While both Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Wilson’s Fences showcase different styles of marriage in the dominant nature of the husband or wife, both plays reveal through impulsive behaviors and commanding words that the fate of a marriage’s stability lies in the level of communication. The authors use Troy and Lady Macbeth’s critical tendencies, and Macbeth and Troy’s jeopardizing behaviors to show how fragile this reliance can be, and prove marriage deserves mutual effort and respect to thrive. The ego of Troy Maxson is a dog with both bark and bite, the kind of bark that annoys the restless neighbors by keeping them up all night, and the kind of bite that leaves a small white scar on your hand that you can tell a story about. Troy aims to keep …show more content…
Macbeth’s relationship is given no background to their sinful schemes, all we know is their time of peak conflict. The pair become more and more separated act by act, which originally stems from the critical emotions Lady Macbeth exerts upon Macbeth to question his very manhood. The entire plot of the story unravels from the first in-person interaction between the couple. Following Macbeth’s soliloquy contemplating if “It were done when ‘tis done” (1.7), Lady Macbeth enters and weighs on him that if he weren’t to achieve what he desires, then “From this time I account thy love. Art thou afraid to be the same in thine own act and valor as thou art in desire?” (1.7). Again, there is not much background to their marriage, or how long they are together, but to leap to defining their marriage upon this choice is a very controlling ask. Macbeth is an accomplished figure and cares about his wife, but none of these accolades are enough for her unless he achieves further. Even following her successful motivation for the deed, his ultimately thankless task was not honored by Lady Macbeth but rather criticized. Macbeth is “Infirm of purpose”, and she commands him, “Give me the daggers”. The sleeping and the dead are but pictures. Tis the eye of childhood that fears a painted devil” (2.2). While I agree that it is better to remove potential flaws in their plan, no criticism is …show more content…
Whether it is a turn of nature for Macbeth, or he is fed up with being under the gun of his wife, Macbeth’s behavior becomes shady and secretive. After all, the pair are still in this together, but Macbeth is vague in his planning, very opposite from his letter and their conversation earlier in the play. Regarding Banquo and Fleance, he mysteriously explains that “there shall be done a deed of dreadful note” (3.2). Considering the sequence of murders that are unfolding, there is just concern for Lady Macbeth. But she is advised to “Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck, Till thou applaud the deed” (3.2). Until this point, it has become obvious that Lady Macbeth is not shy about the idea of using murder as a practice to remove obstacles. She loves her role and involvement, yet becomes shadowed by this part of the plan. Such a move would lead to questions about their trust. Avoiding transparency leads the rest of the play to involve more individual scenes of the two characters, rather than their interactions. But it is in one of their final scenes together that Macbeth disrupts the dinner party, and Lady Macbeth has to take full responsibility for covering up his episode, offering, “But as a thing of custom. Tis no other; Only it spoils the pleasure of the time” (3.3). Her honesty shows her impatience with
After Duncan’s death, Macbeth feels that Banquo is suspicious of him because he knows about the prophecy. With the goal of eliminating a possible threat, Macbeth hires two murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. Macbeth convinces the murderers that he is not only their enemy but, “so is he mine; and in such bloody distance/ that every minute of his being thrusts/ against my near’st of life,” (III.i.119-121). Here Macbeth explains that Banquo is also his enemy, and that every minute Banquo is alive, is a threat to his own life. While Banquo may be suspicious, this is far from the truth. Banquo is Macbeth’s closest friend, and his willingness to kill him without hesitation shows how much he has changed. He is willing to harm not only his best friend, but also Banquo’s innocent son who may pose a threat in the distant future. Macbeth’s instinct for self-preservation outweighs his morals, and his extreme caution leads to the downfall of others. In doing so, he digs himself into an even deeper hole, and is surrounding himself in secrets in order to protect himself. This takes a toll on Macbeth mentally, because he fears that everyone is his enemy, and that he can only trust
But he wont, so she insults him more, and goes to do it herself. Lady Macbeth was the initial force to make this entire play roll along. Macbeth was comfortable where he was, he was curious about the fact the witches stated, but he didn't want to force it to work. After Lady Macbeth's help in the killing of Duncan, the only influence she has upon him is to keep everything to themselves. At the party after Banquo's murder, Lady Macbeth tries to calm Macbeth, and tell him that what he sees is only an illusion, and not to worry about Banquo, and to shut up because his fit may show everyone that they are the murders of Duncan and Banquo.
The Relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth Throughout the play of "Macbeth" written by William Shakespeare there is an on-going relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. This relationship is one of the functions of the play that creates most of the actions, reactions, moods, feelings and attitudes. Macbeth's relationship with his wife was not always great. This is shown in one of there conversations; MACBETH: "We will proceed no further in this business: He hath honour'd me of late; and I have bought Golden opinions from all sorts of people, Which would be worn now in their newest gloss, Not cast aside so soon. "(Macbeth,I,vii, )
Lowe argues that Macbeth constantly presses the witches to reveal more, and acts under his own accord to commit the act of murder. The witches merely state that Macbeth will become king; they do not order him to kill Duncan. Lowe concludes that Macbeth is a culpable human, acting on his own ambition with help from the Witches. Macbeth, from a causation standpoint, reveals that the initial meeting with the Witches caused the downfall of Macbeth. Lowe states “Metaphorically speaking, the witches give Macbeth a flame, but Macbeth lit himself on fire and kept feeding that fire until he was completely destroyed. Thus, it can hardly be argued that Macbeth is a pawn of fate, a victim of circumstance. Rather, Macbeth creates his own tragic circumstance, freely murdering his way to his demise” (Lowe, 2005). Lady Macbeth also forces her own will upon Macbeth, calling him a coward to prick at his sides. The threat of being considered a coward in the eyes of his lover is more important than the problems anf implications of committing a murder. Macbeth values his self worth and personal gain than the life of his friends and allies. The murder of Banquo is what ultimately leads to his demise, says Lowe. Macbeth’s guilt takes the form of a ghost, coercing Macbeth into admitting his involvement in the murder of Banqou. This leads to the separation of Macbeth’s troops, whom later come to kill him in the final act. The Witches’ “prophecy” of kingship and grandeur, Macbeth’s senseless killings, and ultimately his guilt and remorse, are enough to make Macbeth believe he is acting out his
Macbeth, a tragedy play by written William Shakespeare. Throughout the play the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is the engine that drives the tragedy of the play. Macbeth is a play about a Scottish knight named Macbeth who comes back from battle and meets three ‘witches’. They predict that Macbeth shall become king. At first he was skeptical though when it was announced by King Duncan that he will be made Thane of Cawdor, the next in line for king for his bravery on the battlefield he believed that their prediction was possible. With this event Macbeth believes the witches' predictions are true so he informs his wife Lady Macbeth whom upon hearing the news becomes excited and supportive of the idea. The two of them murder Duncan and Macbeth becomes king as the witches foretold and from then on in they lie, kill and create madness so that Macbeth may remain king. At the beginning of the play Lady Macbeth and Macbeth shared a loving relationship in which Lady Macbeth is support of his goals. Their relationship changes dramatically after the murder of King Duncan. They both change as individuals thus changing their relationship. Their destructive relationship influences the murders madness and deaths in the play. The two of them are so ambitious that together they push each other to achieve their goals no matter what.
...le Macbeth tells them that ‘every man be master of his time’ so that he can ‘keep alone’. By choosing to isolate himself and not inform Lady Macbeth of his plans to murder Banquo we see how Macbeth feels as if he can’t even trust his closest companions. After turning his back on Lady Macbeth, Macbeth becomes fixated not only on the prophecies of the witches but when he hints to Lady Macbeth that ‘a deed of dreadful note’ will fall upon Banquo and his son he talks like the witches. This shows how Macbeth has turned his back on seeking council from his lords and advisors and begins to act as a king who instead of rationally thinking things out, he chooses to justify his reasons on prophetic predictions from a world of sorcery.
This proves his vaulting ambition and how it had taken over Macbeth. Macbeth continues to murder Banquo and does so out of fear of losing the throne. This is evident in (III, i, 47 – 50) where Macbeth says “…To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus. – Our fears in Banquo stick deep, and in his royalty of nature reigns that which would be fear’d…” this demonstrates Macbeths fear and the threat he faces. Macbeth says that Banquo’s royalty of nature should be feared, through this we are able to understand that Macbeth is evidently lost his grasp on his moral conscience and begins to take down any threat he sees, even if that threat is his best friend. Macbeth goes on to refer to Banquo as his enemy and although he could kill him himself, he fears to offend mutual friend they may have (III, i, 115 – 120). Macbeth then orchestrates the murder of Banquo and Fleance showing no remorse. Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth that she should appear innocent and act nicely as to not draw any suspicion to themselves. “Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck, till thou applaud the deed…” (III, ii, 46 – 47). Although Macbeth still refers to Lady Macbeth as his dearest chuck he has planned the murder by himself and without any help, demonstrating his inherent evil nature. Macbeth’s quest for power not only ends his life, but he continues the murders due to malice. When Macbeth plans to murder the
Macbeth rejects conformation to traditional gender roles in its portrayal of Lady Macbeth’s relationship with her husband, her morals and their effect on her actions, and her hunger for power. Her regard for Macbeth is one of low respect and beratement, an uncommon and most likely socially unacceptable attitude for a wife to have towards her spouse at the time. She often ignores morality and acts for the benefit of her husband, and subsequently herself. She is also very power-hungry and lets nothing stand in the way of her success. Lady Macbeth was a character which challenged expectations of women and feminism when it was written in the seventeenth century.
