Love, Murder, and Jealousy in Shakespeare's Macbeth and Browning's My Last Duchess and The Laboratory

Clark and Wright in their Introduction to The Complete Works of William Shakespeare interpret the character of Lady Macbeth:

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’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

Lady Macbeth had a very powerful hold over Macbeth. Just by questioning his valor she could shift Macbeth’s whole thought process and second-guessing of the murder of Duncan (Booth, 24), and he allows it because he cannot bear to disappoint her. His love for her and need for her approval is what ultimately leads him to commit each and every one of his crimes. She is the center of his world and if she does not see a problem in the murders than why should he. This is naïve ignorance caused by a blindness that is induced by love, and that is both heart breaking and tragic.

his description of his duchess, proves his own need to be in control. He initially asks his

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.

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.

While the King has high respect for Macbeth and his Lady, he knows little of their innermost desire. Just before

In "My Last Duchess", by Robert Browning, the character of Duke is portrayed as having controlling, jealous, and arrogant traits. These traits are not all mentioned verbally, but mainly through his actions. In the beginning of the poem the painting of the Dukes wife is introduced to us: "That's my last Duchess painted on the wall,/ looking as of she were still alive" (1-2). These lines leave us with the suspicion that the Duchess is no longer alive, but at this point were are not totally sure. In this essay I will discuss the Dukes controlling, jealous and arrogant traits he possesses through out the poem.

Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth in such a way that she is shown as a strong and powerful woman. Her ability to manipulate Macbeth to murder Duncan in order to get more power is a key example of this aspect of her character. Browning also presents his speakers in a similar way to Shakespeare through their need to control. The main way that both authors achieve this is through the use of language. Techniques such as rhyming couplets and semantic fields are used to emphasise the control that the characters have or want to achieve. Additionally, a range of imagery is used throughout all of

    William Shakespeare's tragic play Macbeth presents the fizzled drive of an ambitious husband and wife. This essay is the story of their destructive ambition.

The drastic fall of lady Macbeth’s role in the relationship is also illustrated by her absence in the entire act four in which embodies the acceleration of Macbeth’s downfall. Consequently, the collapse of the firmest pillar of her masculinity, relationship, brings forward lady Macbeth’s feminine character which lessens her ability to cope with guilt. In fact, whether the deteriorating relationship exempts her need to put on a masculine mask or proves the impossibility of women being treated as equals, it significantly victimizes her in front of guilt. Looking back at blood, the visualization of guilt, instead of insisting on it being “A foolish thought, to say a sorry sight” (II.ii 30), the deteriorating relationship enables her unmasked true

Shakespeare and Browning both present the theme of desire through their central characters. Lady Macbeth (and Macbeth) is motivated by the desire for ambition and authority in ‘Macbeth’ whilst in the Browning monologues; the monologists are driven by the desire of power and control in ‘Porphyria’s Lover’ and revenge in ‘The laboratory’. All of which seem to have fatal conclusions as a result of each of their desires. As the texts were produced over 400years ago, audiences may have found the works of Shakespeare and Browning highly thought-provoking and entertaining whilst contemporary audiences finding the different aspects of desire relatable to modern situations. Lady Macbeth’s need for authority in her famous soliloquy ‘unsex me

The theme of destructive love within relationships in Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Bronte’s Wuthering Heights are presented through sexism, jealousy, and betrayal. These stories both are portrayed with a theme of destructive love, the tragic love of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, along with Heathcliff and Catherine. When a relationship has become destructive it means there has been some kind of destruction, one or both individuals affection towards each other has become hostile or in some romances one overpowers the other. In Macbeth there seems to be overpowerment within Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s relationship, she starts to suppress Macbeth as they are planning Duncan’s murder in Act 1. Also the devastating way Heathcliff

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.