Lady Macbeth Scene Analysis

There was a clear distinction between the book, Macbeth and the 2010 version of the movie, Macbeth, but there were also some similarities included, to prove that it was still Macbeth. In contrast with the book, the movie took place closer to the present, beginning with a civil war and men using weapons that corresponded with its time period, which was fair for an interpretation. Conversely, I felt as though it lost some of its charm, because I truly believed that I, along with every single person who had read Macbeth, would have envisioned the setting to take place in an older period of time.

Throughout the play "Macbeth", by William Shakespeare, Lady Macbeth's character drastically changes from being sinister to feeble. Lady Macbeth was an evil, manipulative person whose greed and selfishness were eventually the downfall of her character and well being. During the beginning of "Macbeth", she used her twisted mind to convince her husband to murder, making him believe that it was the only way he could get what he wanted. But as the play developed and the murders started to increase, Lady Macbeth started to question whether or not they were necessary. Sadly, though possibly justifiably, she ended up committing suicide after her constant questioning of the murders drove her to insanity. Lady Macbeth was an unemotional person who only cared about what she could gain. She made her disconcern about other people well known when she said, "How tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me I would, while it was smiling in my face Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you Have done to this." (Act I, Scene VII, Lines 55-60). Lady Macbeth refers that she would have no problem taking the life of her son, if it meant getting what she wanted. The fact that she would even fathom the idea of killing her own child makes her morose and appalling. If only she knew that it would be her who would be taken out of this world so cruelly. Being able to manipulate her husband's mind and the minds of others was another one of Lady Macbeth's baneful traits. After Macbeth killed King Duncan, still reeling from the crime he had committed, he met up with his wife. Once again, she used her manipulative ways to make him think that she felt just as bad as he did. She said, "My hands are of your color, but I shame To wear a heart so white." (Act II, Scene II, Lines 63-64). Lady Macbeth appeared to her husband as if she felt just as guilty about the act of violence as he did, knowing that in reality she didn't care at all. Telling Macbeth that her hands were as bloody as his own was to try to give him comfort that he was not alone in his schemes. But Lady Macbeth had other ideas in mind. She couldn't care less about her husband's thoughts or worries. All she could think about was

Lady Macbeth throughout the play shows her dominance in the relationship by challenging Macbeth's masculinity and making him seem weak. This tactic worked in her favour as it always resulted in the way she wanted. Act one scene scene 7 supports this through lady macbeth's statement; “Was the hope drunk Wherein you dress'd yourself? hath it slept since? And wakes it now, to look so green and pale At what it did so freely?”. Lady macbeth provides a range of rhetorical questions and allusions to motivate macbeth. By using the rhetorical question “to look so green and pale At what it did so freely?”, lady macbeth describes her husband as green and pale. These two adjectives alludes to the popular disease at the time of macbeth, anemia. Anemia was heavily popular during the time of macbeth, with it being most popular in young virgin girls. This insult encouraged macbeth to pursue through with lady macbeth's wishes. Lady Macbeth continues to fire insults at macbeth through her words in Act 3 scene 4 “This is the air-drawn dagger which you said Led you to Duncan. O, these flaws and starts,Impostors to true fear, would well become A woman's story at a winter's fire, Authorized by her grandam. Shame itself!” In this scene, lady macbeth uses a metaphor to convey the weakness of macbeth. She does this by calling macbeth's hallucination; a story made by a young girl, but had to be double checked with her mother to see if it was appropriate enough to say. Lady Macbeth describes these actions as proper shame, encouraging macbeth to fulfil his plans. Furthermore, lady macbeth uses this same strategy in Act 1 scene 5 , “your eye, Your hand, your tongue; look like th'

In the play ‘Macbeth’ written by William Shakespeare a dramatic scene in the play is act 3 scene 4. In this scene Macbeth and lady Macbeth hold a banquet with the royalty of Scotland. Macbeth hears news of Banquo’s murder and Fleance’s escape and is approached by Banquo’s ghost causing confusion within the guest and fear in Macbeth. Through the use of Language, irony, stage direction and the contrast between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth Shakespeare is able to powerfully create dramatic scene.

The audience’s initial perception of Lady Macbeth is of a confident and evil women. In her first scene she is reading a letter from her husband telling her about the witches predictions. Upon reading the letter she instantly decides to

at this exact point as in the previous scene Macbeth is on his way to

Some actresses see Lady Macbeth as sympathetic to her husband like Sarah Siddons and Kate Fleetwood, feeling sympathy for Macbeth is a decision both actresses made for Lady Macbeth to be relatable and more human, Siddons who portrayed her in the mid-1800s said that she approached her as, “keen to present the character in as attractive a light as possible, so sexually appealing – fair feminine, nay perhaps even fragile” (Sarah Siddons qtd. In Robert Miola, 94). Siddons saw the character of Macbeth as honorable and to have him as a husband only proves Lady Macbeth is very taken with him, having put all of her efforts into seducing such an honorable man. Kate Fleetwood’s own interpretation of Lady Macbeth was very domestic, the societal hostess. In an interview in 2011, Fleetwood who was directed by her husband Rupert Goold in the 2007 version of the play said that, “When Rupert suggested to me about the domestic side of her, that started to ring really big bells for me” (Fleetwood qtd. In Miola, 135). The argument about how Lady Macbeth truly loves her husband and tried to summons the spirits is because she knows that Macbeth is very ambitious, and she needs all the strength she can have to convince him to act out the three witches’ prophecy. This arguement and its solution is very valid, Lady Macbeth only acting out for the benefit of her husband, she wants her husband to be the king of Scotland but it does not mean she wants to queen herself. In an interview, Fleetwood also

