Lady Macbeth Research Paper

669 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Macbeth character analysis

In Macbeth, who is more ruthless, Macbeth or Lady Macbeth? In Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, the character Lady Macbeth is Macbeth's wife, a deeply ambitious woman who lusts for power and position. Macbeth is a Scottish general and the thane of Glamis who is led to wicked thoughts by the prophecies of three witches.
In act 1 Scene 5, Lady Macbeth is suppurative, teaching Macbeth how to play the part: “ look innocent flower/ But the serpent under't”. She wants him to be manipulative, deceptive, to have dual nature. As of now Lady Macbeth seems to be the stronger and more ruthless of them both as she convince her husband to kill Duncan and own the crown.Duncan is king of Scottland and whom Macbeth, in his ambition for the crown, murders. Macbeth is weak, uncertain, questioning himself, and lady Macbeth needs to build his confidence and keep him toward his goal and her goal.
In Act three Scene two, Lady Macbeth is trying to keep …show more content…

Macbeth at first is a loyal and valiant servant to his king and country. Ambition is presented as a dangerous quality. It causes the downfall of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth and triggers many of deaths in the play, by a number of factors including prophesy. The three witches. Three “black and midnight hags” who plot mischief against Macbeth using charms spells and prophecies. Their predictions prompt him to murder Duncan, to order the deaths of Banquo and his son, and to blindly believe in his own eternal life. Lady Macbeth, his wife is the driving force that encourages Macbeth to overcome his sense of guilt and take action of the prophesies. Then macbeth ambition soon spirals out of control and forces him to murder again and again to cover up his previous wrong doings. Ambition has many consequences in the play. Macbeth is slain as a tyrant. At the end of the play, Malcom is the victorious king and Macbeth’s burning ambition has been

Show More
Related

  • Examples Of Bullying In Macbeth

    409 Words  | 1 Pages

    Lady Macbeth was overall the biggest bully in the Macbeth play. She exerted control over her husband. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth made a plan to kill King Duncan following The Three Witches prophecy where they foretold he would be king. In Act 1 Scene 7 Macbeth decides not to King Duncan because he was “his kinsman and his subject” and because Duncan “Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been...So clear in his great office”. When Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth that he won’t kill King Duncan, she calls him a coward saying "When you durst do it, then you were a man". By calling him a coward and questioning his manliness she pushed him to murder King Duncan.

    Read More

  • Lady Macbeth Quotes

    447 Words  | 1 Pages

    In act 1, Lady Macbeth feels like she has to take the role being the “man” in the relationship and confidently tell Macbeth what to do constantly. She quotes, “Only look up clear. To alter favour ever is to fear. Leave all the rest to me ( Act 1 scene 5 line 78-80).” She pretty much hints that she will do everything and all Macbeth has to actually do is do it and follow through with her plan. She was the one to tell Macbeth to kill Duncan, and wanted for them to take her femininity away so she can play part in the murderous scene. While, Macbeth is very unsure about her decision; Lady Macbeth feels very confident and devoted in her course of action.

    Read More

  • Similarities And Differences Between Macbeth And Dr Jekyll And Hyde

    1337 Words  | 3 Pages

    In act 1 scene 5 Lady Macbeth received a letter from Macbeth. In the letter Macbeth wrote about what happened to him earlier. The tone of the letter is exciting which shows Macbeth’s interest in the prophecies. Moreover now that Lady Macbeth knows about the predictions, she is making a plan for example “Hie thee hither that I may pour my spirits in thine ear” so that he can succeed. This suggests that Lady Macbeth is going to persuade Macbeth to commit regicide. In addition, from that moment, Macbeth is starting to change from kind and nice to an aggressive and brutal man. Lady Macbeth started to manipulate Macbeth using insulting language to make him kill the king as she calls him a coward “Will you take the crown you want so badly, or will you live as a coward, always saying ‘ I can’t’ after you say ‘I want to’? This insulting language suggests that Lady Macbeth wants to force him to kill

    Read More

  • Macbeth Manipulation Quotes

    800 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Act 1,Scene 5, Lady Macbeth says “What thou art promised; yet do I fear thy nature;/ It is too full o'th milk of human kindness/ To catch the nearest way”. In this quote Lady Macbeth is basically saying that Macbeth is weak and isn't strong enough to do the task,that need to be done. Which is killing King Duncan,and taking his crown. She is very selfish,and doesn't care about the consequences of what her, and her husband are about to do. Lady Macbeth also says beforehand, that she knows she is going to have to convince her husband, in order for Duncan to be killed off,and her and him get the crown.

