoings because she is extremely guilty of her influence on Macbeth to commit the murder. Lady Macbeth reacts emotionally and dwells on her actions as guilt eats at her soul.

A deadly combination of ambition and guilt poisons both Macbeth and his wife and leads to their deaths in the end. Ruined by her desire for power, Lady Macbeth’s descent into madness is more vivid and guilt seems to affect her more than her husband, even though he is responsible for more crimes. Her request to the spirits to “unsex [her] here,/ And fill [her], from the crown to the toe, top-full/ Of direst cruelty!” is contrasted as the more guilty she feels, the more weak and sensitive she become, a polar opposite of her usual masculine and bold self (1.5.44-46). As a result, she is unable to cope with the guilt and meets her ultimate demise by taking her life. This has an immediate effect on Macbeth: the almost always apparent tension of ambition and guilt disappears. He does not seem interested in living and is ready to face death in a manner more relatable to his former self rather than the murderer he has become. Moreover, Macbeth’s final remark is “Arm, arm, and out!”,

Lady Macbeth’s strength of will persists through the murder of King Duncan as it is she who tries to calm Macbeth after committing the crime by declaring confidently that, “a little water clears us of this deed,” (2.2.67). Afterward, however, Lady Macbeth’s strong and ambitious character begins to deteriorate into madness. Her first sign of weakness occurred when she confessed that she could not have killed the king, revealing a natural woman’s feelings, “had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done’t” (2.2.13-14). Just as ambition has affected her before more so then Macbeth before the crime, the guilt plagues her now more effectively afterward as she desperately tried to wash away the invisible blood from her sin, “Here’s the smell of the blood still: all the perfume of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand,” (5.1.48-49). Lady Macbeth’s

In the beginning of the play Macbeth is cautious and somewhat suspicious of the witches. He only starts to really think of the idea that they might be telling him the truth when they hail him as the thane of Cawdor, which shortly after, he receives

Guilt is a very strong and uncomfortable feeling that often results from one’s own actions. This strong emotion is one of the theme ideas in William Shakespeare, “Macbeth”. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth feel guilt, but they react in different ways. Guilt hardens Macbeth, but cause Lady Macbeth to commit suicide. As Macbeth shrives to success guilt overcome’s Macbeth where he can no longer think straight. Initially Macbeth planned was to kill Duncan but it wasn’t enough he also had to kill Banquo and Macduff’s family. On the other hand Lady Macbeth had to call upon the weird sister to unsexed her so she had no true feeling towards anything as if she was a man. However, the true guilt of the murder

Here shows how Lady Macbeth was not hit by guilt like Macbeth was. Macduff is the one to announce the murder of the king, and when Lady Macbeth comes out as the trumpets screamed because of such an acquaintance he tells her, “Oh, gentle lady, ‘tis not for you to hear what I can speak. The repetition in a woman’s ear would murder as it fell.” Lady Macbeth acts as if she could not believe and fakes a faint with the most common and normal behavior as if nothing had happen, as if she was not the brain of such a cruel crime. Her cold blood and fakeness is incomparable on the beginning of the novel. Lady Macbeth does not understand why Macbeth is so guilty and is not enjoying his throne and power that were recently earned. As a “good” wife she tries to calm him down by saying that what he had done was nothing that it was all okay.

Not feeling any remorse, she is able to skillfully let go of guilt and skillfully get rid of evidence. As Macbeth comes back to her after the deed is complete he is very shaken up and extremely paranoid that someone saw him with the bloody daggers. Lady Macbeth tells him, “These deeds must not be thought after these ways; so it will make us mad” (2.2.34). By saying this she believes that you shouldn’t feel guilty about doing evil, you should just get it done and move on because thinking about it will only drive you crazy. Also she thinks when commiting violent acts such as murder make sure to get rid of any evidence that will lead people to believe you are a suspect. Frustrated and upset that her husband came home bathed in blood and the daggers in his hand she states, “Infirm of purpose! Give me the daggers.”(2.2.52-53). She is extremely disappointed in Macbeth for being so careless and cannot believe that he did not go through the well thought out plan smoothly. In her eyes he is still a coward and does not know how to behave calmy when feeling guilty.

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.

Lady Macbeth feels no remorse regarding Duncan’s death, despite the cruelty and deceit involved. While Macbeth shows penitence after the murder, his power-thirsty wife does not show the slightest bit of sorrow. She even scolds him for being sorry: “A foolish thought, to say a sorry sight” (2.2.21). Here, the Scottish general refers to his bloody hands as a “sorry sight.” However, Lady Macbeth thinks that it is ridiculous to think so. She does not think of the actions the couple takes as evil. Murder is a shocking occurrence that often changes one’s life. However, even while the blood is fresh on Macbeth’s hands, Lady Macbeth already disregards any possible feeling of remorse. Instead of guilt, she exhibits unexpected pride. In Shakespearean

After viewing the movie Macbeth, I believe that the movie is very similar to the play with only a few discrepancies for dramatics. In the beginning of the movie, which portrays Act I, the scene opens on the battlefield in which Macbeth and Banquo are introduced by the dying Captain; Macbeth and Banquo are praised as valiant soldiers for Scotland. Just as in the play, Macbeth and Banquo come upon the three witches, but the setting is dark and eery and takes place in what seems to be a warehouse. The three witches stand across the room and address Macbeth as the Thane of Glamis, the Thane of Cawdor, and the future king. They address Banquo with paradoxical statements that are seen in the play as well.

account thy love. Art thou afeard To be the same in thine own act and

To understand Shakespeare’s tragic play, Macbeth it is necessary to fully comprehend the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The differences between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are profound. Over the course of the play, Shakespeare skillfully changes the role of the two characters. Macbeth is frightened at the beginning then confident at the end while Lady Macbeth confident at the beginning and frightened at the end.

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, there are many issues that may have had an affect on the play. The complex marriage between the power hungry Macbeths, lady Macbeth’s dominant character directing Macbeth in the murders, the role reversal during the murders, Macbeth’s reaction to his wife’s death, and male and female marriages for authority. When analyzed these issues help describe the Macbeth’s relationship. They are the very issues that eventually lead to the “Great Tragedy”.

Over the course of the play Macbeths and Lady Macbeths relationship changes completely, as one of them changes the other reflects these changes and undergoes an opposite change such as when Macbeth gets over his guilt then Lady Macbeth becomes guilt-ridden to the point of insanity and an eventual suicide; This demonstrates that through most of the play Shakespeare deliberately creates the idea that their roles oppose each other and change as they witness their partners change. Lady Macbeth is also deliberately shown as being hungry for power and focused on the power of Macbeth rather than Macbeth himself whilst Macbeth cares more for Lady Macbeth herself. This is shown when they greet each other in Act 1 Scene 5 as Macbeth greets Lady Macbeth as ‘My dearest love.’, focusing on his love for Lady Macbeth whilst Lady Macbeth says, ‘Worthy thane of Cawdor!’ highlighting how she cares more about his position and role rather than him himself. This then creates the idea later that she created the beast that she feared as she forced Macbeths hand to obtain more power then regretted and feared the tyrant he became.