Question

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Write an essay of at least three paragraphs, supporting the assertion that the character of Lady Macbeth is passionately ambitious while the character of Macbeth is more cautious. Be sure to include evidence from the text to support your answer. Remember to clearly state your main point and use correct citation in your response.

Answer 1

Lady Macbeth is one of William Shakespeare’s most famous and frightening female characters. As she is Macbeth’s wife, her role is significant in his rise and fall from royalty. She is Macbeth’s other half. During Shakespearean times, women were regarded as weak insignificant beings that were there to give birth and look beautiful. They were not thought to be as intelligent or equal to men. Though in Shakespeare's play, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is the highest influence in Macbeth’s life. Her role was so large; in fact, that she uses her position to gain power, stay strong enough to support her unstable Lord, and fails miserably while their relationship falls apart. Everything about Lady Macbeth is enough to create the perfect villain because of her ability to manipulate everyone around her. It appears that even she can’t resist the perfect crime.
Lady Macbeth is a dominant character as soon as she is introduced into the play. A.C. Bradley wrote about her as “…the most commanding and perhaps the most awe-inspiring figure that Shakespeare drew” from his article titled Lecture X. She became a image known for her ambitious nature. Her thirst for power and disregard for life was shocking to the audience, as to her own husband. The moment she learns of the prophecies, she decides to stand behind Macbeth and see him to the throne. She is immediately set on her quest for more power. As it reads “Glamis thou art, and Cowador, and shalt be/ What thou art promised (1.5.13-14) This moment is crucial because it is the turning point where Lady Macbeth decides that she might have to kill to fulfill her quest for royalty. Macbeth is doubtful about their plan to kill King Duncan; however, she bombards him with comments that question his courage. She goes as far as telling him his love his worth nothing if he refuses, which proves her to be dominant and controlling using his own weakness against him. His love for her. The fact that she belittles his confidence, insults his abilities, and questions his manhood is so manipulative, but also wise because it worked in her favor. She said to him “Screw your courage to the sticking place” (1.7.60). She was confident that her ridicule could gain her control over her husband. There is no doubt that she manipulates her close relationship to Macbeth to get them both the power they covet. She uses mockery and persuasion to pressure him into murder. He is left feeling as if he must commit the murder with the intention of proving himself to her. Lady Macbeth appears evil, but this is proof of her devotion and drive to assist Macbeth rise to the throne. She is strong woman and acts as a powerhouse towards her pursuit for power.
Macbeth becomes paranoid and nervous after he murders Duncan. Lady Macbeth proved to support her husband by using her strengths to make up for his weakness by consoling him during the decline of his insanity. Lady Macbeth becomes fearful that could perhaps expose their devilish doings through his acts and facial expressions. She tells him, “Look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under’t. (1.5.65). It is clear that Macbeth needs support, and without insurance and control from his wife, Macbeth would have fallen apart sooner than later. Although Macbeth committed the murder, it is actually Lady Macbeth who is in control of the assassination. She assures him, “Infirm of purpose! / Give me the daggers The sleeping and the dead/ are but as pictures (2.2.50-51).
Macbeth’s guilt develops further and his sense of judgment becomes an issue for him. At a banquet, Macbeth is certain he sees the ghost of his murdered former companion, Banquo. Macbeth’s mental state is declining and Lady Macbeth takes strength where her husband lacks. Lady Macbeth says to their guests, “my lord is often thus/ And hath been from his youth/ pray you, keep seat/ The fit is momentary (3.4.52-54). If Macbeth spoke any further, he could be exposed of his secrets of murder, but Lady Macbeth conceals for his burst of indecorous behavior. A.C. Bradley wrote about this moment as, “In presence of overwhelming horror and dagger, in the murder scene and the banquet scene, her self control is perfect. She leans on nothing but herself. However appalling she may be, she is sublime.” Lady Macbeth is then proven to be the strong and supportive wife. Thus, without her constant support, they could have been uncovered in their wrongdoings.
Lady Macbeth’s skill throughout the play was to compensate for her husband’s shortcomings as well. While being questioned for the killing of the servants for the brutal murder of Duncan, Lady Macbeth pretends to faint as an attempt to draw attention away from her husband. Shakespeare’s day was one of continued chivalry, and men felt obliged to help women in distress. Lady Macbeth’s calculating trick succeeded by drawing chaos towards herself, ironically it was Macbeth who was actually in distress.
As they rise to royalty, they face a downfall in their relationship. Macbeth gains knowledge of the witches’ prophecies and writes to Lady Macbeth to tell her of what he has learned. This is an important scene that proves his dedication and love for her. This scene can prove that they were at once happy, trusting, and devoted to one another. She tries her best to persuade Macbeth to change his mind when he experiences fear. This becomes a pivotal point in their relationship. They are still close, but it is the conspiracy that holds them together now. They are kept close because of their secret. Their relationship is then focused on their obsession for power, and less for their love for one another. The imaginary blood in Act 2 Scene 2 held them together. A.C. Bradley records her transformation as, “When we first see her, Queen of Scotland, the glory of her dream has faded. She enters, disillusioned, and weary with want of sleep: she has thrown away everything and gained nothing”. Lady Macbeth goes on to say:



