In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth feels guilty after slaughtering King Duncan whereas Lady Macbeth is unfazed. To begin with, Macbeth feels that he is not honorable enough to have the title of Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth hears a voice cry “‘Glamis hath murder’d sleep’, and therefore Cawdor/Shall sleep no more” (2.2.46, 46). Here, Macbeth does not think that he deserves the title because he dishonoured the king who gave him the opportunity to succeed. It is quite ironic how the original Thane of Cawdor was a traitor and now Macbeth follows down the same path.
The Weird Sister’s prophecies are what sparked both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to fulfil their penchant to be King and Queen of Scotland; however, the sister’s do not force anything upon them. Macbeth and his wife willingly act on their own to satisfy their aspirations. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, originated as naive and pure individuals, are overruled by their extreme ambition that envelopes and leads them to their eventual downfall. Macbeth develops into an egotistic murdering maniac who violates his morals. Lady Macbeth succumbs to her overwhelming thoughts and is crushed alive by guilt.
Point- The character Lady Macbeth places a plan to provide Macbeth false security. She states that security is a man’s most evil enemy. Quote 1- For example, when Hectate states "And you all know, security / Is mortals' chiefest enemy," (3.5. 32-33) Explain- Concluding sentence- Body Paragraph 4 Topic sentence- Point- Lady Macbeth fears that her husband does not have the courage to take the challenges to become a king; she tries different approaches and tactics to overcome her husband’s fears. Quote 1- Explain- When the lady Macbeth said unsex me here she went to the spirits to make her less lady like Quote 2- "too full o' the milk of human kindness" Concluding sentence- Concluding paragraph Thesis restate- The play Macbeth briefly demonstrates a significant role within the characters using quick tactics and strategies to manipulate and use super natural powers to have influence over others.
Lady Macbeth chastised her husband and called him weak and unmanly when he balked at the idea of killing Duncan. Macbeth was a weak, easily manipulated man whereas his wife was a self-serving, manipulating woman who couldn't do the dirty deeds herself. Once Macbeth gets the crown, he becomes paranoid and goes to any length to keep his position, but it is Lady Macbeth who encouraged his
Macbeth desires to be king but keeps on telling himself that it is wrong because Duncan has been good to him. This demonstrates Macbeth’s indecisiveness and also the fact that he is too scared to kill Duncan. This serves as a weakness for Lady Macbeth to exploit. When Lady Macbeth enters the scene, she initially speaks using very short sentences and questions which make her character seem demanding and frustrated with Macbeth and you could even go as far to say, paranoid. This is displayed perfectly in lines 35-38 (‘Was the hope drunk wherein you dressed yourself?
Macbeth believes that killing the King while he sleeps is a cowardice action to commit, however Lady Macbeth convinces him that by killing Duncan and receiving kingship, he will be more of a man. This also makes him afraid to know what he would be in her eyes if he does not kill Duncan. Also, Macbeth demonstrates the thought of him being unlovable when Lady Macbeth “taunts him with faithlessness” (Bealey). After Macbeth tells his wife that he cannot kill Duncan, she tries to guilt him in by saying “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 pluck'd my nipple from his boneless gums, | And dash'd the brains out, had I so sworn | As you Have done to this” (I.xii.54-58). Macbeth’s love is put to the test here, as Lady Macbeth says she would kill her baby had she promised him out of love, whereas Macbeth cannot bring himself to kill Duncan
She criticizes and reproaches Macbeth about his foolish decision and eventually alters his mind by saying “What beast was’t then that made you break this enterprise to me?” By stating such phrase, she lowers Macbeth’s self-esteem and self-worth. In addition, she also brings up the issue of love to intimidate Macbeth by stating if he does not kill Duncan, he does not truly love her. This harsh yet sly comment of her confirms Macbeth’s decision of killing Duncan. After they both decided to kill the king, it’s Lady Macbeth who specifies and sets forth the plot. This very fact further substantiates the point that although Macbeth is ruthless in some sense, Lady Macbeth is much more
At the same time, in Macduff and in other figures in the play, Shakespeare shows us that guilt can be overcome when it is recognized as such. Plainly, neither Macbeth nor Lady Macbeth rises to this task. Macbeth attempts to substitute fear for guilt and to deal with it through action, while his wife acknowledges the unbearable effect of guilt she limits it into a deterrent, using the management of her husband's guilt as a means for diverting her attention away from her own sense of shame. Both of these courses prove damaging, and, at bottom, the depth of tragedy which Macbeth and Lady Macbeth undergo stems not from their terrible deeds alone, but from their inability to accept the guilt from their
This again, throws the reader for a loop, as it seems that Macbeth and his wife have switched roles, making him seem frail and uncertain while Lady Macbeth is motivated and confident. Though she seems to posess the masculine atributes her husband lacks, Lady Macbeth does not fail to use her famine powers to get ahead. Lady Macbeth, like most women, posseses the power of manipulation. Shes uses this to convince her husband to murder. Which is somewhat typical considdering women generally use words to get a head while men are more likely to resort to violence (3).
Lady Macbeth tried to cover Macbeth’s guilty conscience by saying that the things that the servants said didn’t mean anything, Macbeth feels terrible about what he had done. Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth that if he thinks about what he just did he will go crazy. Macbeth’s guilty conscience keeps telling him that what he has done is very wrong and that he should not listen to his wife anymore but by him being so vulnerable Lady Macbeth takes full advantage of that and tells him that he should just forget about it and what’s done is