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An in depth character analysis of Lady Macbeth
The character analysis of Lady Macbeth
An in depth character analysis of Lady Macbeth
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Nowadays, many well-known stories have touched the theme of isolation as it becomes the most prevalent problem that can not be easily resolved in people’s lives. As a matter of fact, both “Macbeth” by Shakespeare and “The Stone Boy” by Gina Berriault deal to some degree with the theme of isolation and emptiness. In “Macbeth” and “The Stone Boy”, Lady Macbeth and Arnold feel isolated because of the situation that does not give them the closeness they want, and they end up being not involved in the relationship they would like with their families even when reaches the very end of the story.
In fact, isolation forms many kinds of modalities of people, which means it forms different states of the feelings of Arnold and Lady Macbeth. Being isolated, Lady Macbeth feels empty and lost and has no sense of direction while Arnold feels no emotions and numb. Although both stories touch the theme of isolation, “Macbeth” does a stronger job with the theme in comparing with “The Stone Boy” by Gina Berriault.
“The Stone Boy”, in which Arnold accidentally kills his older brother, is all about the disjunction between understanding and compassion. When the accident takes place, Arnold is being isolated by his whole family, which in turn makes him feel numb and becomes stone cold. In fact, the two characters react completely different when facing the isolation. Arnold feels he is pretty innocent at first, and he tries to explain what he thinks about his brother after Eugie’s death. Just as Gina Berriault wrote, “He had expected her to realize that he wanted to go down on his knees by her bed and tell her that Eugie was dead. She did not know it yet, nobody knew it, and yet she was sitting up in bed, waiting to be t...
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...hile Lady Macbeth tends to be over emotional. Their endings are pretty diverse from each other as well as Lady Macbeth chooses to finish her life cowardly while Arnold chooses to live on sturdily.
People have different reactions when being isolated by someone that are once so closed to them. The reactions of Lady Macbeth and Arnold are quite different but extremely typical toward the isolation. It is surprised to see that Arnold’s impassibility is directly opposite to Lady Macbeth’s exaggerated emotions. Undoubtedly, Lady Macbeth’s reaction is more attractive to me than Arnold’s emotionless. Thus, “Macbeth” by Shakespeare is the story that does a stronger job with the theme of isolation and emptiness.
Works Cited
http://library.thinkquest.org/2888/
http://www.theatrehistory.com/british/macbeth001.html
http://litsum.com/stone-boy/
Both MacBeth and Lady MacBeth react differently to seeing so much blood and killing innocent men, women, and children. Lady MacBeth, in the fifth act, has become overwhelmed with guilt that she has gone insane. Out, dammed spot, a snare! Out, I say, I will! One- two-
In the play of “Macbeth”, Shakespeare gradually and effectively deepens our understanding of the themes and most importantly the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The main theme of Macbeth is ambition, and how it compels the main characters to pursue it. The antagonists of the play are the three witches, who symbolise the theme appearance and reality. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s relation is an irony throughout the play, as most of their relation is based on greed and power. This is different from most of Shakespeare’s other plays, which are mostly based on romance and trust. There is also guilt that leads Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to the final consequences of the play. As the progresses, the constant changes in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are exposed.
...elligence and emotional strength to become a powerful atypical Edwardian girl who is in control of her situation and her role in society. It can be observed that the women’s attitudes to the ‘chain of events’ in each play are in stark contrast to each other; As William Cowper states, ‘Glory built on selfish principles, is shame and guilt’, and there can be no disputing that Lady Macbeth’s guilt was a result of her glory and subsequent corruption while Sheila’s glory was built by acknowledging her guilt and shame. Sheila accepted her guilt and as such mastered it; Lady Macbeth refused to accept any guilt for killing King Duncan, and succumbed to it. The only similarity between the two is that a great wrong is done by each, yet how each character chooses to handle these wrongs is a testament to their character, the way they are written, and the resulting differences.
Isolation is a state of being separation between persons or group, or a feeling being alone. There are different factors that contribute to someone feeling alone and isolated. An example of this would be when celebrities go into deep depression because they feel isolated from the whole world. They have all the material things they could ever want, but the one thing they want the most, they do not have. , which is happiness, which comes from satisfaction within oneself and being satisfied with what one has done in one's life. Feeling isolated does not necessarily mean a person is bad. Evidence in Shakespeare play Macbeth , demonstrates this quite clearly that MacBeth's isolation comes from guilt , over-ambition and greed.
As Macbeth becomes less dependent on his wife, she loses more control. She loses control of her husband, but mostly, of herself, proving her vacillating truth. Lady Macbeth’s character gradually disintegrates through a false portrayal of unyielding strength, an unsteady control of her husband and shifting involvement with supernatural powers.Throughout the duration of play Lady Macbeth’s truly decrepit and vulnerable nature is revealed. Lady Macbeth has been the iron fist and authority icon for Macbeth, yet deep down, she never carried such traits to begin with. This duality in Lady Macbeth’s character plays a huge role in planting the seed for Macbeth’s downfall and eventual demise.
