...Macbeth is one of William Shakespeare’s most famous plays. The theme is about how one’s ambition can lead to their fall if they let it get out of hand. Lady Macbeth is one of the most aggressive and ambitious characters of Shakespeare’s plays. Much of the fame of Macbeth should be credited to her because it was her ruthless and almost man-like nature that set her apart from other women in Shakespeare’s plays. She is a round and dynamic character in this play because she changes and develops as the story’s proceedings unfold and conflicts emerge. Throughout the play, Lady Macbeth gradually changes from being driven nearly entirely by ambition, to being manipulative of her husband to get her ways, and finally to becoming the complete opposite of her once strong-willed self. Lady Macbeth is seen as a woman of ambition in the beginning of Macbeth. Upon her discovery of Macbeth’s prophecies to become king, she immediately started to think about how to fulfill them. As her ambitious and cold nature overcame her conscience, she mapped out the murder of King Duncan with Macbeth. She came off as being very strong in the opening of the play. Shakespeare’s indirect characterization of her makes her unique from other female characters in his works, which is what sets Macbeth apart from the rest. Lady Macbeth has just as much ambition driving her as Macbeth has, if not more. Lynn M. Zott writes that Lady Macbeth’s ambition may be more aimed towards Macbeth’s successes and not solely hers...
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...Lady Macbeth Essay Shakespeare’s play Macbeth was written in the early 17th century and chronicles the lives of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as Thane of Crawdor and lady of Crawdor, and later on as King and Queen of Scotland respectively. Lady Macbeth is known as one of Shakespeare’s most famous female characters due to her ambition, strength and ruthlessness. Lady Macbeth can be seen as the dominant half in the relationship between Macbeth and his lady, often convincing, persuading and willing Macbeth to do her bidding. Lady Macbeth can even be seen as a tragic heroine, a term made famous by Shakespeare’s numerous tragedies. However, just like all tragic heroes, Lady Macbeth’s hamartia or tragic flaw would lead to her demise. In exploring the character that is Lady Macbeth, we can see many flaws in her character such as greed, ambition, dishonestly and manipulative to name a few. A tragic flaw, as defined by Merriem-Webster dictionary, is a flaw in character that brings about the downfall of a hero in a tragedy. Lady Macbeth’s greed for power coupled with her moral righteousness led to her demise. This is evident after first, persuading Macbeth to kill the king in order for her to become Queen, second, planning Kind Duncan’s death to the minute detail, and third, being flooded with guilt and blame afterwards leading to her suicide. After Macbeth’s confrontation with the three witches who said that Macbeth will be named Thane of Crawdor and eventually become King of Scotland,...
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...Lady Macbeth vs. Macbeth in William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth Often, the influences in one’s life alter his or her attitude and point of view of the surrounding world. Lady Macbeth plays this influential role in Macbeth’s life. Her seductive words convince Macbeth to kill King Duncan, which further leads to a change in Macbeth’s personality. These two contrasting characters set the stage for a perfect example of a complete 360 transformation. While it is Lady Macbeth who primarily leads to Macbeth’s transformation, her transformation is more of a self-triggered change. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Lady Macbeth’s fearless, manipulative, and shameless qualities fade, as the once moral Macbeth gains these qualities and turns into an evil, life-taking ruler. Right from the start, it is easy to identify Lady Macbeth’s greedy and manipulative qualities. After finding out that her husband has been prophesized to be the...
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...In Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth experiences a dramatic change in character, leading to her demise. At the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth is a powerful woman. She is able to manipulate and convince her husband into committing murder for the crown. Throughout Acts I and II, Lady Macbeth’s strength and evil nature overpowers Macbeth. She takes control and plans Macbeth’s first murder. The murder of King Duncan reveals Lady Macbeth’s ruthlessness and persuasive skills. However, by Act III, Lady Macbeth’s entire character changes; she becomes depressed due to her husband’s lack of attention and newly found confidence. He no longer needs her to make his decisions. Guilt starts to consume her, and her mental state weakens. In...
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...force behind any successful man. However, a woman can also use her strong influence in a negative way. This can be seen in Macbeth, where Lady Macbeth is the evil force behind Macbeth's cruelty and evil doings. In Shakespeare's Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is the main reason that Macbeth is transformed from a noble, respected Thane into a ruthless, murderous character. Lady Macbeth fuels his inner desire for power and brings forth his greed and ambition, which both eventually lead to his downfall. The tactics that Lady Macbeth use to drive her husband to this downfall are manipulation, dominance, and her evil nature. Lady Macbeth manipulates Macbeth into believing that he is a coward and a bad husband, which persuades him to agree to the murder of King Duncan. She dwells on the fact that he is a coward, when she says "My hands are of your colour, but I shame/ to wear a heart so white" (2.2.64-65). This instills feelings of embarrassment into his mind, and manipulates him into believing that if he does not murder King Duncan, he will be a weak, cowardly man. Not only is she challenging his manhood, by appearing to be the stronger and braver of the two, but also, by calling his heart "white", she is criticizing his cowardice. The fact that his wife is undermining his masculinity causes Macbeth to want to be stronger, and not to appear weak and timid. When Lady Macbeth yells "Infirm of purpose! Give me the daggers. The sleeping and the dead/ are but as pictures. 'Tis the eye of childhood/...
