Explore how Shakespeare presents the power of rhetoric in Act 1 Scene 7 of “Macbeth”

763 Words2 Pages

In Act 1 Scene 7 of “Macbeth”, Lady Macbeth uses persuasive language to bring Macbeth from a man full of trepidation, to a hardened killer, ready to commit regicide. She does this in a variety of ways. The play was extremely controversial at the time; this was because it effectively reversed the gender roles of society. These roles were imprinted into the very fabric of medieval community; women were seen as inferior to males, and were brutally oppressed by the largely patriarchal society. As a result, shakespearean audiences would be shocked by the role reversal portrayed in Macbeth.

Lady Macbeth frequently uses insulting language, aiming to insult Macbeth’s masculinity. One instance where she does this is when she says “Art thou afeard to be the same in thine own act and valour as thou art in desire?” She is asking him if he is scared to be as brave as much as he desires and loves her. This was evidently designed to provoke Macbeth into retaliation, and to prove his masculinity, he would assassinate King Duncan.

Another way Lady Macbeth insults him is when she says “Live a coward in thine own esteem”, this is saying Macbeth will be a coward if he fails to assassinate the King. In a conventional Shakespearean couple, a woman would never call her husband a coward; it was unspeakable. This emphasises Lady Macbeth’s masculinity, and shows her dominance in the marriage. The word “live is used, which, perhaps subliminally, tells Macbeth that they would live through the assassination and the subsequent events. Lady Macbeth is telling Macbeth will live a coward if he settles for his “golden opinions” and his lordship over Cawdor.

In his soliloquy, Macbeth indicates to the audience his clear reluctance to kill the king, as he thinks a...

... middle of paper ...

...e alchemical instruments. The most common form of alchemy was trying to turn a base metal, which was typically lead, into gold, Lady Macbeth may have been referring to Duncan as the “lead” which would be replaced by the “gold”, Macbeth, the “receipt” and the “limbeck” being the tools they would use to achieve this.

The final words of Act 1 Scene 7 are Macbeth committing to assassinate his king. This completely overturns his earlier doubts and fears. He is affirming his wife’s power over him and her general dominance over the relationship. Macbeth says “False face must hide what the false heart doth know”, this has an element of certainty to it, further proving that he has now taken up the mantle of the murderer. No longer is he the scared man that gave the soliloquy at the start of the scene; Lady Macbeth’s power over rhetoric has fashioned him into a king-killer.

Show More
Related

  • Mental Deterioration In Macbeth Essay

    1310 Words  | 3 Pages

    After a long and hard battle, the Sergeant says to King Duncan, “For brave Macbeth,-well he deserves that name,- disdaining fortune, with his brandish’d steel, which smok’d with bloody execution , like valour’s minion carv’d out his passage till he fac’d the slave;” (1.2.16) . This quote shows that Macbeth is viewed as a valiant soldier and a capable leader. However, it does not take long for the real Macbeth to be revealed- a blindly ambitious man, easily manipulated by the prospect of a higher status. His quest for power is what drives his insanity, and after having been deemed the Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth’s ambition can immediately be seen. In a soliloquy, Macbeth says, “Present fears are less than horrible imaginings; my thought, whose murder yet is but fantastica, shakes so my single state of man that function is smother’d in surmise, and nothing is but what is not” (1.3.140). Macbeth has just gained more power, and his immediate thought is of how to gain an even higher status as king. He imagines how to kill Duncan, and then is troubled by his thoughts, telling himself it is wrong. This inner struggle between Macbeth’s ambition and his hesitation to kill Duncan is the first sure sign of his mental deterioration. Although Macbeth does kill Duncan, he questions whether or not he should to do so, which is far different from how Macbeth feels about murder later in the play. Macbeth becomes king, and this power leads

    Read More

  • Pathos In Macbeth

    738 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... his kinsman and his subject"(act.1 scene.7). Macbeth also explains that he is Duncan's current host, as well as the fact that Duncan is a good king. There are several more reasons not to kill him. However, upon hearing this, Lady Macbeth appeals to pathos, ridiculing Macbeth's masculinity: "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"(P.2, act1, scene7). Pathos is effective because Macbeth feels emasculated after his wife tells him this. Macbeth further defines his ethos, stating that he is not afraid to die: "I will not be afraid of death and bane"(P.3, Act.5, scene3).

    Read More

  • Macbeth's Decisions Essay

    664 Words  | 2 Pages

    When she learns Macbeth has been given a fortune of been given thane of cawdor then king and half the prophecy has become true, she knows if Macbeth is king she will be queen. She is willing to do anything to get it. On the night that Macbeth and lady macbeth have planned to kill Duncan. Macbeth is having second thoughts but Lady Macbeth is not letting him back down by saying he is a coward and she would do it if she was in his place by saying ”When you durst do it, then you are a man. And to be more than what you were you would be so much more than a man”. Macbeth is a hearty warrior and feels as though he has to prove to Lady Macbeth he is a man and he is not a coward. Therefore due to Lady Macbeths manipulation Macbeth murders Duncan. On Macbeths return Lady Macbeth is happy but Macbeth is Filled with regret Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth to forget what happened “ A little water clears us of this deed”. Which is Ironique as At the end of the play Lady Macbeth has been in the anxiety and it has finally eaten away at her and she has gone mad and keeps seeing blood on her hands. “Out damned spot out, I say !” which in turn leads to her own suicide and portrays Lady Macbeth as taking her fate into her own hands in an evil manner, However the guilt from doing the evil task highlighted Lady Macbeth was not as manly as she wanted to be and she still had feelings, showing the audience by her suicide as an act showing she was unable to withstand the guilt of being queen knowing the great evil she had to do to get

