What Does A Snake Symbolize In Macbeth

Ambition can inhibit one’s personality to be decisive and ruthless. In Act One, Scene 5, of the play, Macbeth, one symbol that illustrates Lady Macbeth’s cleverness and bloodlust is a snake. Culturally, a snake is representative of something negative, fearful, untrustworthy, or mysterious. A snake is a known predator and for a snake to make its kills, it must be quick and cunning. In other words, a snake symbolises a person who will attack or retaliate with vengeance, relating to either temptation or revenge. Although Lady Macbeth seems to be a woman of great nobility by her composure, an underlying ambition is revealed through her actions. She wants to “pour [her] spirits in thine ear” and tell her husband about a plan for him to become King

(Line 25). She manipulates him by lambasting him with brave and powerful words to encourage him to do what he may be too afraid to risk, similar to how a snake utilizes its shrewdness to consume its prey. In fact, Lady Macbeth becomes even more bloodthirsty than her husband, and she encourages him to use his power to perpetrate violence against others. She will stop at nothing until her husband proceeds with her plan and eventually overtakes the King’s “golden round” (Line27). Lady Macbeth’s vicious and violent attitude is comparable to a snake’s predatory traits, as her urge to kill the King for her own benefit is identical to a snake’s profit when it kills prey. Comparatively, when one is bitten by a snake, its venom can corrupt and injure prey, and in the same manner Lady Macbeth corrupted her husband to do her bidding. Ultimately, when opportunity knocks, one can go to great lengths to gain power by any means necessary.