Macbeth is one of the most powerful and emotional play acted in Scotland. It was about Macbeth, a Scottish general who is very brave and ambitious to power. Macbeth and his colleague Banquo were approached by three witch sisters who were mostly known as weird after a battle where they had won. The witches had a prophecy and told them that Macbeth will be made thane the eventually become the king of the land of Scottish and his comrade Banquo's children will reign. Hearing this Macbeth planned on how to be the king and decided to tell his wife Lady Macbeth what had happened. Lady Macbeth wanted her husband to take the leadership position of the king, and she manipulated Macbeth to kill Duncan, who was the king of Scottish. After the death of Duncan, Macbeth assumed the kingship. Fear
...ing that Banquo's could overtake him from power Macbeth hired people to kill him and his son Fleance. Banquo's was killed though his son escaped and this made Macbeth insecure. Macbeth learned that Macduff, a Scottish nobleman who was against his kingship fled to England to join Falcon, he ordered for the killings of his wife and children. Macduff on hearing this flew to Scottish to revenge. He was accompanied by Malcolm and his army to oppose Macbeth rule. The command was advanced and had bows. In the battle, Macbeth meets the vengeful Macduff, who beheaded him. Malcolm took over the kingship and invited people to witness as he was being crowned. The play’s title is Macbeth and was written by William Shakespeare, who is a writer of English literature. This essay will focus on how
Lady Macbeth was considered as a woman who is manipulative; however, she is also a supportive and a beautiful wife. It will clearly outline the character traits of Lady Macbeth as displayed in the play.
Lady Macbeth and Macbeth had an excellent relationship which was full of admiration and trust. The ambition of holding the crown was within both of them though Macbeth had no idea of how to. Lady Macbeth was seen to be the catalyst of most evils that happened throughout the play. From the play, Shakespeare used Lady Macbeth to demonstrate or show the character of a manipulative woman. It was clearly shown in the play that after Macbeth got the news of being a king and shared it with his wife; she manipulated him to kill King Duncan for him to get the crown. Lady Macbeth even wished that he was a man so that she acts faster in murdering Duncan so as to overtake him. She questioned Macbeth courage and also tells him that his love equals nothing if he refuses to do the act. Lady Macbeth’s questioning of Macbeth confidence insults his ability and questions his manhood is termed as being manipulative. It was seen as wise since it worked as she desired. That has Macbeth heard her and did what she said. She says ‘screw your courage to the sticking place.' She was so confident that what she said was going to be done and by that they acquired power. After they have gained power, Macbeth becomes nervous, and also, Lady Macbeth becomes fearful that their devilish doings may be exposed through her facial expression. Macbeth as a leader,
it is always logical for a leader to get support from his wife which is shown by Lady Macbeth despite being manipulative she is also seen as a supportive woman. It was seen that she is responsible for the murder as she assures Macbeth, “Infirm of purpose/ gives me the daggers the sleeping and the dead/ are but as picture,” (Thomas)
The author also uses Lady Macbeth clearly to outline the trait of masculinity and feminist. Lady Macbeth manipulates his husband severally; he questions her husband’s manhood and also pushes him to murder Duncan. She also examines the strength of the people that were hired to kill Banquo Macbeth also tells Lady Macbeth that women like her should give birth to boys only. Anytime they talked about manhood, violence followed. Such acts show how cruel both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are. It also equates masculinity with nakedness. It is evident in this play that women are sources of violence. Lady Macbeth is portrayed as masculine and evil. It is obvious from her speech of “unsex me” this was when she asked the spirits to strip her of anything that makes her a woman. She even asks that her breast milk is exchanged for poison. Feminist entails a woman be compassionate and kind but for Lady Macbeth these roles are not in her instead terms her husband as being a woman when he says her husband is “too full o’ the milk of human kindness” (Shakespeare). The witches’ prophecy led to the murder of Duncan, Banquo, Lady Macduff and her children. Lady Macbeth manipulated Macbeth to kill Duncan. Men in the play are seen as violent and
prone to evil. The character of Lady Macbeth clearly shows that women can be so cruel. It also shocks since it’s rare to find women behave like that. She depends on manipulation than violence to attain what she wants.
People are always influenced by others to make decisions which are either fruitful or not. Such people are seen in the play such as Lady Macbeth influencing her husband to kill to get the crown. The character trait of guilt was seen after the murder of Duncan. Lady Macbeth had nightmares, and she tried to wash the blood from her hands. As a woman, it is unusual to deal with such emotions especially after committing such a crime. The guilt in her causes her to commit suicide. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth was seen as a trusted and honest person. He later met the three witches who told him of the prophecy and there he became so ambitious and tyrant. Lady Macbeth is also seen as a caring woman at first and when she received the news of the prophecy she manipulated her husband to kill who later was felt guilt and unmanly of what he did. Lady Macbeth was, in fact, guiltier since she planned on how to murder King Duncan. She was seen sleepwalking and muttering about the murdering act. She hallucinates that the blood of her hands is there and cannot be cleaned. After the act, she also calms Macbeth to keep him from going mad. The consequences of all these led her to commit suicide.
It is also evident in the play that Lady Macbeth was evil. The author used her to
demonstrate the behavior of evil women in the society. She was power hungry and ambitious of getting the leadership for her husband. It was seen that she manipulated her husband to kill Duncan and even told him how to. For a typical woman when this character was portrayed she is termed as evil since it is an evil act that is not acceptable at all. Lady Macbeth calls Macbeth as a weak and a coward man. She was also seen evil when she questioned her husband’s manhood and even of those bodyguards who were asked to kill Banquo.
Lady Macbeth is a chief female character in the play. Her character as outlined in the game clearly shows what happen in most communities regarding politics. She played the central role whereby she dug a hole for her husband’s downfall. She took advantage of her husband’s weakness to manipulate him to murder Duncan for power. It was seen that she used her femininity to her benefit to manipulate everyone around her. She was a supportive and strong woman who was loyal to Macbeth. Due to their ambition and thirst for power in a manner that is unacceptable, they lose power that cost them their lives and relationship. The crimes left marks on their hearts that they paid their wrong deeds. Lady Macbeth played a crucial role in the game and was seen to be one of the important characters in the play. It is outlined in the play that the power did not make her happy as she expected.
Works Cited
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Cambridge University Press, 2008.
Thomas, Alfred. Introduction. Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2014.
