the role of lady macbeth essay

Lady Macbeth Character Analysis

Lady Macbeth is possibly Shakespeare’s most famous and vivid female character. Everyone, whether they have read or seen the Macbeth play , has a view of her. She is generally depicted in the popular mind as the epitome of evil, and images of her appear over and over again in several cultures. She is usually portrayed in pictures as something like a Disney character, a cross between Cruella DeVille and the wicked stepmother in Snow White.

Although she has some of the most bloodthirsty lines in Shakespeare she is not quite Cruella De Ville or the wicked stepmother. The response she gets from the male characters suggests that she is a young, sexually attractive woman and, indeed, in her effort to influence Macbeth, she uses every method at her disposal, including the employment of her sexual charms.

She is usually depicted as a strong, tough woman and, in her drive to induce Macbeth to murder King Duncan, she appears to be that, but, having succeeded, it does not take long for her to crumble and break down, destroyed by guilt, and she ends up committing suicide.

Shakespeare does not have any evil characters. What he has are ordinary human beings, like you and me, placed in situations that challenge and test them. Some of them, like Iago in Othello , have personality defects, but that’s rare in Shakespeare and it’s not the case with Lady Mcbeth.

The challenges that Shakespeare presents his characters with generates different responses from different people. Lady Macbeth’s challenge is that she discovers that her husband has been tempted by an encounter with three witches to do something about their prediction that he will become king. She knows that the king would have to die for that to happen. When she gets a message that King Duncan plans to spend the night with them at Glamys Castle it seems to confirm the thought that they would have to kill him and that this was their once in a lifetime opportunity. That’s the situation into which she has been thrust.

She is as ambitious as Macbeth but she knows that for all his bravery in battle, all his soldierly and diplomatic qualities, he is basically much too soft –“too full of the milk of human kindness” – to take advantage of the opportunity. She makes up her mind to make him do it.

And she is right about his lack of resolve – they talk it over and he tells her that he just can’t do it. She goes into high gear and virtually holds his hand through it. One of her strongest qualities is persistence and she shows it here. Macbeth hesitates, equivocates and falters but she holds firm. She argues the case, she mocks him, bringing his manhood into question, she appeals to his sense of loyalty to her, she takes him to bed, and she finally prevails.

Macbeth kills Duncan in his sleep and from that moment their marriage begins to fall apart. They each fall into their own guilt-trip and hardly speak to each other. As king, Macbeth fears his political enemies and embarks on a reign of terror while Lady Macbeth stays in bed, unable to sleep, having nightmares when she does manage it. While walking and talking in her sleep she gives the game away about what they have done and sinks into a moral, physical and spiritual collapse. When Macbeth is on his last legs, with the rebels closing in, he gets the message that she’s dead. At that point, he says he doesn’t have time to think about it. “She should have died hereafter,” he says. Their partnership in this murderous enterprise has destroyed their marriage.

The promise of strength that we see in her at the beginning of the play is an illusion. What we are seeing is naked ambition and a willingness to act on it without having the resources to deal with the consequences. We see how guilt can eat up your soul and destroy you. We see how hollow ambition is, both in her journey and Macbeth’s. (Read the most significant Macbeth ambition quotes .)

Character attributes

Some significant character attributes of Lady Macbeth are:

Controlling – she understands that her husband doesn’t have the savageness required to murder the king of his own accord, so she manipulates him. She plans out the murder, then takes control of events when Macbeth loses his mind.
Cruel – she is a violent, cold-blooded character who is happy to scheme the murder. She ridicules Macbeth when he doesn’t agree to participate in her violent plans.
Two-faced – she welcomes King Duncan like a friend whilst at the same time planning his murder. She also advises Macbeth to be two-faced.

Erika Sunnegårdh playing Lady Macbeth stands on stage in a blue dress holding a large axe

Erika Sunnegårdh as Lady Macbeth

Top Lady Macbeth Quotes

“I fear thy nature; It is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness

( act 1, scene 5 )

“To beguile the time, Look like the time; bear welcome in your eye, Your hand, your tongue; look like th’ innocent flower, But be the serpent under’t.”

“ The raven himself is hoarse That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan Under my battlements”

“Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,

“Would’st 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,” Like the poor cat i’ th’ adage? “

( act 1, scene 7 )

“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 plucked my nipple from his boneless gums And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you Have done to this.”

“ Out! damned spot! “

( act 5, scene 1 )

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Common Questions About Lady Macbeth

Is lady macbeth a true story.

Although Shakespeare used the names of real historical people in writing Hamlet, the events of the drama are mostly made up. So in that sense, Lady Macbeth is not a real character. There was an 11th-century Scottish king named Mac Bethad Mac Findlaich . Presumably, he had a wife but we know nothing about her.

What kind of character is Lady Macbeth?

Lady Macbeth is ambitious. She is manipulative and uses several techniques of a skilled manipulator to entice Macbeth into the murder of Duncan. Usually thought of as a hard, ruthless woman, she is, in reality, soft. Not long after the murder, unable to cope with her guilt, she falls apart and loses all sense of herself.

What happens to Lady Macbeth?

Lady Macbeth tries to prop her husband up as he descends into a guilt-ridden hell but she soon falls victim to the same condition. Her whole life literally becomes a nightmare, in which she relives the event that has brought her condition about. Her life becomes unbearable and she commits suicide.

Who does Lady Macbeth kill?

Lady Macbeth does not personally kill anyone. She conspires in the murder of the king, Duncan, though, and actively encourages Macbeth to kill him. It is Macbeth who does the actual killing. Lady Macbeth plays no part in the many further killings that Macbeth engineers. Soon after the killing of Duncan the two don’t even talk to each other.

What made Lady Macbeth go crazy?

Lady Macbeth is partly responsible for the kind of killing that was taboo in Mediaeval Scotland – murdering one’s king, murdering one’s relative and murdering a guest in one’s house. In killing Duncan the couple did all three. She begins to have nightmares about the murder and, in particular, the blood on her hands, which she can’t get rid of no matter how hard she scrubs. That drives her to suicide.

How does Lady Macbeth feel after the killing of Duncan?

Once Duncan is killed Lady Macbeth is pleased that her ambition to be the wife of a king has been achieved, but that feeling very soon turns sour as guilt begins to eat away at her. She then she has feelings that she can’t live with, and ends up killing herself (one of 13 suicides in Shakespeare’s plays ).

Is 2016 film Lady Macbeth based on Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth character?

No. Lady Macbeth is a 2016 British film based on Nikolai Leskov’s novella Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District , and starring Florence Pugh.

Lady Macbeth: Unravelling the Complexities of Shakespeare’s Iconic Character

Lady Macbeth, one of Shakespeare’s most captivating and enigmatic characters, continues to intrigue readers and audiences alike centuries after her creation. As the ambitious and ruthless wife of Macbeth, she plays a pivotal role in one of the Bard’s darkest tragedies.

Through her compelling presence and the complex layers of her personality, Lady Macbeth leaves an indelible mark on the play, raising profound questions about power, gender, and the human psyche.

The Power-hungry Temptress

Your face, my Thane, is as a book where men may read strange matters. To beguile the time, look like the time; bear welcome in your eye, your hand, your tongue; look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’it. Macbeth Act 1, Scene 5

Macbeth being blinded by Lady Macbeth's hunger for power

From the outset, Lady Macbeth is established as a woman driven by an insatiable hunger for power. When she learns of the witches’ prophecy that Macbeth is destined to become king, her desire to accelerate their fate consumes her. Unbound by societal expectations of femininity, she challenged the traditional gender roles of her time, symbolizing a potent force of female agency in a male-dominated society.

