Macbeth Character Analysis

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.

Throughout Act I and II of Macbeth it is very evident to us as readers that the Macbeth’s have a relationship and love like no other. They are extremely in love with one another and will do whatever it takes to please the other, and help each other out. In Act I, we saw Lady Macbeth discuss how she was going to be the one to kill King Duncan for her husband because although he was ambitious to become king he lacked the strength to kill. She was willing to risk it all and take on the “tougher, more masculine” role in the relationship to advance them in society and gain the throne of Scotland. In one of the scenes of the soliloquy from Lady Macbeth she made it very apparent that she was hesitant and nervous to kill King Duncan. She says to herself, “Of

The conformity to gender roles that Macbeth and Lady follow leads to the destruction of their relationship. At the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth is more masculine than Macbeth and holds the power in their relationship. Lady Macbeth is aware that she is the assertive one in their relationship and uses that to manipulate Macbeth. In act 1, scene 7, Lady Macbeth questions Macbeth’s masculinity saying, “When you durst do it, then you were a man; / And, to be more than what you were, you would / Be so much more the man.”(54-56) in saying this, she is using Macbeth’s fragile masculinity against him because she knows Macbeth will prove his masculinity by killing Duncan. After they succeed and get away with the murder, Macbeth becomes more assertive and decisive. Macbeth begins to hide things from Lady Macbeth, like his plan to kill Banquo, this causes a strain on their relationship. In act 3, scene 2, lines 50 and 51, Macbeth says to Lady Macbeth, “Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck, / Till thou applaud the deed.” about his plan to kill Banquo because he doesn’t want her involved. This furthers the strain in their relationship because Macbeth thinks he, a man, should handle these kinds of things where Lady Macbeth, a woman, should not concern herself with such problems. Furthermore, by excluding Lady Macbeth he has pushed a wedge between them by keeping secrets from her, losing her trust and leading to the downfall of their relationship. Closer to the end of the play, Macbeth assumes his role as a hypermasculine man and becomes violent, killing any possible threat to him. In becoming king, Macbeth becomes obsessed with having power because of the lack of control he had in his relationship with his wife. To Macbeth Macduff appeared as a threat,

While Lady Macbeth believes that men are superior when it comes to power and warfare, the effect that she has on Macbeth’s actions manages to change the outcome of the entire play. This speech illustrates a prominent power relation in the text - Lady Macbeth and the power that she has over her husband. While Macbeth is the one carrying out the deeds, Lady Macbeth, at least at the beginning of the play, is the brains behind the operation and manages to maintain a certain amount of control over him. “When you durst do it, then you were a man.” - Lady Macbeth. Being a man is something Macbeth cares about strongly, and Lady Macbeth manages to harness this desire of Macbeth’s to keep the power in their relationship. This speech is revealing because it manages to expose the inner workings of the relationship between the two

In the beginning of Macbeth, Macbeth himself is perceived as a weak man with little power for his and his wife is seen as more dominant and in control with the situations. “I am afraid to think what I have done: look ont I dare not.” (Shakespeare II.II.LI- LIV).

Lady Macbeth’s unconventional character is first presented to the audience in Act 1 Scene 5 as powerful. When Lady Macbeth first walks on stage she is “alone, with a letter” this gives her a commanding presence on stage which portrays her as a powerful and significant character. Lady Macbeth continues to read aloud the letter from Macbeth in which he explains what has happened to him, telling her about the witches’ prophecies and how he has been crowned Thane of Cawdor. The letter gives the audience an insight into what their relationship is like; Macbeth calls Lady Macbeth “my dearest partner in greatness” the adjective “partner” suggests that they share a close and trusting relationship. Lady Macbeth’s equality with her husband makes her unconventional to women of Medieval times as women’s status and roles were subject to the tyranny of patriarchy and were given limited rights. During Lady Macbeth’s soliloquy she decides that Macbeth “shalt be what thou art

The protagonist, Macbeth embodies masculine stereotypes throughout the play. Macbeth is a warrior and externally, reinforces and represents the typecast set before him. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth (as it was in Elizabethan England), to be manly is to be strong, courageous, daring, resolute and above all, to have honour. Outwardly, it seems Macbeth fills this role with remarkable ease.

