Lady Macbeth has just been thinking that her husband is too weak willed to seize what she sees as rightfully his, the throne of Scotland. When she hears that King Duncan will be staying in her home, she says: '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' (1.5). In other words, she longs to act like a 'man' and kill Duncan herself. Lady Macbeth goes as far as to invite demons, or spirits, to inhabit her, enabling her to commit this great evil
One main character is Lady Macbeth. In the beginning of Shakespeare’s play, she is a strong-willed, dominant figure. She takes on the role of being the dominant partner, almost male-like, when she sees Macbeth will not do so himself. She has infinite influence over her husband, who is portrayed as weaker than she is. She is the one who plans the betrayal of Duncan and pressures Macbeth into thinking the only way to fulfill the witches “promise” is to kill the king.
1. DESCRIPTION OF LADY MACBETH Lady Macbeth is presented to the reader from her first appearance in the play as a woman fired by ambition. What Macbeth lacks in decisiveness, Lady Macbeth makes up for his lack of bloodthirsty lust for power and wealth. Swearing off her femininity at the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth manipulates her husband powerfully to follow through with his plans to kill Duncan. After the act of regicide, it is Lady Macbeth who has the soundness of mind to plant the incriminating evidence on Duncan's guards.
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
Thou wouldst be great, art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it." said Lady Macbeth (I, V, Lines 15-20). Lady Macbeth is showing her ambition, she wants Macbeth to seize the throne and become a king. She is trying to convince her husband to start rising to power, even when such atrocious acts are involved. Lady Macbeth becomes fearful after the murder of Banquo (although she is not involved) from her guilt.
are too full of the milk of human kindness/ To catch the nearest way.” [1.5.13] Her masculinity overshadows Macbeth’s when she asserts her power without contemplation and plans King Duncan’s murder. When Macbeth’s moral compass drives him to contemplate murdering Duncan, Lady Macbeth questions his manhood: “Wouldst thou have that/ Which thou esteemest the ornament of life/ And life a coward in thine own esteem, Letting ‘I dare not’ wait upon ‘I would’/ Like the poor cat in the adage?’” [1.7.44] Her strength of will and ambition counteract yet
Lady Macbeth is a victim of her uncontrolled ambition.This ambition causes her to push herself and Macbeth to the very edge. She convinced Macbeth to kill Duncan by questioning his manliness. Lady Macbeth shows her negative ambition and ruthlessness while speaking to Macbeth in this quote: "Was the hope drunk?...Like the poor cat I' th' adage." (Act I, Scene vii, Lines 35-45) In this quote Lady Macbeth is asking Macbeth if he is afraid to kill Duncan, and if he has enough courage to say so. She is asking him if he wants to be king or not, and if he is to be king he must commit regicide.
Come, you spirits / That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, / And fill me from the crown to the toe topful / Of direst cruelty!” (I.V.38-34).These lines tell how Lady Macbeth pressure Macbeth to kill King Duncan. If I were to add one ingredient to Lady Macbeth, it would be love. The reason why is that if she really loved Macbeth she wouldn’t pressure Macbeth to kill King Duncan because she would of worried what would of happen to him if he got a caught. If I were to remove a ingredient of Lady Macbeth it would be devotion. The reason why is that Lady Macbeth would not be devoted to make Macbeth king and result of having him to kill people to get
As she receives a letter from her husband, she says, “...I may pour my spirits into thine ear and chastise with the valour of my tongue all that impedes thee from the golden round”(I v 25-26), proving that she plans to convince Macbeth to remove all that impedes him from the crown, clearing the way for her to be queen. When Macbeth reaches the castle she reveals her plan to him and forces it upon him, saying, “O never shall sun that morrow see”(I v 61-60). As she says this she seduces him, tricking him into doing her bidding. When the king is in their castle Macbeth begins to have doubts and says, “We will proceed no further in this business”(I vii 32). When Macbeth begins to stray she insults him and calls him a coward, “art thou afraid to be the same in thine own act as thou art in desire”(I vii 49-51).
An opportunist, she jumps on prospects as soon as they arise. When she receives Macbeth’s letter about the witches’ predictions, she immediately begins plotting Duncan’s murder, and calls upon dark spirits to “fill [her] from crown to toe top-full of direst cruelty” (1.5.49-50) to assist her in getting the job done. While most women would never dream of summoning evil to become queen, Lady Macbeth will do whatever it takes to achieve the power she yearns for. She easily squashes her husband’s doubts in their scheme by belittling his manliness, calling him “a coward in [his] own esteem” (1.7.47) and other demeaning names. This type of manipulation comes naturally to Lady Macbeth, as does an attitude of relentless determination.