The relationship declines further in Act 3 Scenes 1-3. As time prevailed, she has lost much of the power she once had over Macbeth. He fails to inform her of other murders, simply because she is no longer needed and he has become stronger than she.
The murder of Duncan has had everlasting effects on Lady Macbeth, which destroyed her relationship with her husband. Her toughness had since faded as the guilt eats away at her conscience. She sleep-walks and attempts to remove imaginary blood stains off her hands. The insanity shows evidence of her feminine weakness. Although, she requested for the spirits to unsex her in the beginning, she cannot escape the guilt from these horrendous acts. She comes to realize that the crown has not brought her happiness. Lady Macbeth becomes weak and looses control over Macbeth. She is no longer able to tell him what to do. They no longer bond or confide in one another; she becomes shut out on the man she molded. She was strong-willed and confident when she said, “What’s done is done” (3.2.12). Which will only bring significance to her last words spoken, “What’s don’t cannot be undone” (5.1.46-47).
Lady Macbeth was a chief character who played a strategic role. Her character plays a major role in operating Macbeth for his own downfall. Her passion for position and power led Macbeth to push forward when he was hesitant. Although she wished to be unwomanly - she actually used her femininity to her advantage to manipulate everyone around her. Lady Macbeth was a strong supportive partner and was able to stay loyal to her lord, until she becomes unstable. Their on going quest for power within the kingdom caused them to eventually loose power within their own lives and relationship. They become victims from their crimes visibly suffering from the damage it has left on their heart. Nonetheless, Lady Macbeth’s role in Macbeth was crucial to the development of the plot, and is proved to be one of the most important characters in the play. and She finally realizes that the crown has not brought her happiness.

Answer 2

The Personality of Macbeth


Macbeth is first presented as a mature man of definitely established character, successful in certain fields of activity, and enjoying an enviable reputation. One must not conclude that all Macbeth's actions are predictable. Macbeth's character is made out of potentialities and the environment, and no one, not even Macbeth, can know all of his inordinate self-love. Macbeth is determined by a desire for temporal and mutable good.

Macbeth is driven in his conduct by an inordinate desire for worldly honors; his self emulation lies in buying golden opinions from all sorts of people. One must not deny Macbeth a human complexity of motives. For example, his fighting in Duncan's service is magnificent and courageous. Macbeth also rejoices in the success that crown his efforts in battle. Macbeth's services are also for his own glory. Macbeth says, "The service and the loyalty I owe, In doing it, pays itself." While Macbeth destroys Duncan's enemies, such motive work but are obscured in his consciousness by more vigorous urges. Macbeth by nature violently demands rewards. Macbeth fights courageously so he may be reported as a "valor's minion" and "Bellona's bridegroom." Macbeth values success because it brings fame, new titles, and royal favor. As long as these mutable goods fulfill his desires, which is the case until he covets the kingship, Macbeth is an honorable gentleman. Once Macbeth's self-love demands a satisfaction that cannot be honorably obtained, he employs dishonorable tactics to gain his selfish desires.

