Who is the “tougher” character from William Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, Macbeth or Lady Macbeth? Toughness is the ability to solve and complete challenges. This includes mindset, planning or making a decision, having the will and strong mind to do something that is not only physical but mental.Lady Macbeth is tougher than Macbeth. Nevertheless, some feel Macbeth is tougher than Lady Macbeth because Macbeth demonstrates toughness as he is physically strong and fit with more experience. However, Lady Macbeth is tougher because she is the mastermind behind all decisions they make. Additionally, Lady Macbeth also demonstrates toughness as she has a very strong mindset towards her goals. Nevertheless, advocates who believe Macbeth is tough focus on his …show more content…
Captain says, “But all’s too weak, For brave Macbeth— well he deserves that name— Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel, Which smoked with bloody execution, Like valor’s minion carved out his passage” (I ii 15-19). This demonstrates toughness because Macbeth has easily killed the enemy, he was manly as well as assertive in his mission. This is something that no one else could do without hesitation or doubt in mind. Through this, he is showing his confidence and strength to do something for his Clan. However, Lady Macbeth is actually tougher because she is the brain and knowledge behind thought out decisions.The setting is in their Castle at Inverness discussing the news of what the witches said and how Duncan's party can get Macbeth the crown. Macbeth is deep in thought looking through a window while Lady Macbeth is ranting about preparations and his need to go through with the plan. The setting involves Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as they work out the plan to kill Ducnan to get Macbeth the crown to the throne; this is being debated as Macbeth is in doubt but Lady Macbeth is rather
This shows Macbeth is weak because he is easily mentally manipulated. They easily manipulated him. Not once, but twice as well. Later in the play, the witches came back and caused the ultimate death of Macbeth. They tricked him that he was “invincible” without lying at all. The second apparition stated that he would not be killed by a man born from a woman here: “Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scorn The power of man, for none of woman born Shall harm Macbeth.”(4.1, 79-81)
Lady Macbeth progresses throughout the play from a seemingly savage and heartless creature to a very delicate and fragile woman. In the beginning of the play, she is very ambitious and hungry for power. She pushes Macbeth to kill Duncan in order to fulfill the witches’ prophecy. In Act I, Scene 6, she asks the gods to make her emotionally strong like a man in order to help her husband go through with the murder plot. She says, “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!” Also, she does everything in her power to convince Macbeth that he would be wrong not to kill Duncan. In Act I,
The play Macbeth depicts it a little differently with Lady Macbeth being the tough one and Macbeth being soft throughout the play. As the play comes to a close you see them switch roles on each other where Macbeth shows signs of toughness and Lady Macbeth shows signs of softness. Both characteristics
A beautiful, kind perceived woman hiding her wretched smile with her hands, for she knows that she has set her husband off to kill a man. Lady Macbeth is vulgar, and manipulative. She speaks whatever is on her mind, even if she knows that it might upset Macbeth. She manipulates Macbeth into killing King Duncan. Lady Macbeth is more ruthless than any of the other characters.
