In the story of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth plays an important role. In many situations, women can be the downfall of men. Macbeth is a perfect example of how men can easily be influenced by women. Why is Lady Macbeth such an important role in this play? Lady Macbeth is always on the side of Macbeth (the protagonist) telling him what she thinks he should do. I am going to dive into many parts of this play in which Lady Macbeth makes a major influence on the situation, and also show how without the presence of Lady Macbeth, Macbeth would have lived and prospered.
Lady Macbeth has become obsessed with the idea of her becoming the Queen of Scotland. She starts to act relentless about her plan to become Queen and she is willing to kill anyone in her way to the throne. She knows that she needs to get her Husband on her side for this plan and she does so by telling him that they have an incredible opportunity. Macbeth is somewhat intrigued of
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Lady Macbeth’s idea but he presents his wife with the possibilities of failure that could come with it. Lady Macbeth strikes back at him calling him a coward. This displays Lady Macbeth’s desire and ambition to become Queen. Lady Macbeth was the main source that allowed this play to turn out how it did. Lady Macbeth had an influence on a numerous amount of scenes in this play. Let’s go all the way back to the beginning during the witches’ scene. Macbeth was at ease where he was at the time, but he was very curious to what the witches had told him. After Lady Macbeth had helped Macbeth kill Duncan, the only influence she had was to keep everything they had done to themselves. Macbeth was really nervous to kill Duncan but Lady Macbeth played a crucial role in talking him into it. Lady Macbeth said, “Had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done’t.” (Act II, Scene II) Macbeth was always listening to Lady Macbeth and he never did what he wanted to do. Lady Macbeth always had an idea of her own that had to be put into action. Another example of Lady Macbeths influence is when she opens up Macbeth’s letter.
The reader sees that Lady Macbeth begins to scheme and plot what she is going to do, thus showing her true evil and aspiration. It is very obvious in the beginning of this story that Lady Macbeth is willing to anything she can do so her husband Macbeth will become King of Scotland. She really wants to become queen. The thought of Lady Macbeth being Queen really excites her and pushes her to act outrageously. Lady Macbeths feels that Macbeth may be a little too kind do what is needed to become King so she believes she needs to be the evil behind it all. Macbeth is slightly doubtful with his plans to kill the King in the beginning of the play, however, Lady Macbeth bombards him with comments that are intended to question his bravery and saying that his love is worth nothing if he does not go through with the plan. When you think about what Lady Macbeth is doing, she is really pressuring Macbeth into doing something he is not comfortable
with. Although Lady Macbeth may be the main cause for Macbeth’s reign of tyranny, she still assists him significantly in many difficult situations. She helps him through his gradual decline and because Macbeth certain with the success of the devious plan he and his wife have made, Lady Macbeth does a great job in talking him through it and supporting his actions. These actions may not have been the best in the long run though. Throughout the play, Lady Macbeth is extremely nervous that Macbeth will give away the plan through his facial expressions so she helps him by saying, “look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under it.” (Act I, Scene IV, page 3) When Macbeth states to his wife that he will not do it she turns on him and starts to insult him by telling him he is a coward and live a coward in thine own esteem. Lady Macbeth uses this because she knows that he is a known as a brave soldier, in hope that he will defend himself by carrying out the murder. Another example where she helps Macbeth is the incident after he has killed Duncan. In the banquet scene, Lady Macbeth plays an important role while supporting her husband. In the scene, the ghost of Banquo really puts a huge amount of stress on Macbeth, which eventually puts stress on Lady Macbeth as well because she wants everything to run smoothly. Lady Macbeth attempts to get her husband out of this crazy state of mind by questioning his manhood, but this does not help at all while the audience is curious as to why Macbeth is acting this way. Lady Macbeth states “Think of this, good peers, but as a thing of custom. Tis no other; only it spoils the pleasure of the time.” (Act III, Scene IV, page 6). Lady Macbeth is basically telling the audience not to worry about how Macbeth is acting. It is normal and she is sorry for the inconvenience. Lady Macbeth eventually asks the guests to leave out of pure embarrassment. This does indeed prove to the reader that Lady Macbeth has been helpful to Macbeth, but it makes you wonder what might’ve happen if Lady Macbeth would’ve left her husband alone to handle the situation. Lady Macbeth plays a substantial role in many scenes throughout the play on deciding what Macbeth should do in each situation. In the opening plays, Lady Macbeth really plays the dominant character while showing off her ambition to gain hierarchic status. Throughout the play, Lady Macbeth presents many soliloquys that show the extent of the influence she has on Macbeth. He becomes an evil character without her help in the end in contrast to the beginning of the play where he was the respected and honorable thane of Glamis. This strong change in character can be said to be caused by Lady Macbeth’s influence on him, therefore because of her influence Macbeth ends up being a sinful character in the play.
Lady Macbeth desires nothing more but to obtain her title as Queen. She employs to manipulate Macbeth to change him from once the good moralist person he was into a murderous thief.
