Society has few resources, or those that exist have to be fought for by the members of that community. In the process of having to achieve or utilize these resources, most people tend to outsmart each other through various strategies. One of the ways that people society use in attaining their ambitions is through manipulation. In Macbeth, there are several events that exemplifies the idea of manipulation. Mainly, Lady Macbeth using her marriage to Macbeth to manipulate him, and Macbeth using the murderer's poverty to push them into killing Banquo.
William Shakespeare demonstrates the effect of manipulation in marriage through the activities of Lady Macbeth. In the text, Shakespeare exposes readers to a situation where Macbeth has just returned
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from a battle that he has won. Shortly after, the witches had told Macbeth that he had an opportunity of becoming the king which Macbeth happens to share with Lady Macbeth about prophecies that the witches had told him when they were coming from the battle. When Lady Macbeth hears these assertions from her husband, she persuades him to hatch a plan of killing King Duncan. However, Macbeth is unequivocal against the need to kill the king for the sake of inhering the King Duncan's seat. However, Lady Macbeth is determined, and she pushes him into the idea of killing King Duncan. In the above scenario, Shakespeare displays an example of a decision-making process in marriage.
In the text, Macbeth is an adult and the head of the family and such it was expected that he had the upper hand in deciding what should be done regarding the issue. However, Lady Macbeth usurps this expectation and convinces Macbeth into the ploy of killing King Duncan-- bringing into parallel likeness the biblical story where Eve used her power as a woman to convince Adam of sin. In both stories, women pushed men into committing an act which he was reluctant to do. Women are known to be charming because of the beauty that is associated with them. As such, when a woman threatens with the withdrawal of her affection, it becomes a concern for the husband and this may make the man to rescind on his principle. The situation in this scenario is an epitome of how a person can use her relationship into compelling the other to take a decision which originally was not his or hers. Evidently, Macbeth tries to contemplate the idea of not participating in the death of King Duncan, fearing not only mortal repercussions, but also ecclesiastical fallout that he will face in "the life to come." However, due to the threats from his wife, he continues with the plan. From this situation, it is clear that Lady Macbeth wants to enjoy the aura brought by power and status associated with being a queen; making this her motive to see King Duncan dead. Therefore, Lady Macbeth manipulates Macbeth because she is intended to become a queen; this is a clear example of how a person the twists the minds of decision-makers in order to attain their intentions.
Moreover, in the same scene, Lady Macbeth attacks the perceived image Macbeth has of himself as means of convincing him to kill his king. Macbeth comes from a warrior society where men pride themselves on their honour and manhood, and Macbeth is no different from
this. Macbeth's desire for power pushes him to manipulate the power granted to him by kingship to ensure the continuity of his reign. At first, Macbeth did not display any outright intentions of being power hungry. The thought of committing regicide makes seated heart knock at my ribs However, when Lady Macbeth succeeds in manipulating him, Macbeth becomes obsessed with power and manipulates every situation to protect his leadership. It seems that he has noticed the significance and sweetness of power. As such, King Macbeth realized that the witches had also indicated that after some time the children of Banquo would also ascend to power. With such prophecy, King Macbeth felt threatened, and he knew that if he does not act, then leadership will get out of his line After such thoughts, King Macbeth plots a scheme of killing Banquo but through proxies. However, the murderers are not ready to engage in the act before King Macbeth gives them a clear explanation about the reason for killing Banquo and his son. However, using manipulative tactics, Macbeth convinces them to believe that Banquo is their enemy. In the text, Shakespeare says that "That it was he, in the times past, which held you so under fortune, which you thought had been our innocent self.... And are you so gospel led to pray for this good man and for this issue, whose heavy hand hath bowed you to the grave and beggared yours forever?" From these sentiments, King Macbeth appears to convince the killers that the poverty that they are enduring is because of Banquo. As a result of such lies, Macbeth manages to convince the killers who accept to go and murder Banquo. From this scene, the writer shows some of the strategies that people use in actualizing their manipulative tactics. Here, Macbeth decides to be deceptive and make the killers accept his plan. Deception makes the killers connect their poverty to Banquo. One of the ways that people manipulate others is by making certain people believe that certain persons are the cause of the pain that they are enduring. As such, when people who are enduring this pain gets fooled by these deceptions they act according to the interests of the manipulator. In this case, what Macbeth does is to ensure that he makes the killers believe that he cares about their needs and is one of them. However, in the whole scenario, it is Macbeth who will benefit. He wants to use these murderers as a platform of protecting his power. From the above scenarios, it is evident that King Macbeth and Macbeth use manipulation to achieve their intentions. In the case of Macbeth, she influences her husband to kill King Duncan because she wants a particular status. It appears that Lady Macbeth wants to be the queen and she uses her position as a wife to lure his husband into the killing of King Duncan. Women are known in some cases to use their beauty to deceive and influence the decisions of their spouses. Beauty is a tool that most women use, and this is one of the strategies that they use to execute their agenda of manipulation. On the part of King Macbeth, he uses lies to make the murderers believe him so that he retains power. The revelations in this text demonstrate two tools that people use for their manipulative missions, and they include lies and beauty. In most cases, women use their beauty, as manifested in the case of Macbeth, and lies on the part of men. Importantly, one notices that in this scenario the impetus for the manipulation and control is power. Both Macbeth and his wife have developed a desire for power, and they manipulate situations to favor their ambitions.
In Shakespeare's tragedy, Macbeth, the viewer explores the inner workings of the human mind. Lady Macbeth, Macbeth’s closest friend and wife, is a controversial character due to her ruthlessness, in some parts, and gentleness, in others. Through the juxtaposition of Lady Macbeth’s conscious and subconscious thoughts, Shakespeare highlights her tragic flaw, her suppression of her femininity.
