A comparison of Lady Macbeth and Antonio from the Shakespearean plays Macbeth and Tempest

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In almost every Shakespearean play, there is a power-hungry character who will stop at nothing to rule. In the plays Macbeth and Tempest by Shakespeare, this rule is definitely applied. Although Macbeth himself is the one who starts all of the power talk, Lady Macbeth is stronger and more ruthless than her husband. Shakespeare uses Lady Macbeth ultimately to imply that women can be just as cruel and heartless as men. In Tempest, Antonio, Prospero’s brother is extremely power-hungry. His love for anything powerful forces him to use any strategy possible to get his way. Lady Macbeth from Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Antonio from Shakespeare’s Tempest are both manipulative, cold-blooded, but their punishments for their actions are extremely different.
As soon as their characters are introduced, it is easy to tell that Lady Macbeth and Antonio are manipulative characters. In Act One, Scene 7, Lady Macbeth throws the ultimate insult at her husband with these lines: “What beast was't then/That made you break this enterprise to me? /When you durst do it, then you were a man” (Lines 53-55) When her husband is backing out of murdering Duncan, Lady Macbeth uses insults and questions his manhood until he feels forced to commit the murder. Lady Macbeth was strong-willed and tough, using her skills to convince her husband to do things he would rather not. “This presentation of Lady Macbeth has attracted accusations of misogyny from critics because the women in the play (Lady Macbeth and the witches) are manipulative and evil.” (Jamieson) She then acts like a proud wife and calms her husband down after the deed is done. Similarly, Antonio uses his manipulative ways to persuade Sebastian to kill Alonso in his sleep. “I am more serious tha...

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... heartless murderers. They feel no guilt, at least not until the end of the plays. However, Antonio and Lady Macbeth have very different endings. Antonio is forgiven by his brother Prospero. Lady Macbeth eventually goes crazy and supposedly kills herself.

Works Cited

Faber M. LADY MACBETH'S SUICIDE. American Notes & Queries [serial online]. October 1966;5(2):19. Available from: Academic Search Premier, Ipswich, MA. Accessed January 13, 2014.

Jamieson, Lee. "Lady Macbeth Character Analysis." Shakespeare. N.p., n.d. Web.
13 Jan. 2014.
Lady_Macbeth_Character_Analysis.htm>.

McMartin, Pete. "Lady Macbeth would be One Heck of a Mayor: Jennifer Clarke Gets a Bad Rap, just Like Shakespeare's Aristocratic Character Series: Civic Election 2002." The Vancouver Sun: 0. Oct 24 2002. ProQuest. Web. 13 Jan. 2014 .

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