The Manipulative Puppeteer

What cannot you and I perform upon the unguarded Duncan? What not put upon his spongy officers, who shall bear the guilt of our great quell? Macbeth Act 1, Scene 7

Lady Macbeth possessed an uncanny ability to manipulate her husband, Macbeth, by using her sharp wit and persuasive charm . Through her skilful rhetoric, she provoked his ambitions and fuelled his murderous intent. Her unyielding determination to seize the throne drove her to manipulate her spouse, preying on his weaknesses and sowing the seeds of guilt and doubt in his mind. This calculated manipulation unveils her astute understanding of human psychology, highlighting her complexity as a character.

The Fragile Façade

Lady Macbeth seeing imaginary blood on her hands

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 afeared? Macbeth Act 5, Scene 1

Beneath Lady Macbeth’s resolute exterior lied a fragile psyche. Despite her ironclad determination, she found herself plagued by guilt and remorse after the bloodshed began. Her famous sleepwalking scene , where she was obsessively trying to cleanse her hands of imagined bloodstains, revealed the profound psychological toll exacted by her role in the regicidal plot. This vulnerability humanizes her character, presenting her as a victim of her own ambition, struggling to reconcile her actions with her conscience.

The Exploration of Gender

Lady Macbeth calling on the spirits, via Pinterest

Lady Macbeth challenged the traditional gender norms of her time, defying the expectations imposed on women. Her desire for power transcended societal limitations, and she actively rejected her femininity, calling upon dark spirits to “unsex” her and fill her with masculine strength. In doing so, she asserted herself as a force to be reckoned with – defying the passive, submissive image assigned to women during the Renaissance era. Shakespeare’s portrayal of Lady Macbeth highlighted the complex relationship between gender, power, and identity.

Come to my woman’s breasts, and take my milk for gall, you murd’ring ministers! Macbeth Act 1, Scene 5

The Significance of Lady Macbeth’s Character in the Play

Maggie Smith portraying an unstable Lady Macbeth

Lady Macbeth’s character is central to the plot of Macbeth. Without her ambition and manipulation, it is unlikely that Macbeth would have ever become king. Lady Macbeth’s character also raises important questions about gender roles and power dynamics, as she seeks to take on a traditionally masculine role in order to achieve her goals. Lady Macbeth’s guilt and descent into a mental breakdown also adds a layer of complexity to the play, as readers are shown the consequences of ambition and betrayal.

Lady M is often compared to other strong and complex female characters in Shakespeare’s plays, such as Cleopatra from Antony and Cleopatra and Volumnia from Coriolanus . Like Lady Macbeth, these characters are ambitious and powerful, but also suffer from their own flaws and weaknesses. However, Lady Macbeth is unique in her willingness to manipulate and control others in order to achieve her goals, making her one of the most complex and intriguing female characters in all of literature.

Lady Macbeth’s Soliloquies

Lady Macbeth has several famous soliloquies throughout the play, including her “unsex me” soliloquy in Act 1 and her sleepwalking scene in Act 5. These soliloquies offer a glimpse into Lady Macbeth’s inner thoughts and motivations, revealing her ambition, guilt, and descent into mental instability. Literary analyses of these soliloquies have revealed the complex and multi-faceted nature of Lady Macbeth’s character, as well as the themes of gender roles, power dynamics, and the consequences of ambition.

Lady Macbeth in Act 1, scene 5-7

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! Make thick my blood, Stop up the access and passage to remorse, That no compunctious visitings of nature Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between The effect and it!

In this soliloquy, Lady Macbeth offers herself to be possessed by evil spirits. Why would a person offer themselves to evil spirits? Lady Macbeth wanted Duncan dead – as a King, God protected him, so for Lady Macbeth to penetrate that protection she had to appeal to the dark side to assist her in her plan. When she says to the spirits, “unsex me”, she wanted them to take away from her the fragile heart of a woman and instead give her the ruthlessness that is associated with men. Lady Macbeth’s determination to get rid of Duncan in order for Macbeth to become King became toxic and dangerous.

Lady Macbeth in Act 5, scene 1

There is a spot Come off you damned spot! Come off, I said! One ring, two rings. Well then, it must be time to do it. Hell is a murky place! Come on, my love, come on! You are a soldier and you’re afraid? Why should we be afraid that someone will find us out when no one can challenge our power? Still, who would have thought old Duncan would bleed so much? The Thane of Fife also had a wife. What happened to her? What will these hands never be clean? Stop that my love, stop that. You are going to ruin everything by showing so much fear. I can still smell the blood. All the perfume in Arabia could not stop my hand from smelling. Oh! Oh! Oh! Wash your hands and put on your robe, do not look so sick with fear. I will say it again, Banquo is buried in the ground and he is not going to come out of his grave! Go to bed, go to bed. I can hear knocking at the gate. Come, come, come, come hold my hand. We cannot undo what we have done. Go to bed, go to bed, go to bed. (Modern Translation)

In this soliloquy, the audience and readers can now see how the guilt of killing Duncan and Banquo is haunting Lady Macbeth. Her conscience gets the better of her, she starts hallucinating and she unconsciously reveals everything in her sleep. Her guilty conscience drove her to mental instability because her mind was struggling to come to terms with what her and her husband had done, all in the name of power. Being over ambitious can mentally destabilize a person.

Lady Macbeth, with her unwavering ambition, manipulative tactics, and ultimate descent into guilt and madness, stands as a compelling and complex character in Shakespeare’s canon. Her portrayal challenges societal expectations of gender, offering a nuanced exploration of power and its consequences. Lady Macbeth’s legacy endures as a timeless symbol of ambition and the human capacity for both triumph and tragedy. Lady Macbeth`s downfall serves as a cautionary tale, a stark reminder of the consequences that await those who choose to abandon their moral compass in the pursuit of power. Her journey serves as a potent reminder of the fragile balance between ambition and morality. Through her character, Shakespeare invites readers and viewers to ponder on the intricacies of the human psyche and the price one pays for succumbing to unchecked desires.

Some might say Lady Macbeth was not evil, rather, she was a mentally ill someone who was overly ambitious – what do you say?

What do you think? Leave a comment .

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41 Comments

I always had a theory that Lady MacBeth was the one who called evil on to her and her husband both. I always thought that she summoned the dagger that MacBeth saw. I thought she was more powerful than the witches. It’s only after she dies that MacBeth falls. My English teacher and I argued on it for all 3 weeks we covered this topic in class. Lmao!

I would like to know what the repercussions (grade wise) and final conclusions of said discussion were.

Although this is a very different interpretation which i am going to make a note of may i add! isnt macbeth’s fall or downfall gradual since he became king and lady macbeth was no longer the helpmate as she began to detiriorate from guilt of her actions? for example macbeth began seeing banquos ghost and being consumed by everything around him where he says oh full of scorpions is my mind dear wife where he becomes weak paranoid and crazy before lady macbeth’s demise.

Well, I concentrated more on Lady Macbeth not much on Macbeth

Lady macbeth girlboss!

Could you argue that, because Lady Macbeth is introduced by speaking the words of a powerful man, this initially gives her a sense of being powerful?

You could argue anything so long as you can back it up.

Always have I held a soft spot for Lady Macbeth. After loss of her child – she most likely lost her ability to conceive. She then in turn gives up her femininity – I think a sacrifice in grief of Motherhood and wanting to grasp for herself and her husband a higher status. Maybe the supernatural who took their child was offering a gift to be grasped. I truly believe she meant Duncan to be the only murder on their way to greatness. After Duncan’s murder – Macbeth deteriorates mentally and she sees it is her who assisted in this. He cannot stop what it is she fully opened the door too – and it breaks her. She then ends her life. I do not think she was inherently diabolical- I think she was broken by grief and then destroyed by what became of her role as both mother and wife.

I think LM is infact a witch herself and Shakespeare wrote about her being unnatural in order to please King James.

Lady Macbeth’s portrayal makes me think that she is a Sadist, unless she has a darker story behind her that already made her this unfeeling to murder.