    Read More

  • Challenged Gender Roles in Shakespeare´s Macbeth

    725 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout Macbeth, Shakespeare dramatically shows what can happen when our common gender roles are broken. He shows the power that people can have over others when they aren’t acting the way they’re expected to.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Diction In Macbeth

    701 Words  | 2 Pages

    At first, Macbeth is extremely reluctant to go through with the plan to murder Duncan that his wife, Lady Macbeth, had put into place. The use of strong diction in this scene helps convey Macbeth going from submissive and afraid, to willing to do whatever it takes to become king. While talking to his wife, Macbeth explains how “[Duncan] hath honored [him] of late, and [he has] bought golden opinions from all sorts of people” (1.7.35-36). In his time working for Duncan and being an honorable Glamis, Macbeth had gained the respect of many, which would immediately be lost if the people found out he had killed Duncan. The use of “golden opinions” proves how important Macbeth’s self-image is and how he is not willing to put it in danger. When Lady Macbeth notices his doubt, 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;” (1.7.54-56). Lady Macbeth is essentially saying that her husband is not a real man, most likely to make him self-conscious and rethink his decision to quit. Using words such as “beast” and “man”, Lady Macbeth successfully convinces Macbeth to go through with the murder by mocking him. Once Macbeth has realized his wife’s new change of character and lack of any empathy, he goes on

    Read More

  • Is Femininity Weak in Macbeth?

    662 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Act 1 Scene 7, Lady Macbeth ‘bullies’ her husband by doubting his masculinity and provoking a response. She called Macbeth “afeard” and a “coward”. I am inclined to think that Lady Macbeth chose these words as Macbeth values his courage and fierce nature as it has positioned him highly in society. It is possible that Macbeth’s greatest vulnerability is his love for Lady Macbeth and that enables her to exploit his love for power. This shows her femininity as a strength as she can use it to influence Macbeth and show him as the weak spouse.

    Read More

  • Gender In Macbeth Essay

    1108 Words  | 3 Pages

    Judith Butler’s concept of gender performativity suggests that there is a distinction between “sex, as a biological facticity, and gender, as the cultural interpretation or signification of that facticity” (Butler, 522). Performing certain actions that society associates with a specific gender marks you as that gender. In this way, gender is socially constructed. Alfar defines the societal expectation of women as the “constant and unquestioning feminine compliance with the desires of the masculine” (114). Considering Macbeth from a modern perspective and taking this distinction into account, it is necessary to determine if the play is concerned with sex or with gender. Before the action of the play even begins, the audience is warned that “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (1.1.11). The first scene of the play casts the world of Macbeth as a land where everything is opposite or disordered. This line at the very start of the play cautions audiences to not take the play at face value because things are not always as they appear to be. Because of this, “all the binaries become complicated, divisions blurred. Thus the binary nature of gender identities, male/female, is eliminated” (Reaves 14). In the world of Macbeth, the typical gender constructions are manipulated and atypical. If the play does not deal with sex, the qualities of Lady Macbeth cannot be applied to all women but rather, representative of society’s construction of gender, “the patriarch, and the limited, restrictive roles of women” (Reaves 11). Within this reading of Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare’s examination and questioning of gender construction allows modern day readers to recognize the enduring relevance of

    Read More

  • Shakespeare Soliloquies In Hamlet

    1548 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the soliloquy in act II scene I with the dagger, Macbeth’s lines are foreshadowing the ending of the play as well as revealing Macbeth’s innermost thoughts. This soliloquy in particular is the most revealing because his other soliloquies are thoughts that Lady Macbeth already suspects he has. During the dream, Macbeth questions these visions saying, “Mine eyes are made the fools o' the other senses, Or else worth all the rest; I see thee still, And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood, Which was not so before. There's no such thing” (2.1.44-7). This line shows that Macbeth is consumed by these thoughts of killing King Duncan to the point of not being able to see clearly. His inner self shows that he is consumed by the power of the crown, but he is hesitant to commit such a risky crime. Macbeth is hesitant toward killing, and he cannot even reveal this to Lady Macbeth because she is so insistent that he kills Duncan regardless of his fears. Macbeth’s situation differs from Hamlet and Jacques because Macbeth was able to turn to Lady Macbeth whereas Hamlet and Jacques were completely alone. This is significant because even though Macbeth could talk to someone, he still had his inner thoughts that not even his wife could

    Read More

  • The War Inside The Character of Macbeth

    1104 Words  | 3 Pages

    Macbeth still has some good in him before he commits his first murder. His constant struggle to decide if he will kill the king shows he still has a conscious. He feels Duncan is a good leader, and as his kings men he is supposed to protect Duncan. Macbeth at this part of the play is too virtuous to betray him in such a manner. He also fears the...

