In William Shakespeare’s epic tragedy, Macbeth, the concept of the every blurry line between good and evil is shown through the two main characters, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. This husband and wife duo begins the play as polar opposites. Lady Macbeth’s maliciousness and drive is clear to the audience the first time she steps on stage in Act One Scene Five. She continues on with these same characteristics, yet in the middle of the drama, there is a distinct change in her attitude and overall role as Macbeth’s wife. This switch in Lady Macbeth becomes more evident as the audience grows more aware of the large difference in Macbeth. He begins the play as a meek, yet ambitious Thane of Glamis, who is promised the throne by the reigning king, Duncan. Quickly taking his fate into his own hands, Macbeth commits many crimes to ensure his ascension to the throne and his guilt is steadily decreasing, until he reaches the brink of madness. Throughout the drama, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth almost fully switch characteristics and roles in each other’s lives as the play comes to a close. In Act One of the play, the audience is first introduced to Lady Macbeth when she is reading a letter from her husband, which announces the news of his impending ascension to the throne of Scotland. As soon as the idea of being Queen is brought to her attention, Lady Macbeth begins to scheme a plan to ensure this. Yet, she is worried that her husband is too weak to carry out the plan that she visualizes.
In Shakespeare play, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth’s character progresses in an interesting manner. Lady Macbeth is made to act as an incentive to Macbeth's immoral actions. Even though Macbeth is generally the person to have a final say before killing someone, Lady Macbeth plays the role of his “sidekick”. She mocks her husband if he worries over a sinful deed (which usually she instructs him to do), saying he would be less of a man if he does not follow through with their plan (I. vii. 56-57). She gives Macbeth a short lecture in deceptiveness when they are planning to kill King Duncan (I. vi. 73-78). She also prepared the daggers for Macbeth to kill Duncan in advance (II. ii. 15-16). Although her husband was still having doubts, she was always ready to go in for the kill. She did not think twice about it or feel any remorse. This shows that Lady Macbeth evolved into looking like a humble and quieter person on the exterior, but being an insane woman and criminal due to the events that have affected her.
As there is already a King in power, Lady Macbeth and her husband face a difficult decision. In order for Macbeth to be King, the reigning King Duncan would have to die. Lady Macbeth is a kind and gentle women but when she is faced with the temptation of a higher power she turns to darkness to help her commit this sin(quote about de womanizing her). Leading up to the murder of King Duncan, Lady Macbeth doesn't believe that Macbeth is strong enough and doubts his ability to be a man and take charge. (quote about milk of human kindness). Her doubt about her husband stays with her throughout the play and is what constantly drives a wedge between their relationship. What once was a marriage full of love, now is filled with manipulation and
As the play goes, Macbeth shows a character of free will. Although his destiny was pre-determined for him by the witches, he took action to believe and to make sure that his prophecies will come true. Macbeth is a strong character with many deep desires that include gaining power, and so throughout the play with the many crimes he had committed, there was no turning back for him. In all, his decisions help shape the future ahead of him.
The women figure is often perceived as passionate and loving but it was used as a sign of trouble, jealousy, and evilness in old literature pieces such as the Homer’s Odyssey and Shakespeare’s Macbeth, where the storylines couldn’t take places without the intervention of a female character. Both pieces of literature share the appearance of intriguing actions of a female character more than once in the plot. In the Odyssey, we have the female appearance that make an impact to the story three time: Helen of Troy (cause of the 10-year long war), Calypso (kept Odysseus captive on an island for 7 years) and his wife Penelope (Odysseus longed for her, men wanted to marry forcefully to take over Odysseus castle). In Macbeth on the other hand we
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the motif of night is aggressive like the murders they plot and commit. Night dominates day throughout the play since they commit murders which disrupt the natural order of the world. Macbeth “plays God” by taking someone else’s life and therefore they challenge the Elizabethan order of the world. Acts of chaos, like earthquakes and supernatural events, break loose. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth think the night will cover their treacherous deeds. At first, the idea of murdering Duncan frightens Macbeth, but after he kills the two guards, he begins to lose his humanity. In the beginning, Lady Macbeth feels no remorse for the deaths they are responsible for but as the play progresses, Lady Macbeth starts to feel remorse for her and her husband’s actions. Although Lady Macbeth and Macbeth hope the night will conceal their sins, instead it illuminates their actions and worsens their guilt. Their actions can never fully hide since they disrupt the natural order of the world and cause chaos.
Shakespeare tragic hero; Macbeth is undoubtedly conveyed as one of literatures greatest fallen heroes. Initially presented as an admirable hero, he self destructs from external and internal forces. The witches ignited Macbeth’s ambition and temptations prove too strong for the one admired war hero, whilst Lady Macbeth prays up on his exceptional being of vaulting ambition. Throughout the essay, the factors influence Macbeth’s downfall will be explored.