I don’t think she is unfeeling to murder at all. Especially in Act 5 Scene 1 with the sleepwalking scene. In that scene in particular, you get to see how much Duncan’s murder affected her. Also, I don’t think she wanted anyone else to die as Macbeth is the one that killed Banquo and all the other characters.

She came up with the plans and Macbeth implemented them through her manipulation

This brings me back to year 11 english- the way me and all the girls in my class were obsessed with lady Macbeth.

I am playing Lady Macbeth in university and this has helped me get inside her head.

I find it interesting these character studies often Shakespeare is a wealth of case studies and I find the study of literature is very psychological and almost a reflection of the person who writes it, who they write for, and why are topics not taken seriously by the sciences in ways they truly ought to be. Creative Psychology is a great example of an area where the creatives and creations are examined in a scientific way, which is truly informative to the power of storytelling itself. Through it we learn about ourselves. Or others around us.

Lady Macbeth is my comfort character and favourite character ever, her penitence (arguably in contrast to her husband) as well as the ambiguity and unconventional themes within her character just make her the greatest of Shakespeare’s craft.

I personally see lady Macbeth as a character who subverts her femininity ,denying the Jacobean stereotypes which would be placed upon her. However I find that in this play Shakespeare portrays dominant and powerful women as the catalysts of Macbeths demise, with lady Macbeth and the witches. Therefore Shakespeare condemns a society where women step out of their natural order and dominate over their husbands.

Me too, I feel as though Shakespeare punishes Lady Macbeth for subverting the stereotypical roles of a Jacobean woman. Her madness and eventual death is a punishment for acting out of her confinements placed upon her by society. It’s as if Shakespeare is attempting to make a point to the female audience to stay submissive and not affect the ‘natural order’ of things, as it will only lead to chaos- a subtle reminder to women of the patriarchal society that they were below men, anything else was unnatural and would be punishable- or at least this was Shakespeare’s view. Nearing the end of the play, she is forced to conform and when she feels as though she can not (as her mental health has already declined) she commits suicide or so is implied. Her ultimate punishment for subverting the stereotype is madness, then death.

To add to your point a lot of this stems from the great chain of being, and the witches the first characters introduced break the whole idea of this so lady Macbeth in those times talked down too her husband and in a sense being higher who was seen higher not just because he was a man but a thane and soon to be king and she broke the role of the great chain of being just like the witches and similarly speak very much so similarly to the witches. and when Macbeth kills the king catastrophic events happens after following the chain of the great being. just a thought as Im currently enjoying studding Macbeth.

She’s not the only one punished. Her husband macbeth was punished too, since he too was going mad just as she is and he died at the end. So she and her husband were in fact both punished for their bad deeds. Macbeth was actually more feeble than Lady Macbeth was. Also, she’s punished because she does something evil not because she was asserting her power. She does this in the wrong way.

this is exactly my thoughts! it’s like a warning to women in the era to not try be more than an accessory, and for men to not let them step out of place because it will cause their downfall

Shakespeare wanted to highlight what guilt does to the human mind

I think Lady Macbeth is a character of negative subversion similar to the Witches because of the fact that her displaying such “masculine” traits is what was partially responsible for her own demise ( as she was too “weak” to survive her own partaking in the murder).

I partially agree, I think throughout the play there is an unbalance of feminine and masculine traits in all characters and areas; I believe this is to blame for the demise of Lady Macbeths’ ambition. Therefore, I see Shakespeares writing as a criticism of neither femininity nor masculinity – rather a lack of coordination and an understanding of traits.

I think that Shakespeare does present Lady Macbeth as subverting feminine stereotypes of the Jacobean era, however, rather than using that to outline a protofeminist viewpoint, he intends to present Lady Macbeth’s subversion as her hamartia or fatal flaw, and her eventual death is the consequence of her hamartia. Her and her relationship with Macbeth would have been a clear warning to the audience of what the consequences were of subverting the natural hierarchy of the relationship. Although a modern audience would see Lady Macbeth’s dominance as progressive and beneficial to the Macbeths, Shakespeare’s audience would have seen her dominance as disobedience and sickness.

I agree with this.

I see Lady Macbeth as a character that both appeals to modern ideas equality and women being able to have as much power as men and to the sexist ideas in the Jacobean era. I see Lady Macbeth as cautionairy character to women and men as it teaches the women should stick to their feminen roles and that men shouldnt listen to the ideas of their wives. I believe this is shown by Lady Macbeths mental breakdown and unimportant death as she dies off screen with no one to care for her.

Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as subverting feminine stereotypes to evoke the idea to both a modern and contemporary audience that women were simply a possession of men and so were deprived of their capabilities. Additionally through the application of Freud’s theory she could be percepted as having a conflicting mental state between her ‘id’ and ‘superego’ leading her to oppose the patriarchal society in order to achieve some sort of power. However contradictingly you could argue that she conforms to feminine stereotypes in order to conceal her true desires and achieve her duty as Macbeth’s husband.

Plot twist: macbeth was gay so he needed a strong woman as a substitute for a male companion.

I think that, as an alternative interpretation, Lady Macbeth acting against the social norm causes chaos in the world. Shakespeare could be showing his female audience that acting as Lady Macbeth (and the witches) do will disturb the Great Chain of Being. The witches fuel Macbeth’s ambition and Lady Macbeth persuades him to kill Duncan, therefore you could argue that these women, acting against their stereotypes, have caused the destruction in the play.

Lady Macbeth clearly felt remorse. I think there was a recognition in her that she should not have stepped out of her role in society at all, despite seeing the role as wife of the king as desirable. Just another person grasping for honour and doing it greedily all the while breaking natural and man-made laws. So, some sympathy for her remorse, but an acceptance that she did bring this on herself.

I just had the extreme pleasure of playing Lady Macbeth in a recent production, and the process was very taxing, yet very rewarding. Everyone I told had some idea of how to portray her and her journey, and I researched relentlessly. The most compelling aspect, to me, is her child loss. It’s a very quick mention, but reveals so much about her characterization. It was such an honour to bring one of my favourite characters to life on the stage, and I’m more than willing to share any info about it with anyone.

You covered one of my fav characters here!

Ack, Shakespeare. What is there not to love.

In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is depicted as a strong and dominant figure in a society that was largely controlled by men and their gender norms. She is a highly ambitious character who yearns for power and equality, which challenges the traditional gender roles of the time. The play highlights how women, who were traditionally considered insignificant, could be just as ruthless and ambitious in their pursuit of power as men.

In my opinion as a woman, lady macbeth is a woman stuck being a woman. like her husband she lusts for power but unlike him she had no power or agency. and its that lack of agency that corrupts her to that power so much. i think saying she is a character that existed only to aupport her husband whitewashes her too much. i think rather its more a situation of two snakes eating eachothers tails. macbeth uses his wife in a sense to propel himself towards murder while keeping himself almost innocent of his own actions because he was (he let himself be) manipulated while lady macbeth manipulates her husband to be powerful by proxy. her stripping herself of her own womanhood only adds onto my opinion of this. in the real world women will internalize toxic masculinity and apply it to ourselves. because we live in a world where this is the only way to win (if you are a man.) but these actions have consequences. because we are not men. we cannot play a mans game for men as men or as women. we arent men and women arent part of the game. lady macbeth ultimetly cant exist in this mans world as neither a man and no longer being fully woman. in a sense she had already commited suicide at the beggining of the play

I really like the featured image of this article. The painting “Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth” by John Singer Sargent is so good. We see Lady Macbeth about to place the crown on her head showing her will for power and obsession to get anything she wants. The colours are great: red hair in long tresses, rich blue and green dress, golds and really represent the richness of her character.

This is a good snapshot and analysis of Lady MacBeth’s character. As the driving force of the plot, I found how she is portrayed in the play to be rather sympathetic and captivating. Sympathetic specifically in the sense that doing something that dark in the name of progress usually makes one remorseful and start to question their actions. I always kind of wondered what a redemption arc would look like for Lady MacBeth, if there could be one done at all, and, in that sense, she reminds me a bit of Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender as well.

