Macbeth's intentions are clouded by Lady Macbeth. The great tragedy of Macbeth shows an example of how man can be influenced by women and their power of persuasion over their husbands. The protagonist had to make decisions, which made the readers and viewers question his intentions and his conscience. The story teaches a lot about man and what he is capable of. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are both strong characters. Macbeth was introduced in the play as a courageous, ambitious, heroic, soldier. He came out very fearless and trustworthy, especially to the King of Scotland, who heard of Macbeth's accomplishments. The sergeant in Act I, scene ii, reports what Macbeth has done "For brave Macbeth–well he deserves that name / Disdaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel." At this point, Macbeth had not come out on stage yet, so that is the first impression we get of him. However, he seems to be a good person. We first think Macbeth is the strongest character in the play until it all changes in scene five. That scene is the very first time we meet Lady Macbeth, the real strongest character. She may even be one of the strongest female characters in literature. When we first meet Lady Macbeth, we get a soliloquy from her, which talks about how she thinks...show more content...
/ But screw your courage to the sticking–place, / And we'll not fail." She said that if Macbeth brings his courage up, they would not fail. In the middle of their dialogue in scene seven, the last scene of the act, Lady Macbeth mentions the killing of a baby. I believe that the baby represents Macbeth's innocence and purity. The first act ends with Macbeth saying, "I am settled, and bend up / Each corporal agent to this terrible feat." Lady Macbeth convinced her husband to follow with her evil plan. Her darkness influenced his intentions to become wrong. Macbeth's intentions are clouded by Lady
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Throughout the tragedy of Macbeth we observe two people on their attempt to gain power and glory through various foul actions. It can be argued that Lady Macbeth is the one responsible for triggering a slippage into this inevitable situation that led to their descent. From the moment Macbeth became aware of his "fate" Lady Macbeth started forming her own imaginary world in which her evil plans seemed likely to be effective. The thought of she and her husband being royalty makes her dismiss rationality and while being immersed in her corrupt intentions, she bares a great influence on Macbeth himself. During the play her personality is being subjected to a gradual and deteriorating transformation which leads to her demise. This essay will...show more content...
She is also referring to her as "this little hand (V. I. 43–44). Given this, we can help but to wonder how she comes up with such evil plans and how all these dark thoughts like the following go through her head. I have given suck, and know How tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me:
I would, while it was smiling in my face, Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums, And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you Have done to this. (I.VII.54–59). The appearance of blood during the play signifies the existence of guilt embraced by Lady Macbeth's vulnerable nature. Her first encounter with blood was while she was sleepwalking when she noticed a spot of blood on her hands "Out, damned spot out, I say". (V. I. 33). This spot of blood proves to her that she would have to live with the guilt forever and is a proof of her action towards which she, before committing, kept an indifferent position. "Here's the smell of blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand" The smell of blood cannot be ignored by Lady Macbeth. In fact, she is aware that no matter what occurs it is always going to be there reminding her of the murder. At this point we come upon a contrast of images. On one hand we have the sickening smell of blood and on the other the sweet perfumes of Arabia. By differentiating these to smells Shakespeare
Term Paper On Lady Macbeth
William Shakespeare created a dynamic character called lady Macbeth; she was the total opposite of what women of the Shakespearian era were supposed to be. Despite qualities women were supposed to have in Shakespeare's time, Lady Macbeth defied the way most women of her time acted. Lady Macbeth defied the ways of women of her time by being manipulative, ambitious, and ruthless. Women's lifestyles back in Shakespeare'stime period was very different from the modern day women's lifestyles of today. The characteristics for women of that time was that women should be uneducated, should follow chastity, take care of the home and should not join a profession or get a job. Most women were denied the chance to be...show more content...