    Read More

  • Gender And Power In Macbeth Essay

    1355 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lady Macbeth is one of the most compelling characters who challenges the concept of gender roles. Her relationship with Macbeth is atypical, particularly due to the standards of its time. Lady Macbeth becomes the psychologically controlling force over her husband, essentially assuming a masculine role, in order to inspire the aggression needed to fulfil his ambitions. Through her powerful taunts and persuasion, Lady Macbeth convinces her husband to murder the king and to take his throne. She emasculates over her husband repeatedly, knowing that in his desperation to prove his manhood, he will perform the acts she wishes. In Act 1, Scene 5

    Read More

  • Macbeth Fate Quotes

    546 Words  | 2 Pages

    When his wife told him that in order for him to become king, he must kill the current king, King Duncan. King Duncan is a friend of Macbeth who he is very loyal to. Macbeth had to decide whether his loyalty to the king or loyalty to his wife was more important. "Art thou afeard to be the same in thine own act and valor as thou desire? Wouldst thou have that which thou esteem'st the ornament of life, and live a coward in thine own esteem..." (Macbeth 60) In this quote, Lady Macbeth is questioning Macbeth's manhood. She is stating that he is not a man because he won't show the boldness or the bravery to do this

    Read More

  • Coincidence In Macbeth

    1003 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gender roles in Macbeths society automatically expect men to be physically and emotionally stronger than women, however, lady Macbeth plays as a juxtaposition to Macbeth; encapsulating the emasculating woman prototype. She wants to abandon all her feminine qualities as she recognises that the characteristics she wants are not acceptable for females. She asks the spirits to "unsex" (1.5 46) her and to fill her "from the crown to the toe, top-full/ Of direst cruelty" (1.5 46). It is in gaining these ‘masculine’ characteristics in Lady Macbeth ultimately attacks Macbeths biggest insecurity- his masculinity. Lady Macbeth is more ambitious and power hungry than Macbeth, and uses him as a vice for her own power conquests. It is at times when he doubts what is right and wrong for his own ambition, that Lady Macbeth uses her power of manipulation to call his manhood into question. At first, Macbeth suggests that killing the King would make him less a man and would cause him too loose his humanity, however, he changes his mind as Lady Macbeth proposes that a real man keeps promises and acts on his ambitions: "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" (1.7 54-56). Macbeth therefore murders Duncan to prove that he would be defeated neither by his fear

    Read More

  • Macbeth Literary Analysis

    822 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lady Macbeth’s relationship with her husband is not as patriarchal as is seen in traditional representations of husband and wife dynamics during this time period. For example, she says, “To alter favor ever is to fear/ Leave all the rest to me” to Macbeth (I.v.72-73). She tells him what to do and how to do it rather than the more accustomed reverse. She is also taking a position of authority by doing things for herself. Lady Macbeth criticizes her husband, saying, “Wouldst thou have that/ Which thou esteem’st the ornament of life/ And live a coward in thine own esteem?” (I.vii.41-43). She calls him a coward, easily insulting him without repercussions and with the knowledge that he won’t do anything because of it. After Macbeth kills Duncan and is in shock of the crime he has just committed, Lady Macbeth says, “Give me the daggers. The sleeping and the dead/ Are but as pictures. ‘Tis the eye of childhood/ That fears a painted devil” (II.ii.53-55). In this scene, she is taking charge of the situation by ignoring her husband’s inability to fully comprehend what he has just don...

    Read More

  • Manipulation Of Lady Macbeth

    932 Words  | 2 Pages

    When the three witches had met with Macbeth, and then he had told his wife, he did not feel sure that murdering the King was right, although he was the King’s savior. When Lady Macbeth hears about the news, she awakens, starts to plot Duncan’s murder and backstabbs Macbeth to kill him. She tells him to ‘be a man and go get what he wants’. At this point, Macbeth doesn’t have a choice. When she thinks that she can kill the King, she cries, “Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex

    Read More

  • Human Right Issues in Macbeth by William Shakespeare

    1518 Words  | 4 Pages

    Shakespeare is known for strong male heroes, but they are not laying around in this play, not that Macbeth is full of strong female heroines, either. The women in the play, Lady Macbeth and the witches have very uncommon gender belief, and act as inhumane as the men. While the men engage in direct violence, the women use manipulation to achieve their desires. As Lady Macbeth impels Macbeth to kill King Duncan, she indicated that she must take on some sort of masculine characteristic in order to process the murder. “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.” (i v 31-34) This speech is made after she reads Macbeth’s letter. Macbeth, she has shown her desire to lose her feminine qualities and gain masculine ones. Lady Macbeth's seizure of the dominant role in the Macbeth's marriage, on many occasions, she rules her husband and dictates his actions. Her speeches in the first part of the book give the readers a clear impression. “You shall put this night’s great business into my dispatch, which shall […] gi...

    Read More

More about Explore how Shakespeare presents the power of rhetoric in Act 1 Scene 7 of “Macbeth”

Open Document