Great topic and article! As the original power-hungry female villain, Lady Macbeth certainly leaves an impression. Moreover, her desire to be “unsexed” begs to be plumbed, analyzed, criticized, and so on in the 21st century. When one considers the evolving concept of gender theory, the pressure on women to be strong, have it all, and do it all, and the accusation that men are being emasculated and feminized, Lady M takes on multiple, if not completely new, facets. Two of my favorite college courses were Shakespeare and a “linked” course called Women in Literature/Women in Religion (two profs in one room, double time slot). I would pay a fee all over again for a course like that, which had Lady Macbeth on the syllabus.

I think this is a very well written article but the topic leaves me wanting more. I’d be more interested to know why you think Shakespeare wrote LM to be “complex.” Do you find that by having LM denounce her femininity Shakespeare is demonstrating, or subconsciously adhering to, a gender barrier for writing complex characters? Also, while I do agree that LM is one of Shakespeare’s more developed female characters, I don’t know if I’d go as far as to say she is complex. I think for her character to be considered complex, we’d need more explanation of her motivations. Her lust for power lacks complexity. Why does she want power so bad she’s willing to kill for it? The only explanation I can come up with is a feeling of powerless she might feel from everyday womanhood, or more specifically from her lost child. Yet, neither of these reasons get much written attention. This child is mentioned only once during the “unsex me ” speech and given no further context. LM also lacks interaction with other characters, only conversing with Macbeth. I’ll agree that her manipulating of her husband adds complexity to her character, but take these marital interactions out and she’s a rather isolated character. For that reason she has always seemed to me to be more of a vessel for commentary on gender rather than a complex character. Then again I’d just as quickly argue many Shakespearean characters lack complexity.

Role of Lady Macbeth in Macbeth

by Guiding Literature
April 1, 2023 April 1, 2023

Lady Macbeth is a significant character in Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth.” She plays a critical role in the plot and contributes to the themes of the play in several ways. Her character is complex, and her actions have a profound impact on the events of the play.

From her first appearance in Act 1, Scene 5, Lady Macbeth is portrayed as a strong and ambitious woman who desires power and control. She immediately recognizes the potential of the prophecies that Macbeth receives from the witches and decides to manipulate her husband into seizing the throne by any means necessary. Lady Macbeth is the driving force behind Macbeth’s actions and is often seen as the primary antagonist of the play.

One of Lady Macbeth’s most notable actions is the manipulation of her husband. She challenges Macbeth’s masculinity and goads him into committing regicide, telling him that he must “screw [his] courage to the sticking-place” and “be so much more the man” to achieve their goals. She plays on Macbeth’s insecurities and convinces him that murdering King Duncan is necessary for their success. Lady Macbeth’s manipulative tactics highlight the dangerous consequences of unchecked ambition and the corrupting influence of power.

Lady Macbeth also plays a significant role in the play’s themes of gender and masculinity. She challenges traditional gender roles and expectations, taking on a more assertive and dominant role in her relationship with Macbeth. Her actions highlight the idea that women can be just as capable of ruthless ambition and violence as men. However, her attempts to subvert gender roles ultimately lead to her downfall, as she becomes consumed by guilt and madness.

Another crucial aspect of Lady Macbeth’s character is her guilt and descent into madness. After the murder of King Duncan, Lady Macbeth initially appears strong and in control. However, she becomes increasingly haunted by her guilt, unable to wash the imagined blood from her hands and plagued by hallucinations. Her decline into madness is a stark contrast to her earlier confidence and highlights the psychological toll of the crimes that she and Macbeth have committed.

Lady Macbeth Is Not Evil; You Guys Are Just Sexist – Writer's Block Magazine

Furthermore, Lady Macbeth’s character contributes to the play’s overarching themes of the corrupting influence of power and the consequences of unchecked ambition. She is willing to do anything to achieve her goals, and her actions ultimately lead to her downfall. Lady Macbeth’s character is an example of how the pursuit of power and success can have devastating consequences and highlights the dangers of ambition without moral boundaries.

In conclusion, Lady Macbeth is a crucial character in “Macbeth.” Her manipulative tactics and desire for power drive the plot and contribute to the play’s themes of ambition, gender, and the corrupting influence of power. Her complex character, guilt, and eventual descent into madness provide a stark contrast to her earlier confidence and highlight the devastating consequences of unchecked ambition.

Lady Macbeth as Powerful

The essay below uses this simple structure:, an introductory paragraph to summarise an answer to the question, one paragraph about the extract, one about the rest of the play, one about context., lady macbeth:, the raven himself is hoarse, that croaks the fatal entrance of duncan, under my battlements. 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. make thick my blood., stop up the access and passage to remorse ,, that no compunctious visitings of nature, shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between, the effect and it come to my woman’s breasts,, and take my milk for gall , you murd'ring ministers,, wherever in your sightless substances, you wait on nature’s mischief. come, thick night,, and pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell,, that my keen knife see not the wound it makes,, nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark, to cry “hold, hold”, starting with this speech, explain how far you think shakespeare presents lady macbeth as a powerful woman., write about:, how shakespeare presents lady macbeth in this speech, how shakespeare presents lady macbeth in the play as a whole., the essay below is written using a simple structure:, an introductory paragraph to summarise an answer to the question., one paragraph about the extract., one about the rest of the play., before you read the answer below, why not have a think about how you'd answer this question. i've highlighted the quotes i'd write about - do you agree or would you focus elsewhere also, which sections from the rest of the play would you focus on and what contextual factors influenced lady macbeth's presentation, most importantly, though, have a think about how you'd write that opening paragraph - answer the question in two or three simple sentences., an example answer, during the majority of the play, lady macbeth is presented as being a powerful woman who defies the expected gender stereotype of the caring, soft, gentle female. by the end of the play, however, she kills herself as she discovers that although she can order the rest of the world around, she cannot control her own guilt, right at the opening of this speech, lady macbeth makes her position known when she describes “my” battlements. the use of the possessive pronoun emphasises that she thinks of the castle walls as being her own. she follows this by calling “come you spirits.” the use of this magic spell has two effects on the audience: firstly, she is calling for dark magic to come and support her. this would have reminded the audience of the possibility that she was a witch and had all the evil powers connected with them. also, she is using an imperative here: “come you spirits.” she’s not asking them but telling them. this shows that she expects even the supernatural world to answer to her demands. one of the things she demands is that they “stop up the access and passage to remorse.” this means that lady macbeth doesn’t want to feel any regret for what she is about to do, which would make her powerful. she is no longer going to be slowed down by feelings of compassion or care in her pursuit of power. finally, she says that the spirits should “take my milk for gall.” here, she is asking that her own milk be turned to poison. this suggests that she is turning something caring and supportive into something deadly, giving her even more evil powers. also, milk is pure white and suggests innocence and purity so lady macbeth is asking that what is innocent and pure about her gets turned into something deadly. throughout this speech lady macbeth sets herself up as being someone very powerful, who is able to control even the spirits., her power continues throughout the play. lady macbeth suggests the murder and talks macbeth into it – showing that she is powerfully persuasive. she also plans the murder, showing that she is intelligent as well. she also stays calm under pressure, such as when macbeth arrives with the daggers from the murder scene but lady macbeth returns them to the scene so that they don’t get caught. she is also able to manipulate macduff when she faints in shock after they discover duncan’s body. you could easily argue that lady macbeth’s ambition was more powerful than macbeth’s, and that the murder wouldn’t have ever happened with her involvement. she is determined to become powerful and will stop at nothing to get it. at the end the play though she is caught sleepwalking, and she confesses to all that they’ve done. this is interesting, however, as while she is sleep-walking she is not in control of herself so she is not really aware of what she’s doing. it could be the case that lady macbeth herself never felt guilty, though she couldn’t hide her real feelings from her dreams. in the end, she dies. malcolm claims that she killed herself quite violently, but since it happens off-stage we cannot be sure. what is clear is that although she could push macbeth around, and trick macduff, and even order the spirits to do her bidding, she couldn’t order the blood off her own hands., shakespeare presents a very powerful female character in lady macbeth, and although this would have been quite radical for people in jacobean england there were other powerful, female role models to choose from: bloody mary or queen elizabeth are good examples. this play, however, was written for king james who had just taken the throne of england, and james was not a fan of queen elizabeth – who had killed his mother, mary queen of scots (and he might not even have been a big fan of his mum, because she married the man who killed his dad) as a result, james would have enjoyed seeing this powerful woman become such a villain and then getting punished for her crimes..

