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Who Is Responsible For Lady Macbeth's Downfall

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In the tragic play of Macbeth, William Shakespeare writes about the struggles seen by the protagonist Macbeth, in the end of the play Macbeth's attempt of claiming the title of King of Scotland ultimately fails by the fault of someone very close to him. Shakespeare wrote this play during the 16th century while the setting of it was in scotland in the medieval era around the 11th century. Lady Macbeth plays a key role in this play because of her extreme ambition and the way she doesn't fall into the typical gender roles of the time as just a home keeper. Lady Macbeth was the motive behind all of Macbeth's actions, she drove him to defeat. For this unlikely role she is the main reason for her husband's downfall because of her great ambition, her ways of getting into her husband's head, and the actions she made that got Macbeth to assassinate Duncan. …show more content…

Ambition can normally be viewed as a good thing, however she morphed it into something that oozes evil. When Lady Macbeth receives the letter regarding the proficiency told by the three witches, her words “unsex me here and fill me from crown to toe topful of direst cruelty” (Act 1, scene 5, lines 40-43) show she instantly is infatuated by the thought of all the power that would come by her husband being king. She was a machine that would not stop until it got what it wanted, no matter whose life stood in the way. Her poisonous strive for greatness influenced Macbeth, she practically forced him to do the deeds he would have never done like in (Act 1 scene 5, lines 64-65) “Your hand, your tongue; look the th’innocent flower, but be the serpent

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