Being strong can be defined in several ways, in countless situations, strength could mean plain power, the higher title you have, the stronger you are, and in the play, Macbeth is powerful in that sense, however, lacks mental strength. While Macbeth may seem like a strong and ambitious character, he is in a way, powerless, controlled only by his “black and deepest desires.” In the play of Macbeth, ambition is a strong desire Macbeth has to become king by committing the unthinkable, of which in this case, is murder. A glimpse of his mental instability is portrayed in the third scene of
She is, and forever will be one of the most dominant female figures in literature. She depicts intensity, moxie, ambition, and ruthlessness throughout the start of the play. Lady Macbeth is the epitome of what King James I feared in women. King James feared women like Lady Macbeth because her power came from within herself. She understood that she could achieve anything with or without anyone by her side. He feared women who threatened the natural order, showed aggressive tendencies, and were capable of being independent (Smith). Shakespeare used Lady Macbeth as a subtle imitation for the historical women King James persecuted (Moir). The Weird Sisters used methods like image-magic on the world around them to injure. While others in Shakespeare’s England were executed for witchcraft that never engaged in any practices associated with witchcraft or magic at all (Smith). Lady Macbeth did not need magic to persuade Macbeth to kill the king, she did that all herself. Her power hungry self goes on to say, “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 To catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great,/ Art not without ambition, but without/ The illness should attend it.” (Shakespeare 1.5 15-20). In the quote above she is explaining how even though her husband does not have the guts to kill Duncan, he will be able to because he has her. Shakespeare understood that the women of the Jacobean era were harassed because of their strength and tenacity, and uses Lady Macbeth’s actions at the beginning of the play to represent
To start off, Lady Macbeth is shown to be particularly shrewd, especially in comparison to Macbeth. She has no problem with showing cruel tendencies. “I fear thy nature is too full o’ the milk of human kindness.” Her brutal nature is even more evident when she begins to fear
Kiana Perry Mrs. Seifert English 10 April 18, 2024. In the play Shakespeare, the main characters Macbeth and Lady Macbeth work their way from being common people to being King and Queen, doing whatever it takes to get there. Throughout the whole play, Macbeth goes through a lot of emotions, from being a coward to being cocky to being fearful. He was very cowardly in the beginning of the book in the sense of him not wanting to murder the Duncan the King and take the throne like Lady Macbeth wanted him to.
In the novel, Macbeth written by William Shakespeare, Lady Macbeth the wife of Macbeth, plays a crucial role in the story. Lady Macbeth can be described as a bold, loyal wife willing to go through hell and back for her husband’s success. She could be considered the brains behind Macbeth. As the story progresses, we can see that Lady Macbeth displays more strong-heartedness compared to Macbeth. However, later in the play, her strength faltered.
Through the motif of manliness, Macbeth character is more obedient. Macbeth focuses on obedience which leads him to make impulsive decisions. Lady Macbeth was shaming Macbeth after killing the king because he can't cover it up.
Between evil and weak, Lady Macbeth is ultimately weak. Although she plans and does all of the work to set up King Duncan’s murder, she cannot go through with actually killing him. Additionally, Lady Macbeth’s greed leads her to commit more evil deeds after Duncan’s murder. However, this eventually creates a guilt in Lady Macbeth so strong that she takes her own life. Consequently, the conclusion that must be drawn is that Lady Macbeth is more weak than evil.
Although Lady Macbeth is still stronger and more ambitious than Macbeth the killing of Duncan is the point where the gap starts to narrow. She calls Macbeth a coward when he tries to back out of the plan and is the driving force that causes Macbeth to kill Duncan. She also shows strength when Macbeth returns from the murder and she tells him "These deeds must not be thought after these ways. So, it will make us mad". But when she has to go kill the guards she starts to lose some of her composure. Upon return to their room Lady Macbeth is just as shook up as Macbeth. This shows how Lady Macbeth is mostly talk and starts to weaken when the murders begin and the pressure sets in.
Macbeth is the one that proved herself to be as weak as Macbeth as she
Lady Macbeth is more of a two-faced snob. When Macbeth came to tell her about his thoughts, she started trying to encourage him and persuade him into killing the king. Every single time he would doubt himself she would start to down him and crush his man hood until he would feel his power again.
Lady Macbeth is controlling and conniving, where Macbeth is much more blunt and reserved but they both have similar dreams and ambitions of power. Even though their gender roles are different, with Lady Macbeth being more dominant in the relationship and Macbeth being more submissive and inferior towards his wife, it helps them to work together in planning and going through with Duncan's murder. Also, Lady Macbeth often makes fun of her husband for being weak. When making fun of his manhood she says, "What beast was't then that made you break this enterprise to me? When you durst do it, then you were a man. And be to more than what you were, you would be so much more the man."( I, vii, 47-51). In this quote Lady Macbeth teases her husband by using their close-knit and intimate understanding of each other against him. She especially recognizes the flaws and qualities in her husband and tries to fulfill his ambitions and dreams of becoming King. She knows Macbeth will not do anything to achieve his goals so she steps into action by plotting the murder. Even though Macbeth was a brave soldier,he is mentally very weak, This is also much like Lady Macbeth where she is strong on the outside but can be easily broken after tragedies. This shows that the couple can become truly crazy when pushed off the edge with their cruel