The Character Analysis of the Insane Lady Mcbeth

873 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Macbeth's mental deterioration

The Character Analysis of the Insane Lady Macbeth

Throughout the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, observers see Macbeth as a merciless, cold blooded killer. After reading and watching Shakespeare's play people could make the argument that Macbeth is the most ruthless and evil character in the play. Macbeth is not the most ruthless or evil in the play. In reality Macbeth's wife, Lady Macbeth, is in fact the most ruthless and evil character that Shakespeare decided to write about in the play Macbeth. Throughout the play, Lady Macbeth's character has changed and she becomes the instigator in the rise and fall of Macbeth's ruling of Scotland. Lady Macbeth can be considered the main cause of King Duncan's murder, and, Lady Macbeth is the most evil character in the play. Even though Lady Macbeth is not the main character, she is one of the most important.

Shakespeare's character, Lady Macbeth, seems to be one of the most frightening among most female characters. When Lady Macbeth is first seen in the beginning of the play, she is planning the perfect way to murder King Duncan. After she reads the letter from her husband, she realizes she may have to force her husband to complete the murder to become the new king of Scotland. She practically prays to be "unsexed" and to feel no remorse for the murder that will happen. The quote, "The raven himself is hoarse, that croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan under my battlements. Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the top-full of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood. Stop up the access and passage to remorse, that no compunctious visitings of nature shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between the effect and it!" (1.5 40-49) is La...

... middle of paper ...

...orm upon the unguarded Duncan? What not put upon his spongy officers, who shall bear the guilt of our great quell?" (1.7 63-72). Lady Macbeth feels no remorse for her husband killing King Duncan or the fact that she got the servants drunk and framed them for the murder. Lady Macbeth is the most evil of all the characters in Shakespeare's Macbeth.

After observing the play Macbeth, many would agree that Lady Macbeth is a power hungry, ruthless human being. If lLady Macbeth did not push Macbeth into murdering King Duncan by questioning his manliness, Macbeth would have decided to not kill him. Lady Macbeth is merciless and the most evil character in Macbeth. The most evil and most important character to watch out for in Macbeth is Lady Macbeth.

Works Cited

Shakespeare, William, and John Crowther. No fear shakespeare: macbeth.. NEW YORK: Spark, 2003. Print.

Show More
Related

  • Macbeth Dbq Analysis

    628 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lady Macbeth has a greater control on Macbeth’s actions than any other character in Macbeth apart from the Weïrd Sisters. She is well known for her persuading speeches to her husband, convincing him to fulfill the murder of King Duncan. Lady Macbeth challenges Macbeth’s manly qualities, and informs him that only when he follows through with the murder that

    Read More

  • 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 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

  • The Manipulative Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare's Macbeth

    1431 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lady Macbeth is one of William Shakespeare’s most famous and frightening female characters. As she is Macbeth’s wife, her role is significant in his rise and fall from royalty. She is Macbeth’s other half. During Shakespearean times, women were regarded as weak insignificant beings that were there to give birth and look beautiful. They were not thought to be as intelligent or equal to men. Though in Shakespeare's play, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is the highest influence in Macbeth’s life. Her role was so large; in fact, that she uses her position to gain power, stay strong enough to support her unstable Lord, and fails miserably while their relationship falls apart. Everything about Lady Macbeth is enough to create the perfect villain because of her ability to manipulate everyone around her. It appears that even she can’t resist the perfect crime.

    Read More

  • Lady Macbeth is the True villain

    929 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the Shakespearian play 'Macbeth', it seems to be that every one thinks that Macbeth is the villain. But in actual fact Lady Macbeth is the villain.  Lady Macbeth uses her cunning and deceptive skills to over power Macbeth into killing King Duncan. When Lady Macbeth receives the letter telling her about the witches' prophecies, she immediately thinks that she and Macbeth will have to kill King Duncan. She calls Macbeth to kind to kill King Duncan and saying that

    Read More

  • Is Macbeth A Hero Or A Villain Analysis

    866 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is seen as brave, heroic and a victim too, but when the three witches tell him that he will be crowned king of Scotland, he gets more and more evil and twisted by letting the power he has go to his head. He is more of a villain than he is a victim. Macbeth is a villain in the play because he is a murderer, liar and he is insane.