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...distorted the person's view of the world. In Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”, Lady Macbeth is the one who is ultimately responsible for the murder of King Duncan, as her manipulative influences are the only reason Macbeth killed the King. Lady Macbeth shows she is responsible through her manipulation of Macbeth, and her plotting and covering up of the murder shows how she is the responsible for the murder. Lady Macbeth’s manipulative tendencies forced Macbeth to kill King Duncan, after he had already said he would not. When she say “ Wouldst thou have that / Which thou esteem’st the / ornament of life, / And live a coward in thine own esteem, / Letting ‘I dare not’ wait upon ‘I would ,“ (Mac.1.7.41-44) she is manipulating Macbeth into a completely different way of thinking. She insults him making him think he isn’t worth anything unless he kills Duncan, saying “What beast was ’t, then, / That made you break this enterprise to me? / When you durst do it, then you...
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...Macbeth Opinion Piece Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a play that challenges the characters willingness to give into evil and the risks they take to acquire power. Lady Macbeth demonstrates witch like qualities throughout the play as she provokes and challenges Macbeth - an honorary soldier, to assassinate the King as a way of crowning himself. Lady Macbeth should be considered nothing less than a fourth witch due to her manipulation of her husband, her intent to commit evil, and her deceitful persona. The characteristics of a witch are most commonly defined as, manipulative, deceitful, evil, and corrupt, but most importantly manipulative. Witches have a power to persuade the mind, presenting their victims with untruthful promises of some of their deepest desires. Lady Macbeth is very successful in persuading her husband Macbeth, who in the beginning of the play was a noble and loyal soldier, to murder the King. When Lady Macbeth first receives the letter explaining Macbeth’s promotion, and what the witches had told him about becoming King she doubted his courage and willingness to fight for the position, “ Yet I do fear thy nature, it is too full ‘o th’ milk of human kindness (1.5.16.17). Her disbelief in the will of Macbeth conflicts with her hunger for power and decides she will have to convince Macbeth herself. When Macbeth returns from his victory, announcing that King Duncan will be spending the night at their castle, Lady Macbeth see’s a promising opportunity to kill...
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...The theme of destructive love within the relationships in the story’s Shakespeare's Macbeth and Bronte’s Wuthering Heights are presented through sexism, jealousy, and betrayal. Destructive love can make a possible prosperous relationship. Destructive love can ruin the trust that is needed to have a well structured relationship. Love can make people do very horrific and evil things as the story Macbeth reveals in a very dark and fearsome way. Macbeth’s actions out of love for Lady Macbeth caused him to lose his sanity. Evil has the power to corrupt everything it touches, and Macbeth has become evils servant. Women are manipulative to men, women always strive to get what they want by being evil and malicious. In ( Macbeth 7.1) lady macbeth wants to have King Duncan murdered but she claims she cannot come to kill Duncan herself because in sleep he looks to much like her father. Lady Macbeth asks Macbeth to commit the murder of King Duncan because she can not bring herself to do it. Lady Macbeth then calls Macbeth a “Coward”, Macbeth then replies “ I dare do all that to become a man”. (Macbeth 1.7.2). Macbeth loves her husband although now that she has control over him she has started to become very wicked. Lady Macbeth is very strategic when it comes to the murder of King Duncan....
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...Was Macbeth’s murder of Duncan an act of fate or free will? In Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, a Scottish general who becomes king after three witches report his future to him, murders the King of Duncan to obtain the throne. Shakespeare utilized the philosophy that free will is paramount in the development of the character and clearly Macbeth chose his own path causing his ultimate demise. Throughout the story, Shakespeare uses his tone to show how Macbeth’s future is determined by his free will. In plenty of instances, like the murder of Duncan, Macbeth chose to act upon this in order to further his chances of obtaining the throne. The Witches proclaimed to Macbeth, explaining his fate but he denied it, preaching this, “For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires” (29.55). This quote is evident because Macbeth's motivation to become king represents his free will in possessing the throne. Macbeth knows that being king is meant for him, but is willing to do whatever it takes to make sure it remains in his grasp. As well as that, Macbeth also states that he will commit to anything to...