An Interesting Character Study: Lady Macbeth

Lady Macbeth is widely regarded as one of the most villainous female characters in all of English literature, and perhaps Shakespeare’s most cold-hearted female character. Not only does she urge her husband to murder their King for no other reason than heartless ambition, she also states that she would dash out her own baby’s brains rather than lose her courage for such a regicidal act.

‘How many children had Lady Macbeth?’ was the title of a long essay by the critic L. C. Knights, published in 1933, mocking the school of criticism (ultimately influenced by the critic A. C. Bradley) which seeks to ask, and answer, such questions about details hinted at, but not confirmed, in the play concerning characters’ lives. Although the play doesn’t tell us, Lady Macbeth does declare that she has ‘given suck’ to a baby, although whether this was her child with Macbeth, or a child by a previous marriage (in keeping with the source material in Holinshed), the play never reveals.

Does the question matter? In one sense, no. Even if Macbeth has no heir to succeed him (so the crown might end up passing to Banquo’s descendants anyway), he may hope to get one. So the motivation for keeping the crown and getting rid of Banquo and Fleance remains the same. The most important thing, perhaps, is Lady Macbeth’s shocking revelation that she would be prepared to murder her own baby that she had suckled (whether her child with Macbeth or not is beside the point) in order to fulfil her ambition for power.

2 thoughts on “An Interesting Character Study: Lady Macbeth”

For me, Lady Macbeth is the ultimate supportive spouse: ready to do everything it takes to help her husband to achieve his ultimate goal, no matter if this will cause her madness first, and then her death. Macbeth is quite the ungrateful sod: when he is told about his queen’s death, he simply shrugs. Poor Gruoch (the real Lady Macbeth’s name), what kind of fame was she undeservedly given.

Very much interesting..

Lady Macbeth: Shakespeare’s Enigmatic Powerhouse

This essay offers an in-depth exploration of one of Shakespeare’s most complex characters, Lady Macbeth, from the play ‘Macbeth.’ It begins by highlighting her unique position in Elizabethan literature as a character who defies traditional gender norms with her overwhelming ambition and strength. The essay delves into her famous “unsex me here” soliloquy, which sets the stage for her role as a driving force in Macbeth’s rise to power, showcasing her willingness to abandon morality for ambition.

As the narrative progresses, the essay examines the transformation of Lady Macbeth from a figure of control to one tormented by guilt, particularly evident in her sleepwalking scene. This shift underscores Shakespeare’s skill in creating psychologically complex characters. Additionally, the essay discusses the evolving dynamics between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, emphasizing the psychological toll of their actions.

Concluding with reflections on her enduring legacy in modern interpretations, the essay positions Lady Macbeth as a timeless figure in Shakespeare’s canon, continuously fascinating audiences with her depth and complexity. This exploration not only sheds light on her character but also on broader themes of gender, power, and morality in literature. Additionally, PapersOwl presents more free essays samples linked to Lady Macbeth.

How it works

When diving into the works of Shakespeare, few characters captivate and intrigue as thoroughly as Lady Macbeth from the Scottish play, ‘Macbeth.’ Often regarded as one of the Bard’s most complex and enigmatic figures, Lady Macbeth’s character has been the subject of extensive analysis and debate. She defies the conventional expectations of women in Elizabethan literature, simultaneously embodying strength, ambition, and a deep-seated vulnerability.

At her introduction, Lady Macbeth is presented as the driving force behind her husband’s ascent to the throne.

Her ambition is palpable, so strong that it appears to eclipse Macbeth’s own. This fierce determination is most vividly captured in her chilling “unsex me here” soliloquy. Here, she calls upon dark forces to strip her of feminine weakness and fill her with cruelty, underscoring her willingness to abandon gender norms and morality for power. This scene sets the tone for her character – a woman who defies the patriarchal expectations of her time, wielding influence over her husband and the events that unfold.

However, Lady Macbeth’s strength and resolve are not one-dimensional. As the plot progresses, her initial ruthlessness unravels, revealing a profound psychological complexity. The guilt from her actions manifests in the famous sleepwalking scene, where she desperately tries to wash the imagined bloodstains from her hands. This shift from a figure of immense control to one haunted by the consequences of her actions offers a window into the psychological realism Shakespeare infuses in his characters. It’s a portrayal that humanizes Lady Macbeth, portraying her not just as a figure of ambition and power, but also as a person grappling with guilt and moral disintegration.

The dynamics of her relationship with Macbeth also serve as a critical aspect of her character. Initially, she appears to be the dominant force, goading Macbeth into committing regicide. However, as the play progresses, their relationship undergoes a dramatic inversion. Macbeth descends into tyranny and paranoia, while Lady Macbeth becomes increasingly isolated and tormented by guilt. This transition highlights the psychological and emotional toll of their actions, serving as a poignant commentary on the corrupting influence of unchecked ambition and power.

In modern interpretations, Lady Macbeth has been portrayed in various lights – from a manipulative femme fatale to a tragic heroine crushed by the weight of her own ambitions. Her character continues to be a subject of fascination in theatrical productions and academic discussions. She stands as a testament to Shakespeare’s ability to create multifaceted characters that resonate across centuries.

In conclusion, Lady Macbeth remains one of Shakespeare’s most compelling and debated characters. Her journey from a powerful, ambitious figure to a broken shell of guilt offers a rich study in character development and psychological complexity. Her role in ‘Macbeth’ challenges and expands the portrayal of women in literature, highlighting issues of gender, power, and morality. As audiences and readers continue to revisit and reinterpret her character, Lady Macbeth endures as a timeless figure in Shakespeare’s canon, captivating and intriguing with each portrayal.

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Mr Salles Teaches English

Explain the Role of Lady Macbeth

(2 in the series of grade 6 and 7 essays).

How to Get Grade 7

This is the second in a series using ChatGPT. This AI takes the most obvious ideas from the internet and combines them to come up with an essay of its own.

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Each week you will get a new essay - every topic that could possibly come up in the exam.

The play "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare serves as a cautionary tale, warning the nobles in the court of King James about the disastrous consequences of ambition and regicide. At the same time, Lady Macbeth, a powerful and dominant figure, plays a significant role in influencing the actions of her husband, Macbeth. Through her wit and cunning, Lady Macbeth drives Macbeth towards a path of self-destruction, ultimately leading to his downfall.

Lady Macbeth's ambition and lack of moral scruples make her a dangerous force in the play. She instructs Macbeth to hide his true intentions, saying "look like th'innocent flower, / But be the serpent under't." In Act 1, Scene 7, she says "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 plucked my nipple from his boneless gums / And dashed the brains out," showcasing the extent to which Lady Macbeth is willing to go to help Macbeth achieve his ambition, even at the cost of her own morality. This is even more powerful because we know that her breasts still carry “milk” to be turned to “gall”, so she has only recently lost a baby.

