Lady Macbeth challenges him, saying that he is not a man. Macbeth becomes defensive, and to defend himself, he kills Duncan. So, in the end both are to blame. Macbeth had committed the actual murder, and Lady Macbeth made the plan and convinced her husband to commit the
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.
Lady Macbeth leaves the consistency in dialogue completely astray and does not speak in verse. This implies her madness in that Shakespeare only seemed to have the characters with abnormal states of minds or in abnormal conditions speak out verse. From this play, these characters would include the witches, who speak in trochaic tetrameter, and Lady Macbeth, who speaks out of verse to symbolize her insanity. The second literary device would be irony. Lady Macbeth is constantly ridiculing Macbeth because he is too afraid to kill Duncan, and she even tells him that he might as well be a woman.
He can report,/ As seemeth by his plight, of the revolt/ The newest state.” (1.2.1-3), to which blood indicates the open wounds Macbeth had caused to him. Shakespeare’s use of blood in this scene represents the loyalty and honor as Macbeth killed Macdonwald in defense of the king. After the battle, Macbeth was rewarded with a new title as the Thane of Cawdor yet he was not completely satisfied as he became greedy. Shakespeare also uses bloody images to foreshadow future events associated with Macbeth’s power. Aside from symbolizing blood as honor, he uses it to demonstrate the character of Macbeth and his drastic personality change as the play progresses.
Discuss how the characters of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and Duncan are established in Act I by using textual evidence to support your points. Macbeth: “return to plague the inventor” Macbeth is a person that knows what he must do but is doubtful of it. He is the war hero and got news of his promotion by the witches, who also said he would be promoted further. To make their prophecy come true he must kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth: “unsex me here, and fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full of direst cruelty” Lady Macbeth is the “true” evil.
Although unsuccessful (only Lady Macduff and her son were killed), it proved that Macbeth was willing to go as far as it took to keep himself on the throne. The witches however, did plant the seeds again that led to this murder and therefore should be considered at least semi-accountable. This theory is supported even more by the murder of Banquo. The witches prophesised that Banquo’s sons would succeed Macbeth’s rule. Macbeth, now seeing Banquo as a threat, hired more people to murder Banquo and eliminate all possibility that he or his sons could dethrone
I will set down what comes from her, to satisfy my remembrance the more strongly. Out, damned spot! Out, I say!— One: two: why then, ’tis time to do’t.— Hell is murky.— Fie, my lord, fie, a soldier, and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account?— Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him? Do you mark that?
Lady Macbeth has a plan to kill Duncan. In order for this plan to work Lady Macbeth and Macbeth had to be very deceitful. Lady Macbeth manipulates Macbeth into killing Duncan, when Macbeth had doubts. Lady Macbeth's criticised towards Macbeth: “that I may pour my sprits in thine ear”. (Macbeth I, v, 26) Lady Macbeth made Macbeth feel bad about himself, by lowering his manhood and bravery.
She begins to believe her hands were permanently bloodstained. She says, 'Out, damned spot,' (5.1) while wringing her hands, trying to wipe away her guilt. Then, 'who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?' (5.1). She who was so in control of her feelings and destiny as much as admits her guilt to a visiting physician and lady in waiting.
When having heard an owl, she cries ‘Hark, Peace!’ This remark shows you that she is jittery, as on a normal occasion she wouldn’t have even noticed the owl because based on what we know of her character so far she isn’t the jumpy type of person. It’s also slightly ironic how she calls out for ‘peace’ because you automatically make the connection to god’s peace: whereas the audience all knows she is damned. You also surprisingly see a psychological vulnerability in Lady Macbeth. She tells Macbeth that Duncan ‘resembled my father as he slept,’ and if it weren’t for that she would have murdered him herself. This is wildly contradicting her cold persona.