The Transformation Of Lady Macbeth

Out of all the characters in “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” the character of Lady Macbeth undergoes the most noticeable changes. Her character is also regarded as one of the most complex out of all Shakespearian plays. That is the main reason why she deserves careful attention to her character. Throughout the play, she descends into madness. And this “descent into madness” can be divided into three different parts, which results in the thesis statement of this essay: Lady Macbeth undergoes three noticeable changes as her character regresses and deteriorates over time.

Phyllis Rackin writes in her article “THE THREE GUISES OF LADY MACBETH,” that Lady Macbeth’s three different ‘guises’ can be titled as ‘the guise of ambition’, ‘the guise of despair’, and ‘the guise of madness’. The guise of ambition takes place during the start of the play, where Lady Macbeth is depicted as a dominant force, fueled by her ambition and desire for power. She actively encourages her husband, Macbeth, to seize the throne by any means necessary. Phyllis Rackin suggests that Lady Macbeth initially appears as a "temptress" and "co-conspirator," using her persuasive skills to lead Macbeth into committing

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! make thick my blood;/ Stop up the access and passage to remorse,/ That no compunctious visitings of nature/ Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between/ The effect and it! Come to my woman's breasts,/And take my milk for gall, you murdering ministers,/ Wherever in your sightless substances/ You wait on nature's mischief! Come, thick night,/ And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell,/ That my keen knife see not the wound it makes,/ Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark,/ To cry 'Hold, hold!'”, shows her determination and her willingness to discard her femininity to accomplish her