    Read More

  • Free Essay on Macbeth - The Guilt of Lady Macbeth

    617 Words  | 2 Pages

    At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is a trusted soldier, who is honest and noble. Unfortunately, he meets three witches who tell him three prophecies; that he will become thane of Cawdor, that he will become king and that Banquo’s sons will become kings. These three prophecies slowly change his opinions on life and turn him into a greedy, dishonest, tyrant, full of ambition. Lady Macbeth’s thoughts change as well when she is told about the three prophecies that were told to Macbeth. In the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth is ambitious, controlling and domineering. She is the one who encourages him to kill the king, she not only encourages him, she makes all the plans herself, which shows her determination and persistence."Yet I do fear thy nature, it is too full o’th milk of human kindness. To catch the nearest way thou wouldst be great. Art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it." (Act 1, scene 5). Lady Macbeth is the force behind Macbeth’s sudden ambition and she tries to manipulate him into feeling guilty and unmanly for not following through with the murder, by using her husbands emotions, she manages to convince Macbeth to murder Duncan.

    Read More

  • Lady Macbeth The Real Power Behind the Throne

    1130 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lady Macbeth takes the role of the dominant partner in the beginning of the play, by acting as the real power behind the throne. For example, it is easily recognized that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are opposite in many ways (Scott 236). He is weak, indecisive, and takes on the traditional female role of the marriage; she is strong, decisive, and takes on the traditional male role. One place in the play where Macbeth’s character is shown is Act I, Scene 5, Lines 15-17. She says, “Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be / What thou art promis’d : yet do I fear thy nature / Is too full o’ the milk of human kindness.” This is just after Lady Macbeth receives the letter from Macbeth. It is also important to notice that when Macbeth’s first thoughts of killing Duncan appear, he is scared. After he commits the murder, Macbeth says, “To know my deed, ‘twere best not know myself ” ( 2. 2. 72 ). Knowing that he has committed such a vile act makes him uncomfortable. It will be difficult to act innocent and deal with his guilt.

    Read More

  • Free Essays - The Manipulative Lady Macbeth

    399 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Manipulative Lady Macbeth In certain situations, women are the downfall of men. Macbeth is a prime example of how women influence men. We are going to probe into the hidden lives of Lord and Lady Macbeth, and show how without Lady Macbeth, Macbeth would have lived and prospered. Lady Macbeth was a small but very important part of the play Macbeth. She is always on the side of Macbeth, telling him what she thinks he should do.

    Read More

  • Macbeth essay

    1269 Words  | 3 Pages

    This essay earned a 89/100. it was a lot of work considering the lines from macbeth for textual support.

    Read More

  • The Use of Language, Stagecraft and Structure to Illustrate the Demise of Lady Macbeth

    2474 Words  | 5 Pages

    In Act 1 scene 5, Lady Macbeth receives a letter from Macbeth. This letter informs Lady Macbeth of an encounter with the weird sisters who stated that Macbeth will become firstly Thane of Glamis, then Thane of Cawdor, and eventually will become king. It is understandable that many thoughts went through Lady Macbeth’s mind and she was ecstatic by the news. However, Lady Macbeth is worried that Macbeth is too weak, and is not determined enough to become king and seize the crown. This is revealed when Lady Macbeth says ‘yet do I fear thy nature, it is too full o’th’ milk of human kindness’. Later in this scene, she adds ‘Look like th' innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t’, instructing Macbeth to be deceptive with his emotions.