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...students of Sydney university. I will be lecturing the play Macbeth to you by way of a play as a psychological thriller. Shakespeare’s Macbeth can be depicted as a psychological thriller, through his monotonous use of the themes of death, unbridled ambition and supernatural power. The late Alfred Hitchcock who was an English film director and producer, commonly referred to as “The Master of Suspense”, enjoyed pursuing the themes of murder and psychology. We can all relate to Alfred through the studied play Macbeth and the themes articulated. Right? The motif of death is significant in the play Macbeth and is evident through the excessive portrayal of Lady Macbeth and the significance of her ‘washing her hands’ in a sea of blood symbolizing the themes, fate and unbridled ambition. An example of Macbeth’s ambition is his desire to accomplish anything to anyone and anywhere to proceed as the great king of Scotland. An example of Lady Macbeth with increasing proof of unbridled ambition is, “I have given suck and know how tender tis to love the babe that milks me.” It is noticeable that there is quite a bit of violent imagery here and it gives us an image of this innocent baby with its brains out, which is the complete opposite of a baby being milked by its mother, which is often seen in reality....
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...” The famous lyrics of James Brown’s It’s a Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World may resonate with a contemporary society; however, in the world of William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth, women receive a significantly less flattering light. This is not to say that women are not important in the plot of Macbeth. Shakespeare crafts women as manipulators throughout the plot. Even the depiction of Lady Macbeth above her husband on the cover speaks volumes to their dynamic as puppeteer and marionette. Conversely, Shakespeare uses an implicit definition of what it means to be a woman to define what it means to be a man. Masculinity becomes the antithesis of conniving femininity. Shakespeare designs each male character’s masculinity, desire to be seen as a man, and even his overall virtue in correlation to the amount of dominance he allows female figures to have in his life. Throughout the course of Macbeth,...
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...well as the life of others around the world. They emphasize emotions and reveal what is accepted as important in a society. These literary techniques are not reserved for books but also include plays, movies, and other mediums. William Shakespeare uses his play, “Macbeth,” to demonstrate the importance of universal human concepts,...
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...At the time, it was not usual for women to create something so influential, but Eliza made the impossible possible. Shifting gears into Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is another woman who shows the power she has over her husband, Macbeth. She is known to be a manipulative yet fearless character, which is the pivotal reason for her husband being crowned king. Similar to Eliza, Lady Macbeth proves societal expectations wrong. An example of her taking charge would be after the death of King Duncan when Macbeth forgot to plant the daggers with the guards she decided to go and do it herself. This showed her ability to control Macbeth with force, but she still had to make a notable change in plan. Although, it was all fun and games for Lady Macbeth. She had consequences for her actions which serve as an example of the power women had, and how society's expectations can be influenced by that historical time. Moving on from the literature aspect, Mary the Mother of God has insights into the Catholic faith offering a strong female role. Her story captures her devotion to God, but also her strength by having her son at a young...
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...Shakespeare’s Characters: Self-Gratification Over Human Kindness William Shakespeare wrote in his tragedy, Julius Caesar, “The evil, that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones.” It is shown that Shakespeare’s lead characters are concerned with their need for self-satisfaction, gratitude, and dignity. They lack the solicitude for human kindness and the thought of others. The more the audience analyzes the characters, the more they see the true ambition and reasoning for their evil deeds. During Shakespeare’s time, it wasn’t unusual for men to seek such power. For instance, Taming of the Shrew is a play that focuses on the desire for marriage; but the emotions of young couples were not the main consideration in courtship (McDonald 267). Katherina actions portray her as the shrew, but the audience knows her ultimate desire was to receive genuine love from a man. Richard III makes it abundantly clear that he desires to take over the English thrown and do whatever it takes to grasp it. Additionally, Hamlet seeks revenge and is motivated to do so by his supernatural spirit of his father (Sobran 45). The need for wealth, power, ambition, and greed lead many of Shakespeare’s characters to satisfy their own self gratitude over the basic ideas of human kindness. London, during the sixteenth century, was a time of extreme corruption. Gender roles were unequal, marriage was spurious, and seeking wealth or power of some sort became every man’s objective. The...
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...percent of the world lives under a corrupt government. Corruption is inevitable and in Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, he shows how even an honorable, loyal man can become a power-hungry tyrant. The corruption begins with the manipulation of others, who make Macbeth, a trustworthy general, doubt his loyalty and morals. By influencing him into thinking he should be king, they cause him to make irreparable actions. Macbeth’s example shows how manipulation can corrupt one’s mindset. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is approached by the witches proclaiming him as future king: “All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of Glamis! / All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, thane of Cawdor! / All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter! (1.3.17)....
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