As Macbeth returns victoriously from battle, his self-love demands recognition of his greatness. The demonic forces of evil that drive Macbeth, symbolized by the witches, suggest to him to obtain the greatest mutable good he has ever desired, the kingdom. The witches observe Macbeth's expressions to understand the passions that are driving his dark desires he is so valiantly attempting to suppress. The witches predict Macbeth will be king. The witches can not compel Macbeth to do evil deeds, but they can use Macbeth's desire to become king to pervert his judgment of reason to corral him to choose temporal good. Macbeth's imagination and passions are so vivid under these evil impulses that "nothing is but what is not." Macbeth's reason becomes so impede that he judges, "These soliciting cannot be evil, cannot be good." Still Macbeth is provided with so much natural good that he is able to control his imagination and decide not to attempt any act that involves criminal actions. His decision not to commit murder is not based upon moral grounds. As a friend and as a subject, Macbeth has feelings of loyalty towards the king. The consequences Macbeth fears are not completely inward and spiritual. It is to be doubted whether Macbeth ever considers the effects of his crime and the evil upon the human soul, that he later discovers. Macbeth's main concern is the consequences of losing the mutable goods he already possesses and values.

After murdering Duncan, Macbeth, in committing an unnatural act, has to relinquish his soul to the possession of the demonic forces who are the enemy of mankind. Macbeth recognizes the acts of conscience that torture him are expressions of an outraged natural law. Macbeth is then reduced to the ranks of a human. Knowing he is human again, Macbeth becomes pale and works to impede the penalties of natural law and seeks release from this torture, "Come, sealing night... And with thy bloody and invisible hand, Cancel and tear to pieces that great bond, Which keeps me pale." Macbeth then conceives that a quick escape from the accusations of conscience may be affected by the precepts of natural law. He imagines that the execution of bloodier deeds will serve his purpose. Macbeth instigates the murder of Banquo in the interest of personal safety and to destroy the final piece of humanity in himself. No peace is gained from the murder of Banquo. Macbeth's conscience obliges him to see the negative quality of evil and the barren results of wicked action. The individual who once prized mutable goods in the form of respect and admiration from those about him, now discovers that even such satisfactions are denied to him:

And that which should accompany old age,
As honor, love, obedience, troops of friends,
I must not look to have; but, in their stead,
Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honour, breath,
Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not.

Macbeth is conscious of a profound abstraction of something far more precious than temporal goods. Macbeth has shrunk to such a little measure that he has become numb to all sense of good and evil. The "peace" attained from this numbness is psychologically a callousness to pain and spiritually a partial insensibility to the evidences of diminished being. Macbeth's peace is the doubtful calm of utter negativity, where nothing matters.

After the external and internal forces of evil have done their worst, Macbeth remains human, and he continues to witness the diminution of his self being. Sin does not completely deprive Macbeth of his rational nature. Macbeth sins because whatever he does in pursuance of a temporal good, and nothing more than to escape a present evil.

Macbeth never completely loses his freedom of choice. Since a free act is in accordance with reason, as his reason becomes blinded, his actions become less and less free. This accounts for Macbeth's actions becoming more controlled as the play progresses, and the final feelings that Macbeth has lost all free will. Macbeth violates his natural law, and his acts establish habits of irrational doings, resulting in the loss of freedom of choice.

The substance of Macbeth's personality is that out of which tragic heroes are fashioned. Endowed with potential and under the impact of passions constantly shifting and mounting in intensity, the dramatic individual grows, expands, and develops to a point that at the end of the play he is more understanding of the world and of his own spirituality than at the beginning of the play. Macbeth is bound to his humanity, that reason of order that determines his relationship with natural law, and that compels him toward proper actions and his own end. This natural law provides him with a will capable of free choice, and obliges his discernment of good and evil

Answer 3

A Character Analysis of Macbeth in Shakespeare's Macbeth





By the end of Act V scene v it is clear that Macbeth is not going

to rule his kingdom much longer. He is to be killed by a "man none of

woman born" (IV,i,80) who we find out latter in the play is Macduff.

Before Macbeth is to be killed we find out that he is a great warrior, a

sane man, and a superstitious man.



In Act I scene ii we find out that Macbeth is a great warrior. We

start the scene off from a sergeants account of the fighting against the

enemy's of the king and Macbeth.



