Character of Lady Macbeth Essay

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Character of Lady Macbeth Essay

In the course of this essay I will discuss the character of Lady Macbeth and the change in her character throughout the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare. We see her as being ambitious and ruthless at the start. Looking at her and Macbeths character she is the dominant one in the relationship. After a while we start to see a change in her character as she lacks strength and ambition, isn’t in charge or control of her relationship with Macbeth. She is being kept out of new plans in which Macbeth is making decisions alone. Firstly, Lady Macbeth appears in Act 1 Scene 5. She is in her and Macbeth’s castle. She receives a letter from Macbeth and reads it. In this letter, he is telling her about his encounter with the witches. “They met me in the day of success: And I have learned by the perfectest report, they have more in them than mortal knowledge.” (Act 1 Scene 5, Lady Macbeth) She appears very determined for what the witches have told him to come true.She hopes the witches prophecy about Macbeth becoming King of Scotland will happen and then for her to be Queen. “Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be what thou promised” (Act 1 Scene 5, Lady Macbeth) We can see that Lady Macbeth is scared as she says that Macbeth is too kind and loyal to murder to become King. “Is too full o’ the milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way.” (Act 1 Scene 5, Lady Macbeth) Also, she talks about Macbeths strong sense of honour and how he’s not the type of man to lie or cheat. “Thou wouldst thou holily ; wouldst not play false.” (Act1 Scene 5 Lady Macbeth) Lady Macbeth doesn’t want to wait around for her Macbeth to become King to just happen. She wants Macbeth to kill his cousin, the recent King, Duncan, and also anyone else who tries to get in their way. She hopes Macbeth will come home soon so that she can convince him to do anything to become King.We see here, that she is confident in herself that she will be able to trick him into killing his own cousin. “Hie thee hither that I may pour my spirits in thine ear, and chastise with the valour of my tongue” (Act1 Scene5 Lady Macbeth). A servant then comes to tell her that Macbeth and the other lords are on their way, and Duncan will be spending the night in their castle. Lady Macbeth, straight away, sees this as an opportunity to murder Duncan. She starts to call dark spirits upon her to take away her womanly kindness. “Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts unsex me here” ( Act 1 Scene 5, Lady Macbeth). When she finishes calling on the spirits, Macbeth arrives. Lady Macbeth tells him his letter has given hope for their future. She asks when Duncan is leaving and when Macbeth says in the morning, she says he’ll never see tomorrow. “O, never shall sun that morrow see.” (Act 1 Scene 5, Lady Macbeth – Macbeth). She then tells Macbeth her plan to kill Duncan. She tells Macbeth she will do all the planning.We also see, that Lady Macbeth is ruthless. She will let nothing get in her way of becoming Queen. It shows she is the dominant one in their relationship as she makes all the decisions and plans. We next see Lady Macbeth in Act1 Scene 6. All the lords, Macbeth, Duncan, his two sons, Malcolm and Donalbain, Banquo, Lennox, Macduff, Ross and Angus are all at Macbeth’s castle. Lady Macbeth arrives and greets Duncan. “ All our service in every point twice done and then done double, were poor and single business to contend.” (Act1 Scene6, Lady Macbeth – Duncan). Duncan thanks her with a gratitude for letting him stay. He also apologises for the hassle he’s causing her.“Heroin I teach you how you shall bid god ‘ield us for your pains, and thank us for your trouble.” (Act 1 Scene 6, Duncan – Lady Macbeth) When Duncan meets Lady Macbeth he is humble and generous, thanking her for letting him stay, but he doesn’t know that she is planning to kill him. In this scene , lady Macbeth is seen as the perfect hostess. We see how well she can play casual and switch between high emotion and cool composure. In Act 1 Scene 7, we see her talking with Macbeth, in the castle. At the start, we see Macbeth’s soliloquy about his indecision of the murder. “ If it were ‘tis done, then were well it were done quickly.” (Act 1 Scene 7) Lady Macbeth arrives and Macbeth tells her that he doesn’t want to go ahead with the murder. He has won honour on the battlefield and doesn’t want to kill an innocent. “ We will proceed no further in this business, He hath honoured me of late, and I have bought golden opinions from all sort of people.” (Act 1 Scene 7, Macbeth – Lady Macbeth).Lady Macbeth seems to be very unimpressed with what Macbeth has said. She then tricks him into continuing on with the murder as she questions his bravery. “ With thou esteems’t the ornament of life, and live a coward in thine own esteem.” (Act 1 Scene 7, Lady Macbeth – Macbeth). What she says seem to work. Again in this scene, we see Lady Macbeth as the dominant one. She easily convinces him back into their plan to kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth waits in a chamber near Duncan’s bedroom. Macbeth goes off to murder Duncan. Lady Macbeth had got the chamberlains drunk so they wouldn’t see any of the murder. Lady Macbeth says that the chamberlains make a joke of their jobs by falling asleep. “Do mock their charge with snores, I have dragged their possets.” (Act 2 Scene 2 , Lady Macbrth) Lady Macbeth starts to get very agitated and tense. We first see this when she hears an owl. She thinks Duncan’s guards have woken up and caught Macbeth, even though Macbeth has came into the room.“My father as he slept, I have done’t- My husband!” (Act 2 Scene 2, Lady Macbeth) Macbeth had brought the daggers back with him, the one he killed Duncan, Lady Macbeth sees them and panics. “ Why did you bring these daggers from the place?” (Act 2 Scene 2 , Lady Macbeth – Macbeth). Lady Macbeth has to bring them back to bring them back to the chamber. When she comes back she tells Macbeth that they need to hurry to their bedroom so they don’t get caught. “I hear a knocking at the south entry, retire we to our chamber.” (Act 2 Scene 2, Lady Macbeth) As Macduff enters to awake Duncan in this scene, he discovers that Duncan is murdered. Lady Macbeth enters after hearing the bell ringing. She asks what is happening. “ What’s the business, that such a hideous trumper.” (Act 1 Scene 3, Lady Macbeth – Macduff). Macduff doesn’t want to tell Lady Macbeth what happened , as he thinks she won’t cope. “O , gentle lady, tis not for you to hear what I can speak” (Act “ Scene 3, Macduff – Lady Macbeth).Lady Macbeth response doesn’t sound very convincing as she replies. “What, in our house?” (Act 2 Scene 3, Lady Macbeth – Macduff) When Lady Macbeth says he has murdered the chamberlains, Lady Macbeth faints. We don’t know if she’s acting here or being serious. We see irony in this scene, as she is behind the murder but acts as she knows nothing. Lady Macbeth is in the palace and is talking with a servant. She asks the servant if Banquo has left the castle. He tells her that Banquo will be back in the evening.She then tells the servant to ask Macbeth to meet with her as she wants to talk. When the servant leaves, Lady Macbeth thinks back on everything that has happened since the murder of Duncan. “Nought’s had, all’s spent, where our desire got without content.” (Act 3 Scene 2, Lady Macbeth) In this scene, we see Lady Macbeth as alone. Becoming king and queen, her and Macbeth lost everything. She now appears to be isolated from her husband. All she can do now is gain access to Macbeth by means of a formal request.