We are first introduced to Lady Macbeth at the beginning of Act 1, scene 5, through the letter that Macbeth sends her. This shows her to be his, ‘dearest partner of greatness’ and that he has no secrets from her. The witches’ prophecies intensify her ambitions for her husband, to be the King of Scotland. Lady Macbeth is the one who encourages him to kill the king and she not only encourages him, she makes all the plans herself. We see how clever she is and how she understands her husband well, she knows he has great ambitions, but she also knows that he is honourable and mentally weak:
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.
Lady Macbeth was “choked with ambition”. Her infatuation to be queen is the single feature that Shakespeare developed far beyond that of her counterpart in the historical story he used as his source. Lady Macbeth persistently taunts her husband for his lack of courage, even though we know of his bloody deeds on the battlefield. At this point in time, with all her will converging towards seizing the throne, she has shown no signs of remorse or hesitance in her actions and hence preventing the events in the narrative from digressing away from imperative themes and climaxes of the play.
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.
This being Lady Macbeth's first appearance in the play is effective as it allows the reader to associate this sense of spirituality and evil with her character, that has yet to have any substance to allow the reader to interpret her role by. She continues by expressing her fear over not being able to "catch the nearest way" due to Macbeth's overly kind character. This is demonstrated through a variety of techniques. For example, Lady Macbeth explains how her husband would 'not play false' nor would he 'wrongly win'. This suggests a fair person with a kindness too powerful for him to be a false king, through murder.
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.
Lady Macbeth tries to encourage her husband to kill King Duncan by questioning his manhood. However, after committing the murder, Macbeth suffers from stress, worry and lack of sleep. He is stressed about the fact that his wife is going insane. He is worried at some point that someone might get suspicious about how Macbeth got to seize the throne.
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.
Lady Macbeth is a very loving wife to Macbeth and she wants to do anything she can for him to achieve his goals. She just takes it a little too far, and she puts too much pressure on Macbeth to commit crimes that he is not sure he wants to do. After Macbeth sends her a letter about the witches’ premonitions, Lady Macbeth is no longer the sweet innocent lady we expect her to be. She turns into a person who is just as ambitious as her husband and she wants to do whatever it takes to help him get Duncan out of the way. She even goes to the point of calling Macbeth a coward, and mocking his bravery when he fails to complete the job. She is even willing to do it herself (plant the bloody knife with the guard). Lady Macbeth is constantly putting the pressure on Macbeth to do things that he is not sure about. She almost turns into a bully who dares Macbeth to go out and do evil things. She even says in a soliloquy that she wants to be released of all her morals and values so that she can help him commit these crimes.
Lady Macbeth is a vicious and overly ambitious woman, her desire of having something over rules all the moral behaviors that one should follow. On the beginning of the novel, Macbeth receives the news that if Duncan, the current king, passed away he would be the next one to the throne. So, Lady Macbeth induces Macbeth into killing Duncan by filling his mind with ambition and planting cruel seeds into his head. After accomplishing his deed of killing the king, he brings out the daggers that were used during the murder, and says, “I’ll go no more. I am afraid to think what I have done; look on’t again I dare not.” This is his first crime and Macbeth is already filled with guilt and regret. He shows the reader to be the weak one of the duo. Lady Macbeth as the cruel partner still has some sentiment and somewhat a weakness in her heart and mind. When talking about Duncan she says, “Had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done’t.” Weakness is still present and will always be there throughout the novel but this one change the fact that Lady Macbeth is still the stronger and cruel one.
The first time Lady Macbeth appears on stage, she is reading Macbeth’s letter, which shows her desire to become Queen of Scotland. Lady Macbeth reads, “This have I thought good to deliver thee, my dearest partner of greatness; that thou mightst not lose the dues of rejoicing, by being ignorant of what greatness is promised thee” (I.5.10-13). This portion of her husband’s letter shows she has trained him to report the important events that occur while he is away. At this moment, she decides that quick action will be the basis of her reasoning and planning. Her spur-of-the-moment orders will affect Macbeth so deeply that his character will be forever changed. Lady Macbeth intentionally tries to ignore consequence and concentrates on securing Macbeth’s future as king of Scotland. She looks to the quickest way as one that may lack rationality, but shortens their path to the throne.
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...
has sent to her, Lady Macbeth begins to plot and plan how Macbeth can become
The main theme of Macbeth-the destruction wrought when ambition goes unchecked by moral constraints-finds its most powerful expression in the play's two main characters. Macbeth is a courageous Scottish general who is not naturally inclined to commit evil deeds, yet he deeply desires power and advancement. He kills Duncan against his better judgment and afterward stews in guilt and paranoia. Toward the end of the play he descends into a kind of frantic, boastful madness. Lady Macbeth, on the other hand, pursues her goals with greater determination, yet she is less capable of withstanding the repercussions of her immoral acts. One of Shakespeare's most forcefully drawn female characters, she spurs her husband mercilessly to kill Duncan and urges him to be strong in the murder's aftermath, but she is eventually driven to distraction by the effect of Macbeth's repeated bloodshed on her conscience. In each case, ambition helped, of course, by the malign prophecies of the witches is what drives the couple to ever more terrible atrocities. The problem, the play suggests, is that once one decides to use violence to further one?s quest for power, it is difficult to stop. There are always potential threats to the throne?Banquo, Fleance, Macduff?and it is always tempting to use violent means to dispose of them.