For brave Macbeth-well he deserves that

name,-disdaining fortune, with his

brandish'd steel, which smok'd with

bloody execution.

(I,ii,16-18)



From this we can tell that Macbeth fought bravely and through unbeatable

odds against Macdonwald's army. It also tells us that Macbeth can handle a

sword like it was an extension of his own body. The sergeant also tells

us:



As cannons overcharg'd with double cracks;

So they doubly redoubled strokes upon the

foe:

(I,ii,37-39)



From this we can tell that he was a relentless and courageous fighter and

would not stop until he had won. He is such a fearless fighter that the

day would be remembered for centuries to come the sergeant says: "Or

memorize another Golgotha," this tells us that Macbeth would have gone

down in the books as Scotland's heroic warrior. Macbeth had two glorious

battles both of which he had won. from these battles and the sergeants

words we can truly say that Macbeth was a great warrior.



Macbeth is also to be portrayed as an insane man, but I think that

this is not to be true. An insane man is supposed to be delirious, make no

sense what-so-ever, and to enjoy the killing and deaths of others. On the

contrary Macbeth is none of these, he in my opinion is a very sane man.

Macbeth says to lady Macbeth that "we will proceed no further in this

business" (I,vii,31) in this scene Macbeth is showing hesitation in

killing Ducan, which tells us that Macbeth like any other normal man does

not like killing. In Act II scene I Macbeth has his first major Soliloquy

where he seems to be delirious by seeing a dagger floating around him "A

dagger of the mind, a false creation" (II,i,38). I think that this in fact

is just his imagination telling him that it is a mistake to kill Ducan.

Macbeth has a very stressful decision on his mind whether to compel to the

wishes of the dark side or to the light. This in my mind would make any

man succumb to their deepest fears and desires. Macbeth makes perfect

sense through out the whole play. In Act III scene iv Macbeth starts to

yell at an empty seat at the banquet table where he sees Banquo's ghost.

"Prithee, see there! behold! look! lo! how say you?" (III,iv,69) Every body

around him thinks he is going crazy but it is Macbeth's imagination

suffering from the trauma of having to murder his best friend without a

great cause. Any man in Macbeth's possession would have the same type of

hallucinations. From these points you can believe that Macbeth is truly a

sane man.



Finally, Macbeth we find out early in the play that Macbeth is a

superstitious man. When Macbeth and Banquo first meet the witches, Macbeth

is intrigued by the witches prophecies and wishes to hear more "Stay, you

imperfect speakers, tell me more." Macbeth doesn't understand weather or

not to believe them.



By Sinel's death I know I am Thane of

Glamis; But how of Cawdor? the Thane

of Cawdor lives, A prosperous gentleman;

and to be king Stands not within the

prospect of belief, No more than to be

Cawdor.

(I,iii,71-75)



He cannot understand why the witches would say these things when he knows

they cannot be true. When Macbeth gets his title as Thane of Cawdor he

knows that the witches were right and he shall soon become king.

Shakespeare also tells us that Macbeth is superstitious by him going to see

the witches for a second time latter in the play. Macbeth believes that

the witches were right the first time so they should be right the second

time to. When the Apparition's show Macbeth what is about to come he

believes them for a second time without thinking of their hidden meanings.

From Macbeth believing the Witches and visiting them for a second time we

can assume that Macbeth is a very superstitious man.



Macbeth's character is changing throughout the whole play. He was

a leader just like Ducan until the Witches and their prophecies came

crashing down on him as if they were the gods themselves. When the

aftermath had stooped Macbeth became one with the dark side. But through

all of this he was still a sane warrior to the end.

Answer 4

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The Evil Character of Lady Macbeth


In Shakespeare's Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is made to act as a catalyst in Lord Macbeth's evildoings.

Even though Lord Macbeth is generally the one to have the final say in the many killings that take place in the play, Lady Macbeth plays the role of a villain alongside him. She mocks her Lord if he frets over something she has instructed him to do, saying he would be less of a man if he does not follow through on their plan (I. vii. 56-57). She gives Lord Macbeth a short lecture in deceptiveness when they are planning to kill King Duncan (I. vi. 73-78). She also prepared the daggers for Macbeth to kill Duncan in advance (II. ii. 15-16). Though her Lord was still having doubts, she was, in the most literal sense, ready to go in for the kill.