In Act 1, Scene 7, Lady Macbeth’s response to Macbeth’s declaration that he “will proceed no further in this business” is one of brutality and dominance. In order to persuade Macbeth to pursue the mission at hand, she target’s his insecurity and desire to uphold his masculinity by viciously mocking and attacking his perceived weakness of cowardice. Lady Macbeth constitutes her own definition of manhood through the line “when you durst do it, then you were a man”, inferring that Macbeth can only become a man once he proves his courage by murdering King Duncan. To reiterate the strength and power she has in over her husband, she juxtaposes references to maternal tenderness such as “lov[ing] the babe that milks [her] with the violent and ferocious

The guilt she feels can no longer be controlled; she has lost control of herself.

At the very beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth is provoked by the letter she receives by Macbeth and starts plotting the murder of Duncan. She also wishes she were a man such that she could commit the murder all by herself saying so in Act 1 Scene 5, “Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty” (Macbeth 1.5.36-52). She appeals to these spirits to remove all aspects of her femininity and seeks to gain power through the prophecy of the witches. Her fear about the ability of her husband to commit the murder is subdued in her designated gender. Lady Macbeth manages her feminine power through her sensuality and pretended weakness through her fainting streak at the notice of Duncan’s death. Manipulation, usually through sexuality is often depicted as the source of women’s power still Lady Macbeth uses this power of hers to commit murder, a masculine demonstration of power. Lady Macbeth in her soliloquy about the planning of Duncan’s death refers to her husband as an individual who plays honestly and does not engage in wrongdoing.

In Act One scene three it opens as the Queen and two Lords are talking about the King and how he has fallen ill. The passage I look at is when Lord Grey says, “In that you brook it ill, it makes him worse; Therefore for God’s sake entertain good comfort, And cheer his Grace with quick and merry eyes.” The two Lords are trying to cheer the Queen up by telling her that he will be okay and that she needs to stay strong so that she can keep the king happy. I am still unsure what brook means in this context because today it means a small stream or a girl’s name.

Macbeth Scene Analysis In the Polanski version of “Macbeth” the director, Roman Polanski, goes in depth and precisely portrays the emotions the characters feel. He uses camera angles and facial expressions to “put the viewer in the character’s shoes.” In Act V Polanski does a fantastic job of describing the emotions of Lady Macbeth while Lady Macbeth is sleepwalking.

Ironically, this is perceived through the exaggerated emotive language of having them replaced by a "direst cruelty". Lady Macbeth pleads, "make thick my blood, stop up the passage to remorse", conveying that if her blood was made thicker the blood flow throughout her body would slow down and ‘natural ' human functions would shut down. Metaphorically she wants the flow of remorse and pity to be cut off, and to be unhuman. Furthermore, she pleads that her breast milk is turned to bile. A woman 's breasts have the natural function to feed, and is a source of life for a growing baby, while bile is a bitter, foul green coloured substance made in the liver which provides no nourishment. Allegorically, this links back to Lady Macbeth’s reversal of nature and challenge of gender expectations. Shakespeare cleverly weaves this allegory through the play to symbolise a warning to Lady Macbeth and or women of the 17th century, for what will happen if they rebel and challenge societal expectations. Consequently, Macbeth gains in murderous masculinity, ordering killing after killing, while Lady Macbeth lapses back into the feminine helplessness she had earlier rejected. Madness, curiously, forces her back into the stereotypical femininity that

Ross retrieving crown scene. This scene, when tied with the previous scene at the castle of Macduff, shows Ross as being a double sided character. When Polanski first suggested that Ross was the “mysterious” third assassin, we are lead to believe that Ross is like a right hand man for Macbeth. In the film, when Ross arrives at the place of Banquo's murder you can see that he is the “odd” murderer. This being that he has the highest rank and most notable title of the three men sent to do the deed of silencing Banquo. After Banquo's death Ross seems like Macbeth's messenger of death (in the movie). Ross is later connected to the deaths of the two murderers, and the entire Macduff clan- both groups being looked badly upon by Macbeth. Near the

In perhaps the most pivotal scene in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Lady Macbeth’s motives are truly revealed in her manipulation of Macbeth to show how humans have a desire for power and once they get a taste of it, they will go through any lengths to have it, no matter the effect on others. Her lust for power is showcased through how she persuades Macbeth by insulting his masculinity and using emotive language to counter his logical reasoning. This section of the play illustrates the tipping point of each character’s morality with Macbeth having second thoughts about the planned murder and Lady Macbeth diving straight in.