Lady Macbeth Research Paper

The play Macbeth is about true ambition and powerless character. Macbeth, the main character of the play, has a weak and convincible personality. Throughout the play other characters such as his wife, impact his hideous actions and paranoid mind. Once the three witches tell Macbeth about his fortune and becoming the new king, Macbeth isn't as convinced to take the risks of earning the position which consisted of killing the current king Duncan. His wife on the other hand believes it's the perfect solution.

In the play, “Macbeth”, the character that stands out the most is Lady Macbeth. Her role in this story is significant, she is an evil, ruthless, and ambitious person. She is responsible for the murders that her husband commits because she was bloodthirsty for the crown. In fact, she then becomes more eager to get the crown than Macbeth himself and soon realizes that once you commit one violent act, there is almost no way of ever turning back. An analysis of Lady Macbeth reveals that she is a powerful character who adds complexity and depth to a play about murder, madness, and revenge.

Lady Macbeth appears evil, but this is proof of her devotion and drive to assist Macbeth rise to the throne. Macbeth is doubtful about their plan to kill King Duncan; however, Lady Macbeth bombards him with comments that question his courage. She goes as far as telling him his love his worth nothing if he refuses, which proves her to be dominant and controlling using his own weakness against him. His love for her. The fact that she belittles his confidence, insults his abilities, and questions his manhood & ambitions showing how manipulative she can be, but also wise because it worked in her favour. She said to him “Screw your courage to the sticking place” (1.7.60). Because Lady Macbeth manages to drive Macbeth to Duncan’s death, this shows viewers that Lady Macbeths own ambition is the real driving force behind most of Macbeth’s actions, because of his strong dedicated love for her.

The Elizabethan ideology of the traditional gender roles is constantly challenged and manipulated throughout the play, Macbeth. William Shakespeare explores the relationship between gender and power within the play, challenging the male dominant society of the 16th century. The play is set in the 11th century, Scotland where a patriarchal society is portrayed through the characters within the Shakespearean production. Qualities such as courage, honour, braveness and control were reflected at that time as masculinity. Macbeth is portrayed through these characteristics in the beginning of the play, whereas the feminine character, Lady Macbeth, was portrayed as ruthless and ‘power-hungry’. These qualities are usually associated with

During Duncan’s visit to Macbeths home he begins to change his mind about the deed, “We will proceed no further in this business.”(W.S. 41) But Lady Macbeth does anything to keep him from evading the task, “Art though afeard to be the same in thine own act and valor As thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have that Which thou esteem’st the ornament of life And live a coward in thine own esteem.”(W.S. 41) Lady Macbeth encouraged Macbeth to kill which made Macbeths mindset to continue on with the

Reading the story of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth takes control and understands his state of mind. Lady Macbeth could not understand how Macbeth could fail, as he brings the daggers back with him. She had a plan, and prepared for the murder as well as set the daggers by the guards herself. She claimed that she would have killed the king herself, yet Lady Macbeth also states, "Had he not resembled My father as he slept, I had done 't." Lady Macbeth refuses to commit this murder being that she sees a resemblance between King Duncan and her father, which causes her to not be able to do the killing of Duncan.

Throughout the years, the typical stereotypes of womanhood and femininity have significantly innovated for the better. The infamous Shakespeare play, The Tragedy of Macbeth, viewed women much differently than what the era itself did. This showed greatly through the character, Lady Macbeth, who completely destroyed those stereotypes. She was not only independent, but she also portrayed the utmost amount of confidence. Lady Macbeth was in complete control of her relationship with Macbeth and was highly respected by others around her.

Lady Macbeth is manipulative. She plots for Duncan's murder, and is stronger, more ruthless, and more ambitious than her husband. She seems aware of this and knows that she will have to urge Macbeth into committing murder. In the text, it states, “And that which rather thou dost fear to do,Than wishest should be undone. Hie thee hither, That I may pour my spirits in thine ear And chastise with the valor of my tongue All that impedes thee from the golden round,Which fate and

Men were supposed to act as strong fighters, while women were locked in the domestic sphere. These gender roles are prominent in the character developments of Macbeth, the tragic protagonist, and his wife, Lady Macbeth. At first, Macbeth is a strong, heroic solider that shows unbounded courage in battle and loyalty to his king. As the play progresses, he becomes cold, ruthless, and

Lady Macbeth can be said to be one of Shakespeare's most famous and frightening female characters. She fulfills her role among the nobility and is well respected, like Macbeth. She is loving, yet very determined that her husband will be king. At the beginning of the play, when she is first seen, she is already plotting the murder of Duncan, showing more strength, ruthlessness, and ambition than Macbeth. She lusts after power and position and then pressures her husband into killing Duncan. Upon receiving the letter with the witches' prophecies from her husband, she begins to think and knowing that Macbeth lacks the courage for something like this, she calls upon the forces of evil to help her do what must be

Because she is assertive, she manipulates Macbeth by saying, “shall sun that morrow see.” Before Lady Macbeth said anything, Macbeth was going to let Duncan go but because of Lady Macbeth’s assertiveness, she manipulated Macbeth into killing Duncan. On top of being assertive, Lady Macbeth also downgrades people as a way to show her masculinity and her ability to manipulate Macbeth. When Macbeth and Lady Macbeth argue about the plan to kill Duncan they say, “We will proceed no further in this business...  Was the hope drunk Wherein you dressed yourself? Hath it slept since?” (1.7.32-37). When Macbeth does not want to go through with the plan of killing Duncan Lady Macbeth has a downgrading tone towards Macbeth. Lady Macbeth uses harsh words like “wherein you dressed yourself” and “Hath it slept since” to manipulate Macbeth into killing Duncan instead of using positive words. Because of this, Macbeth kills Duncan out of manipulation. Lady Macbeth uses her masculinity to manipulate Macbeth’s actions.

Lady Macbeth comes off as one of the most oblique, yet determined characters in the play. She had her mind set on helping her husband conciliate the throne and encourages him to pursue his dreams of being crowned as the king. When his weaknesses appeared she remained firm and made Macbeth’s goals her own ambitions. Things do seem a bit outrageous at that particular moment where Lady Macbeth explains to Macbeth how they should kill King Duncan but it shows not only the true love and devotion for her husband, but how she would stop at nothing until he gets what he wants.

In Macbeth, one of the most tragic and well known plays, William Shakespeare changes women’s part in society. During this time period, women are known to be both mentally and physically weaker than men. Women are called to be only housewives. Shakespeare reflected the image of women in society by giving the men bigger leads in his plays. Only in a few of Shakespeare's plays did he give women strong leading roles. Macbeth is one of the few plays where women play a more powerful role than the men. In Macbeth, he gives the women unusual traits like manipulation and betrayal. In William Shakespeare's play Macbeth, women like Lady Macbeth , the trio witches, and Lady Macduff portray non-feminine traits.

of the situation and to show that she now has the upper hand in their

The topic of whether Lady Macbeth should be considered as the third witch is a complex one with no definite answer but is open to interpretation. However, diving deeper into the problem one lacks any evidence to support the claim that she could be the fourth witch. We are first introduced to Lady Macbeth as she has just received a letter from Macbeth telling her of the encounter that he had with the witches and of the prophecies that they told Macbeth of. The first hint that Lady macbeth could be a witch comes when she states, “Come, you spirits that tend on the mortal thoughts. unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty”.