In Act 1 of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are identified as husband and wife. The relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth comes into understanding from the very start. One must depict how close the couple were, the evidence that Macbeth sends a letter in anticipation to his wife is evident of how Macbeth trusts his wife. “ My dearest wife, partner in greatness” (1:5:10-11). Even with so much love and affection there are some major differences in ambition between both the characters. One major difference is the vaulting ambition of the Macbeths, when compared Lady Macbeth seems to have a more vaulting ambition, “ Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown

Suvaasha Sinniah Ms. Burton ENG 2D0-E Monday December 8, 2014 How William Shakespeare Dealt with gender stereotypes in the seventeenth century Macbeth is a very famous play written by William Shakespeare in the seventeenth century. The play was written for James the VI , who was the King of the Scots in the 11th century. This play is mostly known for its violence, tragic events and the twist on gender roles. The story begins by portraying Macbeth as a well-respected, loyal, and honorable hero and thane of Scotland and his wife, Lady Macbeth, as a very charismatic lady who goes above and beyond to get what she wants. However, throughout the story both Macbeth and Lady Macbeths character changes, not only in terms of personality but they

In the tragic play, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, the main character Macbeth is a Scottish thane esteemed by the king and other thanes. He is immediately portrayed as a brave and honorable warrior with loyalty to his country. Then, three witches tell him three prophecies about his future and in order to fulfill the prophecy of becoming king, Macbeth must kill Scotland’s beloved King Duncan. He and his wife, Lady Macbeth, have an ambition that leads to life or death decisions needing to be made. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth initially both have this ambition and a desire for power, but as changes occur, they begin to differ and these differences evolve throughout the play.

Lady Macbeth’s relationship with her husband changes throughout the play. In act 1 scene 5 lady Macbeth receives news about what the witches told Macbeth and immediately she starts to manipulate his thoughts. When Macbeth is crowned thane of Cawdor Lady Macbeth try’s to persuade Macbeth that it is possible for him to become king if he would just kill Duncan. But Lady Macbeth think Macbeth is ‘to full of human kindness’. Act 1 scene 5. This is characterising him as a good man and she thinks that he is too pure. He doesn’t realise you have to step on people to reach your ambition.

Her own husband recognizes her overwhelming intensity as being more attributable to males saying, “Bring forth men-children only! / For thy undaunted mettle should compose / Nothing but males” (Macbeth 1.7. 73-75). In this instance, Macbeth is facing the realization of his wife’s strength as well as his own weakness. Lady Macbeth is effectively challenging his manhood by employing traditional male attributes better than he. Macbeth realizes that his wife’s nature is undesirable in terms of societal expectations for a female. The traits which his rambunctious wife possesses are, in reality, suitable only for males. As William Hazlitt suggests, “…obdurate strength of will and masculine firmness give her the ascendancy over her husband’s faltering virtue” (Hazlitt 14). Whereas Macbeth appears to be the more impressionable character who is easily swayed, Lady Macbeth is portrayed with the traits of a more traditional male character. She recognizes her own strength and power over her

To begin with, Macbeth's ambition led him to be easily influenced. The three witches were the first to fool Macbeth. According to the play, they told him he would be king, and they told Banquo - Macbeth's friend - that his kids would also be kings. Macbeth let the prospect of becoming king and gaining power go to his head, as he recounted the witches prophecy throughout the text. On the other hand, Banquo didn't let ambition control his actions negatively, nor allow him to trust and believe every thing he's told. Macbeth ignores the fact that the witches can be very tricky with their cryptic messages. After he's told the prophecy, he goes off to tell his wife about it. He is then influenced by his wife who makes a plan to usurp the king. Although his conscience knows murdering the king and and others is wrong, he commits his crimes anyway because of his wife's influence on him. Too add on, the play goes on to say, he went to visit the witches. He is very concerned and paranoid about those plotting to take his position as king away from him. They witches tell him "...none of woman born, shall harm Macbeth." Macbeth once again ignores any possible half-truths from them, and is instead overjoyed and relieved. He feels invincible, and his ambition leads him to be cocky that he will live long. The witches have Macbeth wrapped around their pinkies, because he trusts them. They're manipulating him and his ambition is clouding his judgement. They know how set his heart was about

Judging something only by its appearance can greatly deceive a person. Reality is where the actual truth lies. In Shakespeare's Macbeth, three witches intrigue Macbeth with a few prophecies that give rise to his blind ambition, and unleash his murderous tendencies, as well as a love of power. Character development is used to show what happens when appearance is taken for reality. Macbeth's whole character changes after he chooses to wholeheartedly believe the witches’ prophecies, and as a result, he goes from being a military hero to being a tragic hero by the end of the play.

If you were told by three witches that you were to become the next ruler of an entire country, what would you do to ensure that it happens? In the novel Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, a story told about Scotland and its nobles against Macbeth and his horrid ways. What Macbeth did was drastic and evil compared to what a normal person would do. The wife of Macbeth played a few large parts in Macbeth’s downfall. While Lady Macbeth helped him gain power, Macduff was working on taking it away. Without thinking, the sons of King Duncan fled Scotland leaving all the power to Macbeth. The desire for power is the fuel that drives Macbeth; it drives him to destroy his relationships and turn everyone he loves against him. Macbeth had taken the throne ruthlessly, but when all of Scotland and England turned against him that power was no use.