Shakespeare's Presentation of Evil Through the Character of Lady Macbeth
We are first introduced to Lady Macbeth in act 1 scene5.
She is reading a letter sent to her by her husband Macbeth. She reads
it aloud, so that the audience knows what it contains. This is a
dramatic device used by Shakespeare and the only way the audience can
gain information about what it is about. It tells of the witch's
predictions about Macbeth's promotion to 'Thane of Cawdor'. Macbeth
also hints that he could gain promotion quicker by other means than
victory in battle. He states that Lady Macbeth is "Too full o' th'
milk of human kindness, to catch the nearest way.
Act 1 scene 5, The soliloquy she makes after she has read the letter
confirms her intentions. She calls upon the 'spirits' to 'unsex' her,
to make her neither male nor female, but a figment of evil like the
witches, so she can murder Duncan. She asks that the 'spirits' "take
my milk for gall, change it to bitterness, "Come thick night and pall
thee in the dunnest smoke of hell" all these things are dark and nasty
and her call upon the evil spirits suggests she is not at all what she
seems. The audience might alter their opinion of her and see her as a
'old hag' with her evil chants and incantations, a kin to the witches
and a person who is already involved in the supernatural, which was
frowned upon in the reign of James I.
When Macbeth returns, Lady Macbeth bids him to hide his feelings, to
wear a 'false face' and "look like the innocent flower, but be the
serpent under it". This reference to showing feelings that are false
and under hand is Shakespeare's way of showing how evil Lady Mac...
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... washes
her hands to get rid of 'the damned spot', she imagines is there. He
uses the word 'damned' because of the action she has been involved in,
the evil action. That is part of damnation and the devil.
She refers to the death of Duncan, Lady Macduff and Banquo. There are
references to 'hell' being 'murky'. She is quite upset that "all the
perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand", again hand
imagery the hand being the instrument that does the evil deed. At this
point I think the audience would have a little sympathy for Lady
Macbeth because she is seen in a different way, as someone who is
deteriorating in mind because of what she has done. She has a
conscience about what she has been involved in so cannot be seen as
truly evil, but like Macbeth greedily ambitious which is a flaw in her
character.
And in this time she saw, as she thought, devils open their mouths, all inflamed with burning flames of fire as if they should have swallowed her in, sometimes menacing her, sometimes threatening her, sometimes pulling and hailing her both night and day during the foresaid time” (Kempe 7).
the shining light in a dark time that so many people see her to be? According to In The
...can never reveal: intent, passion, imagery, the rhythms of her speech and the nature of thoughts" (Tan 594).
four of the five words are all powerful and give a good idea of what
Macbeth knows that he is about to die as soon as he sees Birnam Forest
Evil. It is a word that has been used for hundreds of years, yet the
Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a recognized classic tragedy portraying the victory of good over evil. This paper will explore the various expressions of evil within the play.
to the earthly at the base of the chain; everyone had a place, and a
Macbeth is a tragedy written by Shakespeare roughly between the years 1603 and 1606. It was a play written following the death of Queen Elizabeth. The king at the time - James I of England/King James VI of Scotland was known to be a big supporter of theatre, witchcraft and demonology. Shakespeare and his associates soon into their career became known as the King’s men. The Kings ancestry was traced back to Banquo, a character from the play.
The play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, explores the darkest corners of the human psyche. It artfully takes its audience to a place that allows one to examine what a human being is truly capable of once tempted by the allure of power. In the play, Scottish noble Macbeth and his wife inevitably fall prey to their own self corruption. Initiated by prophesies made by three mysterious witches, the Macbeths set their sights on the throne. When the curtains open on the plot to murder King Duncan, Lady Macbeth is the driving force. Her criminal mind and desire for ruthlessness have led many a critic to define her as evil. Closer examination, however, reveals that she is a multifaceted character; other sides to her persona include: genuine good will towards her husband, coy manipulation, and feminine tenderness.
Then a swarm of insects appear to die from he... ... middle of paper ... ... God's creature, and craves love as its daily food" (Hawthorne 625). If she is evil, it is only because she was made that way. Her heart is pure.
She addresses God and acknowledges that he knows every secret and all thoughts with his “piercing thought” and so he would be able to have mercy. In the other hand, she says we run from “man’s condemning wrath”, meaning men cannot see beyond their hate and desire to punish. She then makes a reference to the bible story of David again. She mentions the angel that God sent to spread the plague. She narrates, “Thou, who dost dimness mark in heaven’s resplendent
The character Macbeth in the story of Shakespeare’s Macbeth faces decisions that affect his morals. He begins as an innocent soul, dedicated to serve his kingdom and its king, Duncan. As time passes and opportunities present themselves combined with the deception of the evil witches, Macbeth begins his descent into madness. Macbeth’s innocence and loyalty are completely corrupted due to his over confidence, guilty conscience, and the inevitability of human nature. Macbeth looses sight of what is morally right to do in life because his logical choices are changed by these factors.
Evil is a destructive force; it causes harm to those who embrace it and their victims. In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the protagonist Macbeth and Lady Macbeth fall into the hands of evil. Evil is what drives people to commit unnatural actions of destruction. Macbeth succumbs to evil through his fatal flaw, greed, and it causes him to disrupt the chain of being. When Macbeth willingly murders, massacres, lies and deceives, he loses his heath and sanity. Evil corrupts everything it touches, and Macbeth decides to be evil's servant. But, when Macbeth embraces evil, it corrupts him, and it ultimately destroys him as well. Lady Macbeth is a victim of Macbeth's fatal flaw, since she is drawn in, and becomes greedy for power herself. She pushes Macbeth into destruction when she adds the small touch that plunges Macbeth into a chain of murder, destruction, and lying followed by the loss of their sanity and health. After Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are well into the depths of corruption and greed, it is clearly seen that their guilt will haunt them for the rest of their lives. The harm they have caused others will be returned to them as revenge and they have lost their sanity in order to gain power. The fate of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth clearly illustrates that to embrace evil is to negate our own need for order and well being.
Act 1 scene 5 we see her praying to evil spirits in her soliloquy for