However, Lady Macbeth is also a victim of patriarchal society. Shakespeare portrays her as a strong-willed and determined character, who uses her wit and cunning to manipulate Macbeth. Despite her power, Lady Macbeth is still limited by the restrictions of her gender in a patriarchal society, which makes her dependent on Macbeth to carry out her desires. This is evident when she says "Was the hope drunk / Wherein you dressed yourself?" referring to Macbeth's hesitation in killing King Duncan. She scolds Macbeth for being too weak and pushes him to carry out the murder.

Shakespeare shows how male characteristics are cruel and violent. This is why Lady Macbeth demands supernatural help to “unsex me here”. Instead of traditional characteristics of being a woman, she wants to be “filled from the crown to the toe, top full of direst cruelty”. Perhaps this society which only lets women achieve their ambitions through their husbands will always create powerful, cruel women, who have to manipulate their husbands in order to achieve what they want.

Shakespeare also wanted his audience to accept the divine right of kings, emphasising that the consequences of regicide are severe. This is evident when Macbeth says "I have no spur / To prick the sides of my intent, but only / Vaulting ambition, which overleaps itself / And falls on th'other." Macbeth is aware that his ambition is driving him towards destruction, but he cannot resist its pull.

This explains why Macbeth writes the letter to his wife to tell her about the witches’ prophecies. He knows that she will be the “spur” to give him the courage to kill Duncan. In this way we can see that they are equally responsible for regicide. He calls here “my dearest partner of greatness” because he wants her to be a partner, rather than the subservient wife his patriarchal society requires.

In conclusion, Lady Macbeth plays a significant role in influencing the actions of Macbeth throughout the play. Her ambition, lack of moral scruples, and her ability to manipulate Macbeth lead him down a path of self-destruction, ultimately contributing to his downfall. The last description of her is consequently “fiendlike queen”. Shakespeare uses the play as a cautionary tale, warning the nobles in the court of King James about the disastrous consequences of ambition and regicide. He hints that denying women power in patriarchal society might lead to violent opposition, as Lady Macbeth demonstrates.

Simplified Version for Grade 6

"Macbeth" by William Shakespeare serves as a cautionary tale, warning the nobles in the court of King James about the disastrous consequences of ambition and regicide. The play also highlights the significant role played by Lady Macbeth, a powerful and dominant figure, in influencing the actions of her husband. Through her cunning and wit, Lady Macbeth drives Macbeth towards a path of self-destruction, ultimately leading to his downfall.

Lady Macbeth's ambition and lack of moral scruples make her a dangerous force in the play. She instructs Macbeth to hide his true intentions, saying "look like th'innocent flower, / But be the serpent under't." Her willingness to sacrifice her own morality to help Macbeth achieve his ambition is evident in Act 1, Scene 7, where she says "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 plucked my nipple from his boneless gums / And dashed the brains out."

However, Lady Macbeth is also a victim of patriarchal society. Despite her strength and determination, she is limited by the restrictions of her gender and is dependent on Macbeth to carry out her desires. This is evident when she scolds Macbeth for his hesitation in killing King Duncan, saying "Was the hope drunk / Wherein you dressed yourself?"

Shakespeare portrays the male characteristics in the play as cruel and violent, and Lady Macbeth demands supernatural help to "unsex me here" and become "filled from the crown to the toe, top full of direst cruelty." This shows how women in a patriarchal society are only able to achieve their ambitions through their husbands, leading to powerful, cruel women who have to manipulate their husbands to get what they want.

Shakespeare also emphasises the importance of the divine right of kings, and the severe consequences of regicide. Macbeth is aware that his ambition is driving him towards destruction, but he cannot resist its pull. This is evident when he writes the letter to Lady Macbeth about the witches' prophecies, recognizing that she will be the "spur" to give him the courage to kill Duncan. This highlights the fact that both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are equally responsible for regicide.

In conclusion, Lady Macbeth plays a significant role in influencing Macbeth's actions throughout the play. Her ambition, lack of moral scruples, and her ability to manipulate Macbeth contribute to his downfall. Shakespeare uses the play as a cautionary tale, warning the nobles in the court of King James about the disastrous consequences of ambition and regicide. He also hints that denying women power in patriarchal society might lead to violent opposition, as demonstrated by Lady Macbeth. The last description of her is "fiendlike queen", emphasizing the destructive consequences of ambition and lack of moral scruples.

An Even Simpler Version

"Macbeth" by William Shakespeare serves as a cautionary tale about the disastrous consequences of ambition and regicide. The play also highlights the significant role played by Lady Macbeth, a powerful and dominant figure who influences the actions of her husband through her cunning and wit. She instructs him to "look like th'innocent flower, / But be the serpent under't" and drives him towards self-destruction, leading to his downfall.

However, Lady Macbeth is also limited by the restrictions of patriarchal society, as she is dependent on Macbeth to carry out her desires. Despite her strength and determination, she must manipulate him to achieve her ambitions. She scolds Macbeth for his hesitation in killing King Duncan, saying "Was the hope drunk / Wherein you dressed yourself?" and demands supernatural help to "unsex me here" and become "filled from the crown to the toe, top full of direst cruelty."

The play also emphasises the importance of the divine right of kings and the severe consequences of regicide. Macbeth recognises his ambition is driving him towards destruction, but he cannot resist its pull. He writes a letter to Lady Macbeth about the witches' prophecies, recognizing she will be the "spur" to give him the courage to kill Duncan. This highlights the fact that both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are equally responsible for regicide.

In conclusion, Lady Macbeth plays a significant role in influencing Macbeth's actions and contributing to his downfall through her ambition, lack of moral scruples, and manipulation. Shakespeare uses the play as a warning to the nobles in the court of King James about the dangers of ambition and regicide, and hints that denying women power in patriarchal society may lead to violent opposition, as demonstrated by Lady Macbeth. The last description of her is "fiendlike queen", emphasizing the destructive consequences of ambition and a lack of moral scruples.

Three essays - grades 7, 6 and 5. Here’s why:

What the marks mean.

Grade 7 = 70%. 21 marks out of 30.

Grade 6 = 60%. 18 marks out of 30

Grade 5 = 53%. 16 marks out of 30

Level 5 in the Mark Scheme

Grade 7 starts in Level 5 = Thoughtful, developed consideration = 21–25 marks

At the bottom of the level , the essay will have all Level 4 and start to:

1. Be thoughtful

2. Consider the writer’s methods

3. Consider the context.

To be thoughtful, the essay can

4. Consider more than one interpretation.

5. use words like ‘may, might, could, perhaps’.

6. Simply be a longer essay: more ideas means it is more thoughtful.Level 4 in the Mark Scheme

Level 4 = Clear understanding = 16–20 marks

At the top of the level , the essay:

1. Is likely to be clear, detailed, and all the points will be relevant to the question.

2. Will show good understanding and include a range of examples from the whole play.

3. Each paragraph will focus on explaining how these examples prove the student’s point of view about the topic in the essay title.

4. The answer will write about a range of methods, which will be named (anything named is a method – so ‘as a cautionary tale’ or ‘attack patriarchal values’ or ‘portray the damaging effect of ambition’. Yes, simile, metaphor, alliteration and so on are also methods. But anything you say Shakespeare is doing is a method! ).

5. Will include Shakespeare’s viewpoint, or what he wants his Jacobean audience to think or do.

At the bottom of the level , the essay will:

· Show understanding of why characters behave in particular ways

· Or why/how Shakespeare wants to influence his audience.

· Have a smaller range of methods without always explaining their purpose.

Mr Salles Teaches English is a reader-supported publication. To receive weekly posts and essays become a free subscriber.