Isolation is a forced or voluntary physical or mental separation from our surroundings. It is often used as a main theme in stories that are involved with tragic endings. Juliet's growing sense of isolation plays an important role in the development of the plot in William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Throughout the story, Juliet separates herself from her friends and family physically as well as psychologically as a result of her newfound love, her own actions, and betrayal of the people she trusts.
Lady Macbeth is at the same time greater and lesser than her husband. She has a hardness which he lacks, but she has none of his subtlety and perception. She knows her husband well and despises him a little, but to satisfy her ambition, which is a crude desire to see her man King, she will devote herself soul and body to evil. (62)
While in Hamlet and others of Shakespeare's plays we feel that Shakespeare refined upon and brooded over his thoughts, Macbeth seems as if struck out at a heat and imagined from first to last with rapidity and power, and a subtlety of workmanship which has become instructive. The theme of the drama is the gradual ruin through yielding to evil within and evil without, of a man, who, though from the first tainted by base and ambitious thoughts, yet possessed elements in his nature of possible honor and loyalty. (792)
When we, human beings, are about to commit wicked acts, we feel a variety of emotions. One of those emotions is guilt. You may also feel guilt due to moments you chose not to act. The presence of guilt is a driving factor that prevents us from acting irrationally. Citizens of the 16th century possessed these emotions as well, no matter their social standing. The citizens included Shakespeare as well, a poet and playwright of the 16th century, and writer of the play Macbeth. Shakespeare transfers the idea of negative emotions to Macbeth by using blood to symbolize guilt, among other emotions in the protagonists they do not show otherwise. In Macbeth, William Shakespeare uses blood to show the inner-conflict of the
Macbeth: Shakespeare's Comparisons and Contrasts. Throughout Macbeth Shakespeare uses comparison and contrast to bring out characteristics of his main character, Macbeth. Shakespeare uses comparisons with Duncan, Lady Macbeth, and Banquo to bring out aspects of Macbeth's character. After hearing of Macbeth's courageousness on the battlefield, Duncan, a good and honest king, bestows the title of Cawdor on Macbeth.
In Shakespeare's famous play Macbeth, Shakespeare wrote Macbeth's character to undergo a series of downward spirals into isolation. There are many factors that contribute to someone feeling alone or isolated. Isolation is often a state of being separated from others, or the feeling of being alone. Isolation is created by a person's actions or wrong doings, which is progressive in Macbeth's character. Macbeth demonstrates an increase of isolation throughout the play when he isolates his own thoughts, as he beings to make his own decisions, and when an entire nation, Scotland, turns against him.
There were several aspects of Shakespeare’s novel ‘Macbeth’ that led to the downfall of Lady Macbeth. The mentality of Lady Macbeth in the play changes dramatically from the wife a Noble General, to an evil aggressive murderer (brought upon by the witches predictions), and finally a woman who had de-graded to such an extent that she took her own life.
As with all great works of literature, William Shakespeare’s Macbeth has spawned countless essays concerning its interpretation. Two such essays, “Shakespearean Tragedy” and “General Macbeth,” produced by two eminent literary critics, A.C. Bradley and Mary McCarthy, find themselves in conflict. The essays’ respective authors diverge on subjective points such as interpretation of character, original intent, and meaning. Bradley’s Macbeth is courageous and encumbered by the dregs of guilt, while McCarthy’s version takes a less orthodox path. A.C. Bradley’s interpretation of Macbeth finds him human, conflicted, and comparable to his wife, Lady Macbeth, in many respects.
The story of Lady Macbeth throughout Macbeth is one unlike those of its time in its unusually forward-thinking portrayal of a woman with thoughts and actions which would have been considered indecent. This is seen through the representation of her relationship with Macbeth and how they interact. It is also illustrated through Lady Macbeth’s morals and their effect on how she acts and reacts in situations which would weigh heavily on most peoples’ conscious. Her power-hungry attitude is one often reserved for men, especially in this era of literature. All of these factors create a character in Lady Macbeth which is dissimilar to the classic portrayal of women in the seventeenth century.
Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” explores a fundamental struggle of the human conscience. The reader is transported into the journey of a man who recognizes and acknowledges evil but still succumbs to its destructive powers. The character of Macbeth is shrouded in ambiguity that scholars have claimed as both being a tyrant and tragic hero. Macbeth’s inner turmoil and anxieties that burden him throughout the entire play evoke sympathy and pity in the reader. Though he has the characteristics of an irredeemable tyrant, Macbeth realizes his mistakes and knows there is no redemption for his sins. And that is indeed tragic.