(Shakespeare 1:5:30-33). This quotation by Lady Macbeth says “unsex her”, which means she is wanting to be like a stereotypical man to give her enough power and to be less emotional. She says this because she can then make herself a cruel person and murder Duncan. She wants to kill Duncan without regret. Lady Macbeth drives the action by wanting to murder Duncan, this well then secure Macbeth as king and make herself queen.
Macbeth’s identity and growth is hindered tremendously by Lady Macbeth’s provocation and belittlement. For instance, when Macbeth urges her to not kill Duncan, Lady Macbeth goads him to take what he “esteem’st the ornament of life” and exclaims, “And, to be more than what you were, you would/ Be so much more the man” (1.7.42-50). We can infer from the dialogue that Lady Macbeth truly wants to kill the king. She coerces Macbeth to pursue her plan by questioning his masculinity, making him vulnerable, and replacing his will with her own. We all have a dark side to us, and it is a constant, internal struggle to choose between virtues or vices.
Lady Macbeth also has a part to play as she is the driving force, who plotted and urged Macbeth into committing the hideous act. Lady Macbeth attacked qualities of Macbeth’s manhood, telling him when he commits the murder then he “[is] a man”. Shakespeare suggests that Macbeth lacks the strength of character, but through manipulation of his ambitions, he gains the strength to carry out the act. Straight after the murder of Duncan, Macbeth is shaken by what he has committed and says will all “great Neptune’s ocean, wash this blood/clean from my hands”, reveals that he is now regretting his decision and is making an attempt to get rid of the evidence. As a result, Macbeth is considerate about his
Lady Macbeth would definitely like the idea of her being queen, which is why she is so upset when Macbeth decides not to go through with killing the king. She thinks Macbeth is too nice and she believes that by nagging him, he will reach his full potential. While it seems that this couple is very close in that they seem to tell each other everything, it is Lady Macbeth
Throughout Macbeth, three characters seem to have control of Macbeth’s action and his life. Lady Macbeth, Macbeth, and the We’ird Sisters all have some type of control over the actions of Macbeth. The wife of the play 's tragic hero, Lady Macbeth, pressures her husband into committing regicide so that she can then become queen of Scotland. Throughout the play, Lady Macbeth constantly diminishes her husband 's manhood forcing him to feel less of a man. Unhae Langis, once wrote that, “Lady Macbeth evokes shame in him [Macbeth] to get him back into the contest.”
(Act 1, Scene 7) Through the power of manipulation, Lady Macbeth powerfully challenges Macbeth to commit to the plan to murder King Duncan by exclaiming “screw your courage to the sticking-place. And we’ll not fail.” (Act I, Scene 7) It is through her words that Lady Macbeth has her husband, Macbeth, murder King Duncan and achieve her great desire to become Queen of Scotland. Unfortunately, the death of King Duncan begins Macbeth’s reign of tyranny, which also begins the emergence of Lady Macbeth’s guilty conscience.
In Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, the theme of moral ambiguity plays a reacturent role throughout the play, through Lady Macbeth a dynamic character. Lady Macbeth goes on the journey of having to face her moral ambiguity, after her desire for her husband to become king of Scotland. Her desire came from a prophecy the witches told her husband and this is the first indication Lady Macbeth makes displaying her priorities and what she values. Lady Macbeth prior to this moment as come across as a normal and leveled headed character who would not have evil intentions, however; as this spark of desire comes so does her passion for evil doings. There is a pivotal change in her entire attitude, from the moment she begins to question her moral ambiguity which takes place after she comes to terms with her own emotions which she can no longer push aside, ultimately leading to betrayal of herself.
In the text it says, “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (Shakespeare I.i.50). This shows that because of the witches stating this prophecy of Macbeth becoming king, it drives Macbeth to murder King Duncan because of his curiosity, which ultimately becomes one of the biggest things Macbeth has done. Another instance in the text says, “Be bloody, bold and resolute. Laugh to scorn the power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth” (IV.i.79-80).
Bloodthirsty ambition is presented throughout William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, beginning with Lady Macbeth's plotting of King Duncan's demise from the throne. Her motivation is fed through her need of constant success and her desire to strive for excellence. In the male-dominated society which she lives in, she realizes that in order to be influential and affluent, she must remove any qualities that are deemed feminine. Yet, as Lady Macbeth retracts her true nature, the unnatural change of her femininity to masculinity inevitably leads to her demise. This disruption of gender roles through Lady Macbeth, presented in Macbeth is demonstrated through her place as the dominant individual in her marriage; because on many occasions, she rules
Here, Macbeth is seen giving into Lady Macbeth’s persistency in murdering King Duncan. By declaring that he will “do all that may become a man,” Macbeth is also deciding to entrust himself and go down the path of free will. Given that Macbeth is showing hesitancy towards going through with the plan, readers can consequently see that his ambition has risen, yet not to extreme heights. As the play progresses, Macbeth reverts back to accepting the fate of the Three Witches. He visits them once more and demands that they predict his future, and the Weird Sisters prophesize: “laugh to scorn the power of a man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth” (IV.i.79-81), to which he responds with, “I’ll make assurance double sure and take a bond of fate” (IV.i.83-84).
In the play Macbeth, the character Macbeth has many different roles. He is an ambitious man with inner conflicts. Throughout the play he had many different character transitions and motives. Most of his motives are his wife commanding him to do what she says, so his motives are not self-motivating, they are from other characters. Sometimes Macbeth does not know what to do with himself so he asks the people around him for assurance.
Imagine living a life, but being unable to differentiate god actions from bad actions, just like that of 11th century Scotland in William Shakespeare’s world renowned, classic tragedy, the play, Macbeth. Through the course of the play, order is cast aside, chaos ensues and nobody can justify what thoughts and actions are fair and which are foul. For Macbeth, the king’s most brave and valiant warrior, his mind becomes clouded with greed and ambition, what he sees as fair is actually foul, he just doesn’t realize because the order of society has been discast. The inability for the characters to distinguish right from wrong, in addition to the social disorder “that takes the reason prisoner” (Shakespeare I.iii.88), are what lead to the
When fate is brought into question, one thing people often ponder upon is what is the point of no return? There were many times throughout Macbeth by Shakespeare that Macbeth had the opportunity to change his serendipity. If Macbeth would have swallowed his pride when he received the three prophecies from the three witches, what was destined for him could have immensely been altered. Macbeth’s first encounter with the witches in Act 1 Scene 3 was the moment at which his entire world took a turn for the worst. In this scene the witches appear with a clap of thunder and soon stumble upon Macbeth and Banquo.