While it has been confirmed that numerous characters view Lady Macbeth as a “gentle lady” (2.3.96), she is, however, a woman who desires to live a luxurious life. After receiving the message that Macbeth will soon become king, Lady Macbeth is shown to be in a forward-looking attitude and praises her husband that she cannot wait to be Queen of Scotland. Lady Macbeth’s greediness can be demonstrated as she says, “Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be/ What thou art promised. Yet do I fear thy nature;/ It is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness...Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem/ To have thee crowned withal” (1.5.15-17.32-33). These lines of the speech establishes that Lady Macbeth is the dominant partner in the relationship, and her plan of helping Macbeth to become king, will also have her as queen undoubtedly. Lady Macbeth is a clever woman, who can organize plans that everything will go her way. The wickedness of Lady Macbeth is shown as she fears of her femininity and invites evil “[s]pirits/ That tend on mortal thoughts…[to] unsex [her], And fill [her] from the crown to the toe top-full/ Of direst cruelty” (1.5.47-50). After Lady Macbeth has been informed of King Duncan’s arrival to her castle, her thoughts shortly turn to murder because she wishes Duncan murdered without any remorse. Since Lady Macbeth had opened her mentality and body to
Lady Macbeth, in William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth, is among his most celebrated characters. In the beginning of The Tragedy of Macbeth, she is persistent and ambitious. However, throughout the play she declines and becomes hysterical. Her status among critics varies; but, all agree that Lady Macbeth’s role is vital to this timeless drama. The intricate relationship of Lady Macbeth and her husband is continuously studied and critiqued. There are numerous opinions on their partnership, some of which say that Lady Macbeth is the villain and others state that she is the heroine. Lady Macbeth is popular because of her ambition, power, and influence; her deterioration from before to after King Duncan’s murder is what causes her to be infamous today; the various controversial interpretations of her character and her relationship with Macbeth emphasize her complexity and importance.
Through love and death, Shakespeare has brought us the most renowned plays of all time. For over 400 years the world has had the opportunity to watch, listen and perform the art known as Shakespeare. With Shakespeare's work on tragedies, comes the play Macbeth. Going from a Thane to the king, then killing the king to become the king, and then being killed himself, Macbeth is one of the top tragedies written. Being overcome with the prophecy of becoming king, Macbeth starts to feel the ambition and greed building up inside him, not only him but also his wife, Lady Macbeth. When she receives the letter about the news her feelings start to get the best of her as well. Many believe that Lady Macbeth is the one to blame for her husband's downfall,
Good leader is only as good as the people who follow them. In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Scotland is thrown into turmoil when king Duncan dies. Throughout the play Malcolm, the king’s eldest son, exhibits the noble traits of a just leader, whereas Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, is the epitome of poor leadership skills. Both men are motived to do good and bad things. As well as being intelligent, Macbeth uses his brains contrary to those of Malcolm. Lastly, Malcolm and Macbeth exhibit opposite mentalities when it comes to achieving their goals. Even with opposite mindsets, Macbeth and Malcolm are motivated to do what they believe is true.
Shakespeare introduces Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in the beginning of the play as a couple who are unique, but functional. As Macbeth continues to debate murder, Lady Macbeth pushes him and spoils his innocence. In Act I, when Macbeth learns that he will become king, he heavily debates whether or not to take action on his prophecy, on the other hand, Lady Macbeth takes no time for consideration when she reads Macbeth’s letter about his news. Her desire and drive clashes with Macbeth’s calm and equivocating demeanor.When
We believe that to obtain a position of power we must acquire, or presently have traits of deception, force, and manipulation, although the people who think this are dead wrong. People with the greatest amount of power get authority through ambition, responsibility, and motivation. In the play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare, it shows a story about a fictional tragedy in which a strong scottish general named Macbeth receives news from witches that he will one day become king. The new king of Scotland would be him one day. He created a large amount of confidence and ambition out of this tale, that he comes to his goal by killing the king to take the throne of the now deceased, king Duncan. The power Macbeth obtains corrupts Macbeth and leads to him being a manipulative, overpowered leader. Macbeth has absolute power and goes against all laws of nature to get to that point of obtaining the position he eventually has through cheating god.
In order for a person to want to succeed in life, that person must possess certain traits that will allow them to traverse any bumps that try and slow down their path. Traits such as pride and confidence will allow a person to succeed in life, but too much of either trait can be detrimental to a person. If a person becomes too proud or too confident, their ego will lead them to believe that they are untouchable, causing them to become comfortable with their situation and letting their guard down. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the main character, Macbeth, becomes too powerful for his own good, causing a significant change in his character from the beginning to the end of the play. As Macbeth’s character grows throughout the play, his lust for power, his fears, and his confidence lead him to act in a destructive way, leading Macbeth to his demise.
Macbeth is a play written by Shakespeare where the main character Macbeth makes his way from battle and comes across three witches that call him upon his future before it actually takes place. Later in the play Macbeth notices certain changes that start to come true just like the witches told him and tries to take advantage of what he was told and chases his ambition to be the new king. He achieves his goal to be crowned the new king by tragic events that will take place in the play and with the help of Lady Macbeth. Macbeth seizes power and will do his best to fulfil his goals by doing what he can to maintain his position by the help of supernatural elements in the play. The three supernatural elements used in the play Macbeth that
Macbeth is a tragedy written in the 17th century that shows what the desire for power can do to a man. Macbeth is expressed as being the villain. But, Macbeth is in fact a tragic hero, doomed by fate from the beginning into the madness he put himself in. If it not been for meeting the witches and persuasion of his wife, the play would have had a very different ending.