Persuasion And Patience In Macbeth

Annabelle Carlson

Mr. Parry

Honors English 2

23 February 2023

Persuasion and Dependence in Macbeth In one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies, the ambitious Lord Macbeth rises quickly up the ranks of nobility, leaving a mess of violence in his wake. His success is short-lived, and he dies pathetic, treacherous, and alone because of his greed. However, his path to insanity and treason — while not paved with good intentions — is led by his wife, who uses her influence to drive him toward the unseemly actions he performs during his quest for power. Lady Macbeth uses emasculating manipulation techniques to deteriorate Macbeth’s mental and moral fortitude and force him to be reliant on her, even after she succumbs to guilt and takes her own

Part of him wishes to reach his potential and become king, and the other part wishes to honor his oath to the current king. Both sides of his free will are trumped by Lady Macbeth when she scolds him for being a coward. She tells him “When you durst do it, then you were a man; / and to be more than what you were, you would / be so much more the man,” (Shakespeare I.vii.56-58). By saying this, she mocks his fears and implies that his masculinity relies on his ability to perform the task. By equating Macbeth’s manhood with betrayal and violence, she ensures that he will go to those lengths to prove it — thus sacrificing his morality in hopes of social acceptance and praise. After he kills Duncan, he looks for comfort in his wife. He is horrified by what he has done, but he has not quenched Lady Macbeth’s thirst for blood. She mocks Macbeth once again, claiming “My hands are of your color, but I shame / to wear a heart so white,” (Shakespeare II.ii.82-83). She repeatedly taunts him for his weakness and innocence, while Macbeth is already showing major signs of mental deterioration. First, she calls him a coward, and after he does as he’s told she claims he’s fragile, naive, and still unworthy. These manipulative insults convince Macbeth that one murder is fruitless. Lady Macbeth ignores his past triumphs to coerce him into committing further acts of

His reaction is quiet and contemplative and demonstrates his feelings toward his wife following the decline of their relationship. Upon hearing the news, he states “She should have died hereafter. / There would have been time for such a word,” (Shakespeare V.v.20-21). His seemingly callous response shows how deeply he has fallen into grief and guilt. With his degraded mental state, he is almost unable to muster a feeling for his late wife, and can only state with certainty that she would have died eventually anyway. Although it is implied that Lady Macbeth took her own life out of guilt, one could view it as a final act of coercion, passing the torch of bloodshed to the next unwilling host. With his wife gone, he has nothing left to protect. However, the arrogance and thirst for violence she instilled in him through her manipulation still influence his decisions. He is increasingly and openly homicidal before and during the battle with Malcolm's forces, and his arrogance eventually leads to his death at the hands of