    Read More

  • Soliloquy Essay - Two Soliloquies, One from Lady Macbeth and One from Macbeth

    2017 Words  | 5 Pages

    On the level of human evil, Shakespeare's tragedy, Macbeth is about the character Macbeth's bloody rise to power, including the murder of the Scottish king, Duncan, and the guilt-ridden pathology of evil deeds generating still more evil deeds. Perhaps, the play's most memorable character is Lady Macbeth. Like her husband, Lady Macbeth's ambition for power leads her into an unnatural, phantasmagoric realm of witchcraft, insomnia and madness. But while Macbeth responds to the prophecies of the play's famous trio of witches, Lady Macbeth goes even further by figuratively transforming herself into an unnatural, desexualized evil spirit.

    Read More

  • Lady Macbeth: A Dynamic Character

    1263 Words  | 3 Pages

    In our society, as a rule, the man is the head of the household. However, in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Lady Macbeth appears to be the neck that turns the head. William Shakespeare is one of the greatest writers in history, but he wasn’t recognized until the nineteenth century. He wrote many plays, sonnets, plays, and narrative plays. It was during the sixteenth century that he wrote the tragedy of Macbeth. Lady Macbeth, wife to the protagonist Macbeth, is one of Shakespeare’s most famous and evil female characters. At the start of the play, Lady Macbeth is ruthless, ambitious, cruel, and manipulative; however, by the end of the play she becomes insane and helpless. The transformation of these characteristics makes Lady Macbeth a very dynamic character.

    Read More

  • Lady Macbeth: A Multifaceted Character

    779 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Why Is Macbeth A Villain

    1239 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the play of Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth is supposed to be a likeable character until he kills the king. By committing this heinous act, Macbeth instantly becomes a villain and continues to commit murderous acts, all stemming from his first terrible mistake. One of his motives consists of choosing power over integrity, therefore he kills the king. Another reason why Macbeth is a villain is because he continued to kill innocent people to hide his doings. Lastly, since Macbeth is a villain and murderer, he deserves to be condemned and disdained.

    Read More

  • Macbeth And Lady Macbeth Switch Roles

    459 Words  | 1 Pages

    Throughout the play "Macbeth", two of the main characters, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth gradually exchange roles. Macbeth is the kind, caring one of the two in the beginning, but completely changes as the play goes on, as with Lady Macbeth. She starts out as an evil, vicious beast. She is an evil woman who is bond and determined to kill Duncan.

    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

  • Being a Man in Macbeth by William Shakespeare

    559 Words  | 2 Pages

    On the other hand, Lady Macbeth's views on manhood are much different from her husband's and the other characters in the play. Unlike Macbeth, Lady Macbeth envisions a man to be opportunist, cruel and ruthless instead of honorable and loyal. When she receives the letter from Macbeth and learns of her chance to be queen, she prays that the spirits "that tend on mortal thoughts [would] unsex [her]", and that she will be "fill[ed] from the crown to the toe of direst cruelty", so that she would have the strength to murder Duncan. Believing the spirits would "unsex" her, she hopes that she wouldn't be bothered by a woman's kindness or remorse and thus would become a cruel killer, like a man.

    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

  • Macbeth As A Tragedy In Macbeth

    1298 Words  | 3 Pages

    Macbeth has had a numerous amount of tragedies of throughout his life: killing duncan, realizing his family line will not continue, then killing banqou but not his son, the feeling that his life is meaningless, and eventually fighting with macduff to an inevitable death. It is left to our interperetation to decide whether Macbeth is the antagonist or protagonist. While he does make some morally questionable decisions throughout his life, Macbeth does these things because in his mind they are what is needed to be done. His wife definitely has a lot to do with his mentality. Lady Macbeth will manipulate anyone to get the power she thinks she deserves. She used her husband, Macbeth, eventually dragging them both to their demise so she could be seen as a woman of high power.

    Read More

More about The Character Analysis of the Insane Lady Mcbeth

Open Document