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Macbeth Ambition — Lady Macbeth: From Ambition To Madness

Lady Macbeth: from Ambition to Madness

Categories: Macbeth Macbeth Ambition William Shakespeare

About this sample

Words: 1147 |

Published: Nov 8, 2021

Words: 1147 | Pages: 3 | 6 min read

Works Cited

Shakespeare, W. (2003). Macbeth. Washington Square Press.
Bloom, H. (2004). Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human. Riverhead Books.
Hazlitt, W. (2018). Characters of Shakespear's Plays. Franklin Classics.
Kliman, B. (2014). Macbeth. John Wiley & Sons.
Pearson, E. J. (2010). Lady Macbeth: A Psychological Analysis. JSTOR, 20(1), 69-84.
Rosenberg, M. (2010). Lady Macbeth as the Fourth Witch. In Macbeth: New Critical Essays (pp. 143-165). Routledge.
McEachern, C. (2018). Lady Macbeth: A Critical History. Cambridge University Press.
Seaton, R. (2007). Macbeth: A Guide to the Play. Greenwood Publishing Group.
Crawford, A. (2005). Lady Macbeth's "Unsex Me" Speech: Shakespeare's Source Material. Shakespeare Quarterly, 56(3), 375-383.
Jankowski, T. (2017). Lady Macbeth: An Icon of the Early Modern Period. Polish Journal for American Studies, 11(1), 69-82.

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macbeth essay/role of lady macbeth

Macbeth Essay

Lady Macbeth is the wife of Macbeth, Thane of Glamis. She is the essential figure in Shakespeare’s play Macbeth because she was the one who strained him to kill the king to take over the throne. The audience knows she is an influential woman because she wants everything but at the price of the king’s life. The authority Lady Macbeth got was from insatiability. Lady Macbeth becomes egotistical, resentful, petrified because of her determination as the play develops. The strength of her character escalates greatly.

The initial impression of Lady Macbeth is that she is resolute and ambitious. She was first seen when she was reading her husband’s letter about his meeting with the witches and their predictions. She was very pleased that Macbeth had become the Thane of Cawdor. So she started getting very courageous about becoming the future queen. Lady Macbeth was very similar to the witches in many ways in Act One. She calls evil spirits to make her evil and take away any kindness she has left “I may pour my spirits into thine ears”, so that Macbeth doesn’t feel sorry and leave the king alive. The witches have associations with evil spirits and demons.

She also turns good into evil “come, to my mother’s breasts and take my milk for gall” she doesn’t want the delight that every woman wants to be come a mother but rather poison her milk. The witches turn evil into good “fair is foul and foul is fair”, this means that good is bad and bad is good so in both ways you should do bad.

Lady Macbeth wants to manipulate Macbeth, “chastise with the valour of my tongue”, she will persuade him with her own words. The witches have already manipulated Macbeth with their prediction about his future. They both have lots of similarities in their language such as all they speak about bad things and that evil should take over them.

This is a preview of the whole essay

Finally they both like darkness so they can hide their evil intentions. To show her objective and evil purpose she uses very vigorous, melodramatic and exceedingly sturdy language that women of that time wouldn’t consider about using or talking back to their husband.

Lady Macbeth uses a lot of ways to persuade her husband Macbeth to murder King Duncan:

“Great Glamis! Worthy Cawdor!

Great than both by the all - hail here after” this shows she’s trying to flatter Macbeth that whatever they are doing is correct.

She also says “when you durst do it, then you were a man “this means she’s using emotional blackmail and questioning about his ability and man hood. This really mortifies Macbeth that someone would question him on his man hood.

However she occasionally relieved him “But screw your courage to the sticking point and we’ll not foul” this shows Lady Macbeth is being reassuring to Macbeth he is strong and no one can beat him in anything. Macbeth had a misapprehension about being the greatest.

But irregularly she would really tease him “live a coward in thine own esteem, letting I dare not wait upon I would.” Lady Macbeth is using verbal abuse to manipulate and cause pain to Macbeth.

Lady Macbeth is very diverse from Macbeth at this stage of the play. She is the one out of the couple who has the most power by keeping making insults and manipulating Macbeth.

Lady Macbeth is very much in control of the situation straight after the murder. She goes and puts the daggers near the chamber men while Macbeth was still in shock. Their hands were covered in blood which signifies murder “will great Neptune’s ocean wash blood clean from my hands “Lady Macbeth replies “little waster clean us of this deed”. This significance of the imagery of blood, darkness, contaminated seas and loss of sleep, shows they are guilty of murder and want to get lost in the darkness. So no one sees them and that their sin can’t be washed by big oceans/ seas. This and the rustling noise make the atmosphere more peculiar, spine-chilling and mysterious.

Lady Macbeth requests her guests to stay patient and that Macbeth isn’t feeling well. When Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost at the banquet he goes frenetic. Lady Macbeth controls the entire drama. She began to praise Macbeth when he starts to panic that he’s a very strong soldier and commanding king and no one can beat him in this world. As Macbeth starts to pull himself together we start to see Lady Macbeth less in control .Their relationship is breaking up they don’t speak to each other. Macbeth ignores her as he doesn’t need her anymore for encouragement and doesn’t sleep with her. Instead he goes out with his councillors and has more confidence in himself because he has no one in his way.

The cause Lady Macbeth suddenly transforms into an obsessed woman because she’s not authoritative anymore, she starts to see that she has no significance. Also this murder has led to one problem after another because of her dreams and aspiration to become queen. While sleep walking she talks about blood on her hands and keeps rubbing it off. “Here the smell of the blood still: all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand .Oh! Oh! Oh!” She sleeps with the light on like little children as if she’s terrified of the dark. How come she is by that light though she used to love this darkness in the begging to hide her dark intentions. This is called irony. Not sleeping signifies that she’s feeling guilty and gets flash backs of the murder that wakes her up .Her and Macbeth’s relationship has finished , they don’t meet or talk to each other and Macbeth can’t be bothered if she goes mad or even dies . She jumps off the balcony of her room and dies because she couldn‘t handle the flashback of the horrible night. Macbeth didn’t even shred one tear for her, his own wife, as he had no relationship with her. He just walked past her dead body.

Lady Macbeth has changed radically. At the beginning powerful she was demanding. However, the guiltiness hit her in the face and she started going insane she started reading the letter again that Macbeth had sent her that started everything. The audience would have said she got what she deserved. The response won’t be different today because what she did was wrong. She was on evil’s side and she did an enormous sin by killing the King in her house. Even in the 21 st century the response would be the same, this woman didn’t deserve to be alive.

Document Details

Word Count 1140
Page Count 2
Subject English

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THE ROLE OF LADY MACBETH IN SHAKESPEARE'S MACBETH: A PRODUCTION THESIS IN ACTING

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Phyllis LeBert

This paper uses gender studies to understand the themes of gender performance further, and more specifically, femininity, in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. It also explores the many ways feminine gender performance has changed as society has changed. Thus, proving gender is performative rather than innate. It does this by examining first the text within the context of Elizabethan society. Moreover, by examining three pivotal performances of Lady Macbeth through history within the context of their social structures as well. The three performances are that of Sarah Siddons in the Late 18 Century, Ellen Terry in the 19 Century, and Judy Dench in the 20 century.

