Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Macbeth becoming evil
Macbeth becoming evil
Consider the women in the play, and assess Shakespeare’s portrayal of them
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Macbeth becoming evil
The Evil Lady Macbeth In Shakespeare's final play, Macbeth the main character Macbeth is very weak, and if it was not for the other characters he would not have committed any of those heinous crimes. The play opens with Macbeth accidentally running into three witches who give him his fortune. The go on to explain that he would become the new Thane of Cawdor, and from that point he would go onto commit many murders. Macbeth also has a wife who seems to be very controlling, and is able to persuade this already weak man to actually go through with committing these murders. I believe that the Macbeth was brainwashed by the witches, and then forced by his wife Lady Macbeth to commit these murders, and he can not be held accountable for his weakness. In the play Macbeth I believe that Lady Macbeth is trying to control Macbeth and persuade him to do things against his will. The quote that I chose to portray this characteristic of Lady Macbeth was: Hie thee hither, That I may pour my spirits in thine ear, And chastise with the valor of my tongue All that impedes thee from the golden round (I.v.26-29) In this next quote Lady Macbeth is telling Macbeth that on the inside he must be like a snake but everyone must see him as an innocent flower: look like th' innocent flower, But be the serpent under't. (I.V.66-68) I believe that Lady Macbeth is training Macbeth to be evil, and she knows so much about being evil because Lady Macbeth herself is evil. I this next quote it proves that Macbeth did not want to commit any of the murders in the first place: I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself And falls on th' other-- (I.vii.25-28) The last quote that I chose shows that Macbeth has finally cracked, and Lady Macbeth has changed him totally. In this quote Macbeth has changed, and when Lady Macbeth is in doubt he says don't worry, I will take care of everything:
Macbeth is hesitant about following through with her plan of killing the king, but Lady Macbeth sees this as a lack of courage and strength. Lady Macbeth felt that if you have the ambition to do something you shouldn’t hold back
* Label each can from A to E in ascending order, A the biggest and E
We start to see Lady Macbeth’s actions have a huge impact on Macbeth’s character as he transforms from a decent being to an overly bitter creature. The cause of his alteration is due to the fact that Lady Macbeth is constantly excreting heartless information into his mind. "Art thou afeard to be the same in thine own act and valour as thou art in desire?" (I;vii;39-41) "And, to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man." (I;vii;50-51) Lady Macbeth uses these quotes to push her husband beyond limits and is therefore responsible for his dramatic change in attitude. She is constantly feeding his thoughts with negative comments and later on Macbeth realizes that he has another side to him. As he moves along to discover the concealed side of him, Macbeth falls in love with himself and begins to be drawn towards his evil desires. Because Lady Macbeth was the main cause of his new hidden discovery, she is fully responsible for opening up the door and letting the darkness in. This results in Macbeth committing both murders.
Everyone is influenced by other people, including leaders or authority, to make the wrong decisions at some point in their lives. In the play Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is responsible for the evil doings of Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is responsible for this by using his love for her to persuade him into killing King Duncan. Because Macbeth loved and trusted his wife, he was vulnerable to her opinions and suggestions. We also know that she is responsible for these heartless things because she has so much guilt that she commits suicide. Macbeth would never have done any of those horrible things if it were not for the murder of King Duncan, which was forced on by Lady Macbeth.
Lady Macbeth and the three witches are responsible for Macbeth’s downfall. The three witches told Macbeth a prophecy, which led him to murder anyone in his way for more power. In page 18, When Macbeth heard that he became the new Thane of Cawdor, he thought, “If it’s my fate to be king, then fate might make me king, without me having to do anything”. This is ironic because he ended up murdering innocent people such as his best friend and Macduff’s family to stay as the King. Macbeth relied too much on the prophecies from the three witches to save him from fear. “Im determined to know the worst, by any means I can. I have to know, for my own good”(p.72). Lady Macbeth was also
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.