At the end of the play this character feels guilt for what she has done and has taken the personality, which was that of her husband in the beginning.At the beginning of the play Lady Macbeth speaks and shows her shows how cruel and heartless she really is; "And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty". This shows she has no good in her, what so ever. Macbeth on the other hand, began as a good respectable character. When Lady Macbeth speaks of killing Duncan, he gives many reasons for reasons that he could not do so. Some of the reasons he gives in that speech are, that Duncan respects him, and trusts Macbeth. Duncan is also related to him by blood, and if he were to kill him he would never be able to rid himself of the guilt; wash the blood from his hands.At the climax of the play Macbeth makes plans to kill Banquo, with out Lady Macbeth, without anyone.
Throughout the Hebrew scriptures, God distributes divine punishment amongst offenders of his divine law and commands. The severity of these punishments differs greatly, from the use of plagues to total destruction. Many biblical scholars argue that the holy scriptures promote the idea of retributive justice (something along the lines of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” (Exodus 21:24). The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/justice-retributive/) defines retributive justice as the act of enforcing punishment that is proportionate to the crime or offense committed, and that no innocent person(s) should be harmed by this punishment. Because God’s divine retribution found throughout the Tenakh is inconsistent
Explore the ways the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth develop throughout the play. Making reference to Shakespeare's use of language and stagecraft, examine the ways the events of the play impact on them and their relationship.
The relationship between Macbeth and his wife is strong. There is much trust between the two and there is also openness. However, the two butt heads and have opposing views many times. Even so, it is clear that Lady Macbeth is the dominant person in the couple. She is one of the major driving forces of Macbeth. This is shown when they are plotting the murder of Duncan. Macbeth asks her, ?If we should fail?? and she strongly replies, ?We fail! / But screw your courage to the sticking-place, / And we?ll not fail.? Whenever he is backing down she pushes him forward again. This is where a major flaw of our protagonist comes in. Macbeth cannot escape the trap of listening to his wife. He is subject to her commands and he knows it.
Act 3 marks a turning point in Macbeth's moral decay as he succumbs further to his ambition, evidenced by his decision to hire murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. Despite his initial hesitance regarding committing the act himself, Macbeth's willingness to employ others to do his bidding reveals a significant moral compromise. As the play progresses, Macbeth's integrity continues to deteriorate as he has lost, “honor, love, obedience, troops of friends” (V.iii.25), becoming more ruthless and deceitful in his efforts to maintain his grip on power. As Macbeth visits the witches again, seeking reassurance about his future reign, his reliance on supernatural forces is underscored, displaying his moral decline, as he turns to dark magic in his pursuit of validation and assurance. Additionally, Macbeth's disregard for human life becomes increasingly apparent as he ruthlessly orders the slaughter of Macduff's wife and children, to “make assurance double sure” (IV.i.91), demonstrating a complete abandonment of his moral
The plays Macbeth by Shakespeare and Cat on the Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams both depict relationships between husbands and wives. In Macbeth the readers experience a relationship between a cowardly king and an ambitious queen, while in Cat on the Hot Tin readers see a more relatable relationship between a heartless plantation tycoon, Big Daddy and his timid wife Big Mama. As like in all relationships, there are definite differences between the interactions of Macbeth to Lady Macbeth, and Big Daddy to Big Mama. However even though these plays take place in different settings in periods of time, similarities can also be seen between the relationships of each husband to his wife.
The famous play “Macbeth”, written by the famous author, William Shakespeare was a play written as a tragedy. There was people dying and others wanted to hurt other people for something they wanted or was jealous of. In the play, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth were just like any other married couple. They were loyal and loving towards each other. But just like any other marriage, they each had their own flaws. They were similar in many ways but they were mostly very different.