– [Knocking within.] Hark, more knocking: Get on your nightgown, lest occasion call us And show us to be watchers: –be not lost So poorly in your thoughts. (II, i, 146–155). Their nerves are raw, every noise seems like an explosion to them. Starring at his bloody hands, Macbeth at last recognizes that the murder is no longer an abstract idea but an accomplished fact. This one act transforms Macbeth horribly because of Lady Macbeth's ambitious ways. Yet Macbeth soon becomes accustomed to his new identity and killing doesn't mean that much to him any more because he has already "murdered" sleep. (Epstain)
Shakespeare uses symbolism to convey a message in the statement made by Lady Macbeth. The blood represents a sign on what Macbeth did to Duncan and he can't get rid of the blood and he keeps on seeing the blood. Lady Macbeth doesn't really care about the entire killing and she just says that only water will clear them of what he just did. Macbeth insists that he murdered sleep along with Duncan and Lady Macbeth has no problem going to sleep at night. Lady Macbeth persuaded Macbeth to kill Duncan in order to fulfill her own ambitious ways because she wanted to be the queen. Lady Macbeth "...(is) but a victim of a pathological mental dissociation arising upon an unstable, day dreaming basis, and is due to the emotional shocks of her past experiences. Lady Macbeth is a typical case of hysteria; her ambition is merely
Shakespeare portrays Lady Macbeth differently throughout the play. Before the murder of Duncan, she is more naГЇve and pure compared to after the murder of King Duncan, where she starts the road to insanity and nervousness. At the very start of the play during Act 1 Scene 5, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have a very close relationship and they would tell each other anything. At the start of the scene, Lady Macbeth is reading a letter from her husband, Macbeth. Within the letter Macbeth tells her a lot of sensitive information such as the fact that he came across three witches who prophesised that he would become king, this sort of information could get him – or both of them into serious trouble, since back in Shakespearian times kings were...show more content...
Back in Shakespearian times, women were considered second best, where as men were the dominant sex. Throughout the start of the play, Lady Macbeth is presented as brave and not being frightened by anything, as though even God could not stand in her way. She says, "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!" The fact that she asks to be "unsexed" suggests that she is fully aware of the power boundaries between men and women and wishes to destroy them, as, again men were seen as the dominant sex. Now, in the 21st Century, the phrase "unsex me" does not mean as much to us as men and women are seen as equals. The fact that she is calling upon spirits for help suggests that she is not afraid of who or what she is meddling with. Where as, even the bravest and strongest of men would not mess with the supernatural, as back in Shakespearean times, which craft and the supernatural was taken as seriously as anything we do today, such as, eating lunch. As brave as she was portrayed at the start, towards the end of the play, the guilt becomes to overwhelm her. As strong as Lady Macbeth is portrayed, she is shown as having a guilty and soft side. She originally was supposed to be killing Kind Duncan, however when she tried it she couldn't go through with it, she said to Macbeth, "Had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done't", this
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Lady Macbeth It is thought that Macbeth was written in 1605 or 1606 and performed for King James 1 and his brother–in–law, King Christian of Denmark. Whether it was actually performed for the king, or was premiered at The Globe Theatre like most of Shakespeare's plays, there can be little doubt that aspects of the play were intended to please James 1, who was by this time the patron of Shakespeare's theatre group. For example, the character of Banquo, the legendary root of the Stuart family tree, is depicted very favourably, perhaps to please the king. The play is also quite short, possibly because Shakespeare knew that James preferred short plays and...show more content... Lady Macbeth seems very cold hearted and almost inhumane when she suggests that she would kill her own child breaking a promise to her husband. It is difficult to know whether Lady Macbeth is just exaggerating or whether she would be prepared to carry out such an incredible action. At this part of the play she slyly manipulates Macbeth by calling him a coward, saying,
"Live like a coward in thine own esteem, letting 'I dare not' wait upon 'I would' like the cat I' the adage?"
She then contrasts this with her own determination to accentuate Macbeth's weakness. Macbeth is shamed by her persuasive words and agrees to take part in her murderous plan.
Deceptiveness is another of Lady Macbeth's great strengths. She welcomes Duncan whole– heartedly to the castle telling him " all our service, in every point twice done, and then done double, were poor and single business to contend."
This quality also proves very useful to Lady Macbeth in other parts of the play.
When the bells ring– (the sign for the killing to take place) Lady Macbeth panics and has to rely on alcohol to give her 'Dutch courage.' This is a rare sign of weakness. It is times like this when we begin to wonder if the ruthless image portrayed by Lady Macbeth is true or not.
The murder of