As Macbeth becomes less dependent on his wife, she loses more control. She loses control of her husband, but mostly, of herself, proving her vacillating truth. Lady Macbeth’s character gradually disintegrates through a false portrayal of unyielding strength, an unsteady control of her husband and shifting involvement with supernatural powers.Throughout the duration of play Lady Macbeth’s truly decrepit and vulnerable nature is revealed. Lady Macbeth has been the iron fist and authority icon for Macbeth, yet deep down, she never carried such traits to begin with. This duality in Lady Macbeth’s character plays a huge role in planting the seed for Macbeth’s downfall and eventual demise.
A quote which really defines Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s ambition regarding power is “Power does not corrupt men; fools; however, if they get into a position of power, corrupt power” George Bernard Shaw. Lady Macbeth is more ambitious in terms of gaining power then Macbeth is and that Lady Macbeth will do almost anything to gain power, even evil things that she normally wouldn’t do. This is shown when Macbeth and Lady Macbeth learn about the witches’ predictions, then roles in the plans to murder king Duncan in order to gain power and then finally after the murder, Macbeth doesn’t want to finish the plan making Lady Macbeth angry and causing a chance they might get caught and gain no power at all.
Lady Macbeth Amongst the most essential of characters in the play "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare is Lady Macbeth. Upon the introduction of Act 1 Scene 5, Lady Macbeth is brought into the plot of the play. In this soliloquy, Lady Macbeth comments on her thoughts after having read a letter from her husband, Macbeth, informing her about the witches' prophecies on the possibility of Kingship. A variety of well-known topics are explored, including the revelation of the true traits of characters such as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. "Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be What thou art promised; yet do I 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. What thou wouldst highly, That wouldst thou holily; wouldst not play false, And yet wouldst strongly win. Thou'dst have, great Glamis, That which cries, 'Thus who must do' if thou have it; And that which rather thou dost fear to do. Than wishest should be undone. Hie thee hither, That I may pour my spirits in thine ear And chastise with the valour of my tongue All that impedes thee from the golden round, Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem To have crowned thee withal." -Lady Macbeth, Act 1 Sc5, Lines 13 -- 28 Her first thoughts are based on the reaction of the realism of Macbeth being Thane of Glamis, and possibly Cawdor as the witches predicted. This is expressed through the words "What thou art promised". The idea of having soliloquy interacting with the witches' predictions creates a sense of spirituality. 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. The extent of Macbeth's kind character is described as "too full o'th'milk of human kindness".
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
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
Even though Lord Macbeth is generally the one to have the final say in the many killings that take place in the play, Lady Macbeth plays the role of a villain alongside him. She mocks her Lord if he frets over something she has instructed him to do, saying he would be less of a man if he does not follow through on their plan (I. vii. 56-57). She gives Lord Macbeth a short lecture in deceptiveness when they are planning to kill King Duncan (I. vi. 73-78). She also prepared the daggers for Macbeth to kill Duncan in advance (II. ii. 15-16). Though her Lord was still having doubts, she was, in the most literal sense, ready to go in for the kill.
happen all the time, but some are so weak that they cannot be felt. We
The majority of the audience of “Macbeth” thinks that the most evil character in the play is either Macbeth or the witches, this is untrue. Lady Macbeth starts the play as the main evil character, but through character progression, we see she truly regrets her actions, she becomes one of the “good” characters. In the first two acts of “Macbeth” we see Lady Macbeth being the leading contributor in Duncan's murder, and convinces Macbeth to follow through with it. As the play progresses, there is evidence that Lady Macbeth is regretting her actions, and has remorse for what she, and her husband have done. Towards the end of the play, you see that Lady Macbeth has become obsessed with the murders she has taken part in. Psychologically she has been
Macbeth was subject to a supernatural force, the witches control over Macbeth causes him to commit all of the murders by giving Macbeth a reason to gain and secure the royal status. The witches’ incentive was flouted by a moral Macbeth at the beginning of the play. But when he was faced with Lady Macbeth’s persuasion to murder Duncan in pursuit of the throne he follows her plans. After Duncan’s murder Macbeth needs no further persuading by Lady Macbeth to commit the subsequent killings of Banquo and Macduff’s family as she managed to convince him to commit murderous actions despite Macbeth's moral nature. Therefore we can assume that Lady Macbeth is to blame for changing Macbeth’s moral mind into that of murderers, which led to a disastrous outcome.