Clearly demonstrating another villainous characteristic other than self- gain, Lady Macbeth shows the fear of getting caught when she unintentionally gives herself away in her sleep (V. i. 33, 37-42, 44-47, 53-55, 65-67, 69-72). Though her fear can suppress itself during a conscious state of being, she can do nothing about it when she is asleep.

Throughout the play and leading up to her eventual suicide, Lady Macbeth slowly weakens. Yet, in the beginning of the play, she acts as if she is unstoppable. When Macbeth has his doubts and fears about murdering the loyal Duncan, Lady Macbeth chastises him, calling him everything from a coward to a helpless baby (I. vii. 39-49, 53-67). She even offers to do it herself, possibly to make Macbeth feel that he's even more cowardly because a woman is offering to do "his" job. This pushes Macbeth to kill, though these are the actions that will eventually lead to both of their demises later in the play. Macbeth tries to convince Lady Macbeth, as well as himself, that she is wrong: 3 Prithee, peace. I dare do all that may become a man. Who dares more is none. (I. vii. 50-52) However, Macbeth does not seem to fully convince her, because he is still mocked by his wife. Whether he failed to convince himself or to convince his Lady is irrelevant; he went through with the murder anyhow.

Not only does Lady Macbeth push her husband to do things he does not want to, but she also informs him that his face is too easy to read. Of course, she does not want her husband or herself to get caught, so she gives him advice in the area of deceptiveness. When she tells him to "look like th' innocent flower,/ But be the serpent under 't" (I. vi. 76-78), not only is she doing this so that Macbeth will not give himself away, but so that he will not give her away in the meantime. Even before that early point in the play, Lady Macbeth has already demonstrated that she is two-faced. When Duncan first arrives at the castle, Lady Macbeth acts as a welcome hostess, when in reality she has different plans for Duncan than she lets on.

Through the careful use of chastisement, Lady Macbeth manages to manipulate her Lord so that she may get what she wants: a dead King Duncan in her house. Indeed, Lady Macbeth does get what she wants, and ultimately what she deserves, as the play progresses. Usually, though she has to nudge her husband a bit before he takes action, Macbeth is relatively obedient. Lady Macbeth seems to realize that her husband probably will not go through with the murder of Duncan until she pushes him to the point of no return, so she prepares everything in advance. All Macbeth has to do for 4 his part in the murder is actually kill Duncan; Lady Macbeth sets out the daggers and gives the guards enough alcohol so that they pass out. She was so eager to have Duncan dead that she almost killed him herself. "Had he not resembled/ My father as he slept, I had done 't" (II. ii. 16-17). Yet she still had her husband commit the crime, whether it was because she was actually scared to do so, or because she wanted him to feel empowered. Either way, Lady Macbeth was definitely ready for Duncan to die.

Despite her eagerness earlier in the play, Lady Macbeth seems a bit afraid that she might get caught later in the play. When she sleepwalks and talks in her sleep, she demonstrates a fear that clearly represents the fact that she is scared of being caught. She talks of going to bed and washing her hands with the famous "Out, damned spot, out, I say!" (V. i. 37) phrase. When she yells about ridding herself of Duncan's blood, she is presenting a metaphor: she does not truly want to be rid of Duncan's blood itself, but rather the fear and guilt that his murder has forced upon her. The constant nightmares she has and the fear and guilt she must live will become too much; she commits suicide, proving once again that she is a villain because she cannot deal with the repercussions of her actions.

As a result of her actions and the actions of her husband, Lady Macbeth meets an untimely demise at the end of the play. Yet most of what happened was due to Lady Macbeth's doings. If she had not pushed Lord Macbeth so hard to do something that he did not originally want to do, then Duncan would have lived and Lady Macbeth would not have gone through such anguish. She was too eager to kill; she seemed to be only interested in her own personal gain and possibly her husband's gain, because she couldn't 5 have had one without the other. All in all, Lady Macbeth is the villain who was bent on winning, but in the end she ultimately lost

Answer 5

thank you!