So far, in the play, Lady Macbeth has been shown to be a very powerful and ambitious character. After reading Macbeth's letter, she says, "Thou wouldst be great, / Art not without ambition, but without / The illness that should attend it"(I.v 17-19), here, she is saying that he needs more evil or "illness" in him to become King, and therefore implies that she will "poison" him and give him the illness he needs to increase his ambition. Here she is also undermining her husband's authority (which is very unusual for a woman in the Elizabethan era) by saying he is unable to become a King, and is undermining his masculinity as she is thinking about things that a man would usually take charge of. To try to persuade Macbeth to kill Duncan when the audience first see them meet on stage, she is very bold, "Your hand, you tongue, look like th'innocent flower, / But be the serpent under't" (I.v 65-66), she shows her strong female identity, whose ambitions speak for her obsession with power.
Power is a theme used by Shakespeare throughout the play Macbeth. The plot involves Macbeth trying to gain more power. Lady Macbeth tries to convince Macbeth to kill Duncan so that he will become king in his place. Macbeth also is persuaded to kill anyone who threatens his chances of being king, including Banquo. Power is used by certain characters in the play to influence others. One such character is Lady Macbeth. In the beginning of the play, she is a strong-willed character. She takes on the role of a dominant male. She has great influence over her husband, who appears to be weaker than she is. It is her influence that convinces Macbeth to murder Duncan. Lady Macbeth is the dominant partner at the beginning of the play, she persuades Macbeth to achieve his goal, and she plans the murder of Duncan.
Not much further in the play, we see that Macbeth decides not to murder Duncan but rather, carry on serving as his Thane. However, Lady Macbeth starts her persuasion again, but this time she questions his manhood, saying "When you durst do it, then you were a man: And to be more then what you were you would be so much more the man." (1.7.49-51). Had she not challenged his manhood and his love for her, he would not have usurped the throne and she would not have become a Queen. Not only did she get him to think about the murder, she even knew what to say after he had started thinking about the murder.
Macbeth tells himself to act like a man in the following lines: “Prithee, peace! / I dare do all that may become a man; / Who dares do more is none” (I, vii, 45-47). This quote by Macbeth shows how he wants to be a man by killing King Duncan, but he does not think this would be an act of righteousness. Macbeth is in a controversy with himself in this situation. If he does not kill the king then his wife, Lady Macbeth, will not think he is a man, but if he does kill the king then he will betray his leader’s trust in him. Betrayal would not be seen as an act of manliness. Jarold Ramsey explains the situation in the following sentence: “And, striking more ruthlessly at him, she scornfully implies that his very sexuality will be called into question in her eyes if he refuses the regicide” (288). This quote by Jarold Ramsey explains how Macbeth’s manliness will be determined in the eyes of Lady Macbeth when he makes his decision on whether or not he will kill the king. Lady Macbeth shows her desire of being queen in the following lines: “What beast was’t then / That made you break this enterprise to me? /When you durst do it, then you were a man” (I, vii, 47-49). This quote shows how she wants Macbeth to kill the king. In this situation Macbeth tells himself to be a man and kill the king to please Lady Macbeth. Maria Howell exp...
When Macbeth is confronted and chided by Lady Macbeth for his cowardice, he reluctantly agrees to kill Duncan. It is evident that Lady Macbeth is hunger for power Lady Macbeth’s manipulation and dominance over her husband is evident when she demands Macbeth to prove his ‘masculinity by killing Duncan.
This essay earned a 89/100. it was a lot of work considering the lines from macbeth for textual support.
“If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me Without my stir?” Macbeth ponders after three witches foresee that he will become king in the tragic play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare (349). Macbeth is wondering how he could become king of Scotland without him intervening as he is not in line for the throne. He believes that he will have to take action to gain this position. Macbeth was right to doubt fate, because his choices led to his ascension to the throne and, later in the play, to his downfall.
Macbeth's desire to become king is strongly supported by his wife, Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is a highly ambitious woman who, like her husband, is willing to do anything to obtain power. Shakespeare uses a series of imagery to vividly portray the desire for power in Lady Macbeth's soliloquy: “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!” To achieve her ambition, Lady Macbeth urges Macbeth “to catch the nearest way.” This means she wants him to kill Duncan so that he can become king. However, she fears that Macbeth is “too full o' th' milk of human kindness” to “catch the nearest way.” When Macbeth is reluctant to kill Duncan, Lady Macbeth starts attacking his masculinity. “Then you were a man,” she said. Lady Macbeth also uses the power of emotional blackmail to manipulate Macbeth into killing Duncan.
Typical of Shakespeare’s works, the play Macbeth has a protagonist who ultimately experiences a downfall that lead to his demise. The protagonist or tragic hero of this play is Macbeth, once brave and honorable, who eventually becomes tyrannical and feared by many due to what Abrams describes as his “hamartia” or “error of judgment or, as it is often…translated, his tragic flaw.” In this case, Macbeth’s tragic flaw proves to be ambition; however, he cannot be held solely responsible for his downfall. As a result of many outside influential factors, including the witches’ prophecies and a rather coaxing and persuasive wife, one should not hold Macbeth entirely culpable for his actions and tragic end.
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
After struggling with the thought of killing Duncan, Macbeth is reprimanded by Lady Macbeth for his lack of courage. She informs him that killing the king will make him a man, insinuating that he isn’t a man if he doesn’t go through with the murder. This develops Lady Macbeth as a merciless, nasty, and selfish woman. She will say, or do anything to get what she desires, even if it means harming others. It is this selfishness that makes it hard for the reader to be empathetic towards her later in the play, as it is evident in this scene that her hardships were brought on by herself. If she hadn’t insisted on the murder, she would not be driven in...
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.
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?
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