    Read More

  • Coincidence In Macbeth

    1003 Words  | 3 Pages

    Macbeth’s private ambitions are initially displayed in the beginning through asides and soliloquies, making him seem ‘golden’; displaying Macbeth as ‘good willed’ and ‘honest’. However, it is until Macbeth encounters the three witches, that his own flaws are shown. The three witches arguably play the most import part in the play- with their prophecy’s fanning the flames of ambition within Macbeth, serving as the primary motivation to plot the death of Duncan- and as result Banquo; with there prognostics resonating deeply with his ambitious tendencies. As the prophecies come true, the possibility of becoming king increases and Macbeth immediately "yields to that suggestion whose horrid image doth unfix [his] hair" (1.3 144-145) as he fantasizes about killing Duncan. Macbeth becomes self aware of his thoughts; however, the idea that Malcolm poses a threat to his ambition outweighs his own moral conscience. He summons darkness to conceal his thoughts of murdering from heaven: "Stars, hide your fires;/ Let not light see my black and deep desires:/ The eye wink at the hand!" (1.4

    Read More

  • Macbeth Literary Analysis

    822 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Macbeth Essay

    788 Words  | 2 Pages

    When anything in life first begins to grow, it begins as a seed. The seed of a plant, or of a thought, or of an idea. Once created, the seed can do one of two things. It can grow, or it can die. Shakespeare’s play Macbeth tells the story of an innocent man who is turned evil from the seeds planted by those around him, allowing readers to explore the repetition of growth and how it is implied through characters. Throughout the play, growth is used to display Macbeth and Banquo as foil characters, show Banquo’s “goodness” through positive imagery, and to show Macbeth’s “evilness” through negative growth imagery. By analyzing Shakespeare’s use of growth imagery, critical readers recognize that growth enforces the idea that growth triumphs evil, embodied in the actions and consequences of Macbeth and Banquo as they make one of two crucial choices? Good, or evil?

    Read More

  • Essay Outline Of Macbeth

    1203 Words  | 3 Pages

    away if she isnt grateful for the food that she has recieved. Katharine eventually thanks her husband, but still does not get enough food to satisfy her hunger. Katharine is then told by his “loving” husband to get ready in her best outfit to meet his dad at his house. The tailor then enters the scene, and Petruchio sends the man to get a bigger cap than he initially brought for his wife. Katharine told Petruchio that she is able to talk for herself, and shows more of a dominant role in the relationship that was not initially expressed before. Then, although Katherine thinks highly of the dress, Petruchio fires the tailor after complaining about the dress that he made. Petruchio decides that it is what’s on the inside that counts, and announces

    Read More

  • Macbeth Character Analysis Essay

    1563 Words  | 4 Pages

    Lady Macbeth is the first to strategize a way to kill Duncan. As a character foil to Macbeth she juxtaposes their possession of guilt and ruthlessness, which creates irony and excitement to the play. Originally, she is very power hungry and wants to utilize her husband’s position in status to become queen. Macbeth objects to the plan to kill Duncan because he believes Duncan is Macbeth’s kinsman, host, and an overall virtuous ruler (Act. 1 Scene. 7) and thus feels very guilty for taking advantage of Duncan’s trusting quality towards the Macbeth family. She refers to Macbeth as weak and rebukes his manhood (Act 1. Scene 7.) . As the play progresses, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have a character role reversal of their possession of guilt and ruthlessness. The character foil is extant, however Macbeth’s ruthlessness overcomes his guilt, and Lady Macbeth’s guilt vanquishes her drive for power. In addition to an alteration in character foils, Shakespeare introduces situational irony because now Lady Macbeth succumbs to the weakness Macbeth once possessed and Macbeth is the one who is formidable and ambitious. Macbeth’s ability to transcend his guilt exemplifies his struggle for power and reinforces the theme of evil ambition because Macbeth is able to secure the throne and power only by mass

    Read More

  • Free Essay on Shakespeare's Macbeth - The Character of Lady Macbeth

    988 Words  | 2 Pages

    Even though Lord Macbeth is generally the one to have the final say in the many killings that take place in the play, Lady Macbeth plays the role of a villain alongside him. She mocks her Lord if he frets over something she has instructed him to do, saying he would be less of a man if he does not follow through on their plan (I. vii. 56-57). She gives Lord Macbeth a short lecture in deceptiveness when they are planning to kill King Duncan (I. vi. 73-78). She also prepared the daggers for Macbeth to kill Duncan in advance (II. ii. 15-16). Though her Lord was still having doubts, she was, in the most literal sense, ready to go in for the kill.

    Read More

More about Lady Macbeth Research Paper

Open Document