Saman A Mohammed

William Shakespeare‟s Macbeth was most likely written in 1606, three years into the reign of James I, James VI of Scotland since 1567 before he achieved the English throne in 1603. Macbeth is Shakespeare‟s shortest tragedy yet it is one of his most influential and emotionally intense plays. Macbeth portrays “the paralyzing, almost complete destruction of human spirit” (Shanley 307). Like most of Shakespeare‟s plays, Macbeth deals with the question of kingship and portrays the “problems of legitimacy and succession” surrounding serious political power that belonged to the monarch, the court and the royal councils (Hadfield 27). Numerous historical and literary studies have been conducted about various topics in Macbeth such as human desire, cruelty, and guilt. Gender role and its relation with power also have a great significance to the interpretation of the play. Shakespeare substantially emphasizes the male-female relationship and gender dynamic and does not seem to treat gender simply as binary example of male/female. Shakespeare shows the relationship between gender and power which can be related to the patriarchal discourse of early modern England. He portrays women as major determinants in men‟s actions but “their function varies throughout the canon” and also in distinct categories of either “good or evil, victims or monsters” (Berggren 18, 11). Men are portrayed as strong willed and courageous, but female character like Lady Macbeth is also given a ruthless, power-hungry personality, which is typically, in the period, more associated with masculinity. Lady Macbeth, one of the main characters in Macbeth, is deeply ambitious and her role is essentially important to further understanding Shakespeare‟s presentation of female characters. In this paper, I will provide a brief context of Macbeth in terms of contemporary issues about sovereignty. I will closely examine the role of women in Macbeth, precisely Lady Macbeth, in Macbeth‟s downfall, particularly focusing on how and why Lady Macbeth is an unsettling and disruptive force to the order of the sovereignty. The paper will cover the contemporary issue of witchcraft, to suggest that Lady Macbeth‟s gender can be associated with supernatural subversion, as well as sexual temptation and the period‟s perspective about it. The paper discusses masculinity in relation to Lady Macbeth and the relationship between the plays actions and the natural order to suggest that natural order better reveals Lady Macbeth‟s disruption as well as the notion of monster in Macbeth. This essay will end by discussing the significance of the events that happen to both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth after the murder act and a conclusion.

Ramona Rizescu

Elizabeth Britannia

Journal of Education and Practice

Mohammad Tajuddin

Marcia Eppich-Harris

Emer McHugh

Shakespeare

Coen Heijes

Alexander Decker

Cornelia Feraru

Two Shakespearean Triumphs in Paris, or a Plague on Both Their Houses?

New productions of “Macbeth” and “Hamlet” follow a French tradition of adapting familiar works. The results are innovative, and sometimes cryptic.

An actor in a long white garment points his finger at the forehead of another actor dressed in red and black.

By Laura Cappelle

The critic Laura Cappelle saw the shows in Paris.

Two Paris playhouses, both alike in dignity, putting on rival new Shakespeare productions.

Thus expectations were high for a springtime face-off — with contemporary stagings of “Macbeth” and “Hamlet” — between the Comédie-Française, France’s top permanent company, and the Odéon-Théâtre de l’Europe, the Left Bank’s most venerable theater.

The results certainly felt French. The country has long been a haven for concept-driven theater-makers, and the two directors involved, Silvia Costa and Christiane Jatahy, have no qualms about cutting and splicing the Bard’s plays in experimental, sometimes cryptic ways.

At the Comédie-Française, Costa’s “Macbeth” edits the two dozen named characters down to only eight actors and leans heavily into religious symbolism. In “Hamlet,” Jatahy goes so far as to keep Ophelia alive. Far from going mad, Ophelia climbs down from the stage and exits through the auditorium after declaring: “I died all these years. This year, I won’t die.”

Jatahy, a Brazilian director who has a significant following in France, has performed this sort of bait-and-switch with classics before. Her adaptations of Chekhov’s “Three Sisters” (“What If They Went to Moscow?”) and Strindberg’s “Miss Julie” (“Julia”) reworked the plays’ story lines and characters from a feminist perspective, lending greater weight to female roles.

At the Odéon, Jatahy also cast a woman, the outstanding Clotilde Hesme, as Hamlet, explaining in a playbill interview that her goal was to refocus the story on three female characters: Hamlet, Ophelia and Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude. And while a female Hamlet is hardly news — the French star Sarah Bernhardt performed the role back in 1886 — Jatahy’s premise looks promising for the first few scenes.

Slouching on a couch, Hesme cuts a grave figure as she rewinds a video: the message Hamlet receives from her murdered father, here projected on a large scrim. After the ghost blames his brother, Claudius, the scene transitions seamlessly into a wedding — that of Claudius and the widowed Gertrude, who seals her new life with a karaoke rendition of Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.”

Servane Ducorps plays Gertrude with a chirpy energy that contrasts nicely with Hesme’s coolness. Yet as Jatahy’s “Hamlet” progresses, their interactions rarely ring true, in no small part because the characters have all been transplanted into a humdrum contemporary interior. There, Gertrude and Claudius (a quasi-affable Matthieu Sampeur) try to play happy blended family. They sing sweet nothings to each other over the kitchen table, while Hamlet sulks in the corner.

It’s “Hamlet” as a 21st-century parent-child drama, with the odd interjection from Ophelia and her father, Polonius, who speak Portuguese — an attempt to signal their foreignness that instead makes them look like visitors from another play. Similarly, while Isabel Abreu brings an earnest intensity to the role of Ophelia, her relationship with Hesme’s Hamlet never settles into familiarity.

Her lucky escape is equally contrived. In the playbill, Jatahy says that in choosing not to die, Ophelia “refuses to be a toy in the face of patriarchal violence.” Although Abreu delivers the inserted text bravely, it is such a jarring volte-face for her character.

According to the Odéon’s publicity material, 85 percent of the text in this version is from Shakespeare’s original “Hamlet.” Yet it rarely feels as if Jatahy trusts the Bard. Instead, she wills the characters to escape his world, in an act of feminist defiance without a clear target.

Across the Seine, Costa also follows her singular vision for “Macbeth” — her second production for the Comédie-Française after an adaptation of Annie Ernaux’s “A Girl’s Story” — to the bitter end.

Her staging of the Scottish play opens with an arresting tableau. Lady Macbeth sits hunched over, her face hidden under a disheveled mane. As she rips out clumps of her hair, a portrait of Macbeth, her husband, starts spinning on a wall behind her — until an invisible knife seems to cut into the painting.

It’s an ominous way to position Lady Macbeth, as a shadow addition to the three witches who prophesy that Macbeth will be king. When the trio appears shortly afterward to deliver their message, a giant ring materializes above the empty stage. In true “Lord of the Rings” fashion, it then descends upon Macbeth (Noam Morgensztern), metaphorically anointing him even as recorded whispers of “murder” fill the Comédie-Française’s auditorium.

So far, so impressive. But Costa, an Italian native who has collaborated with the provocative director Romeo Castellucci and shares his taste for visual symbolism, is so focused on the imagery that “Macbeth” loses dramatic steam.

Compressing all of the named characters into just eight roles is a dubious choice given the resources of the Comédie-Française’s permanent ensemble, and it leads to a sense of monotony. The three witches (Suliane Brahim, Jennifer Decker and Birane Ba) occasionally — and confusingly — double as random soldiers and messengers, and when the Macbeths go on their murderous spree, there is no one around to react to the destabilization of the kingdom.

Perplexingly, heavy-handed Roman Catholic allegories also seep into this “Macbeth” midway through, paralyzing the action. The second half of the production takes place in front of a bulky backdrop showing a winged altarpiece that is entirely blacked out. The banquet scene, in which Macbeth is haunted by his victims’ ghosts, is confined to a small confessional.

In that scene, King Duncan, whose death paves the way for Macbeth’s ascension, hovers like God surrounded by angels and martyrs. Macduff, who eventually restores order by killing Macbeth, is costumed to look every inch like Jesus, down to a wound in his side that he reveals theatrically by opening his white robe.

There are Christian themes in “Macbeth,” but Costa takes them so far that the characters disappear behind them. One of the last scenes shows Jesus-Macduff overcoming Macbeth simply by pointing a finger to his forehead, as if performing a miracle.

As a result, the production also undercuts Julie Sicard’s eerily shameless performance as Lady Macbeth. There is no doubt throughout that she has the upper hand: In fact, one scene even makes that point a little too forcefully, when she pretends to breastfeed a childlike Macbeth and hands him a pacifier.

The moment is effective in telegraphing a message, yet so dramatically improbable that the characters start to feel like pawns in the director’s game. “Macbeth,” like “Hamlet” at the Odéon, is too multilayered to be subsumed into a single grand idea. In Paris, at least, it wasn’t to be.

An earlier version of this article misidentified Ophelia’s father. He is Polonius, not Claudius.

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