How is Lady Macbeth presented by Shakespeare? Essay

How is Lady Macbeth presented by Shakespeare? In what ways does she change through the course of the play, and how does this affect the audience’s response? Introduction Macbeth is a Scottish play written by William Shakespeare between 1603 and 1606 and the links between King James and this tragedy are evident. The themes presented in this play are ambition, desire, and succession to the thrown, loyalty, order and greed. I will be analysing how Shakespeare portrays and presents Lady Macbeth through different stages and events in the play. Para 1 The audience first meets Lady Macbeth in Act 1 scene 5. She is reading Macbeth’s letter alone. After reading the letter she displays her thoughts about Macbeth becoming the king. The audience is instantly shown that Lady Macbeth is ambitious, as the first words she utters are, â€Å"Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be† This shows that she believes that Macbeth will be the thane of Cawdor. However, she describes Macbeth’s flaws as well as his qualities in negative and positive images, † †¦I do fear thy nature, It is too full o’th’milk of human kindness.† Lady Macbeth is saying that Macbeth’s kindness to others is a weakness in his nature and character. Also, that it may adversely affect him becoming the king as he is not ruthless. She says that this ruthlessness ‘illness’ that Macbeth doesn’t have, saying Macbeth will take any opportunity that comes his way, but he only wants to win his honours honestly. He wants to be king even though the throne is not his by right, but he will not play falsely. Lady Macbeth decides that she will have to help him to find the necessary determination. The audience can see that Lady Macbeth is domineering and ambitious. We learn that Macbeth’s wife is ‘his dearest partner of greatness’. This salutation may suggest that he looks toward her for help as she possesses a power and supremacy that he sees. She has power over him and he obeys her. However, they do love each other as is shown=== Q The captain describes Macbeth as brave and determined as is described earlier in the play, ‘For brave Macbeth (well deserves that name †¦which smoked with bloody execution.† The captain praises Macbeth’s savagery in battles because it has preserved the rightful king and has shown Macbeth to be loyal. Lady Macbeth also agrees that her husband is determined and loyal when she says, ‘woulds’t not play false’ (p.35, line 20) However, she believes that he is to weak and kind and would not kill to get his way. Para 2 In this soliloquy in act 1 scene 5. A messenger comes to tell Lady Macbeth that King Duncan will arrive that night. Lady Macbeth is excited, seeing this as the perfect opportunity to make Macbeth king. She calls the spirits of darkness to take away her natural womanliness and to fill her instead with the worst of bitterness, wickedness and cruelty so that she can help Macbeth commit this act. She does not want any natural feelings of regret or conscience to get in the way of what she intends. â€Å"Come, you spirits†¦ †¦unsex me here And fill me from the crown to the toe topfull Of direst cruelty.† Like Macbeth she asks the powers of darkness to hide her thoughts so that not even the forces the forces of heaven can see through the ‘blanket of the dark’. So the true nature is concealed. A 17th century audience could find this disturbing as she is subverting the qualities and features of a typical woman. Lady Macbeth would’ve been played by a man, therefore, this speech would become more convincing and realistic. Women in the 17th were usually stereotyped as motherly, meek and complacent towards their husbands. Whereas, Lady Macbeth is an atypical woman who commands her husband. The similarities that we can draw from Lady Macbeth and the witches are uncovered when Lady Macbeth uses the word ‘raven’ as the whiches also use animals such as a cat and a frog. Para 3 At the beginning of the scene (act 1 scene 7) Macbeth informs the audience about his doubts and fears which taunt him. Macbeth convinces himself not to murder Duncan by giving three reasons, â€Å"First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, Strong both against the deed.† Macbeth is stating that he is a loyal subject to King Duncan. He also says, â€Å"Then, as his host, Who should against his murderer shut the door, Not bear the knife myself.† He is saying that he should be protecting the king rather than trying to kill him. Lastly, Macbeth adds, â€Å"Besides, this Duncan Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been So clear in his great office, that his virtues Will plead like angels.† Macbeth’s conscience is very persuasive. He tells himself that Duncan’s goodness and kindness is such that his murder would provoke tremendous outcry. Images of heaven and hell are linked†¦ Para 4 At the beginning of Act 2 scene 2 the audience can sense that Lady Macbeth waits anxiously for Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is very nervous and agitated, â€Å"Alack! I am afraid they have awaked, And tis not done: Th’attempt and not the deed Comforms us.† This tells us that she is very panicky and doesn’t want to get caught, if she does get caught her life being a queen will be ruined. When Macbeth arrives Lady Macbeth is very happy and knows that the deed, â€Å"my husband!† she says. The murder is over and Lady Macbeth is relieved but Macbeth’s got a feeling he might get caught. Macbeth won’t take back the daggers because he is so ashamed that he has done the murder and he can’t say, â€Å"Amen.† All this happens because Lady Macbeth ignores the rules of humanity and organised society, pursuing her own ruthless motives. However, repeatedly Lady Macbeth gives the appearance of being in control but she was unable to kill the king herself, claiming he looked too much like her father, † Had he not resembled My father as he slept, I had done’t.† This feeling of guilt is a glimpse of a more human side revealed to the audience. She, too, seems to realise the wrongness of the murder. Not much later she advises her husband, â€Å"These deeds must not be thought, After these ways: so, it will make us mad.† Both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s character is different in this scene. At the start of the scene Lady Macbeth is nervous and doesn’t want to do the murder, but Macbeth is confident and does the murder. After the murder Macbeth is scared and is in a trance of what he has done. Lady Macbeth has calmed down and regained her self-composure. Para 5 During the banquet in Act 3 scene 4, Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo sitting in his place. Lady Macbeth reacts to Macbeth by quietly accusing her husband of being a coward, as she did at the time of Duncan’s murder, â€Å"Are you a man?† (p.63). Lady Macbeth tries to attack his masculinity and state of mind by questioning it, â€Å"Why do you make such faces? When all’s done, You look but on a stool.†(p.63) She is trying to convince Macbeth that there is nothing there. Lady Macbeth says all he needs is sleep, but this is ironic, as Macbeth has ‘murdered sleep’ and Banquo has risen from his ‘sleep’. Lady Macbeth is trying to cover up for her husband’s behaviour. This behaviour is making Lady Macbeth more insecure and anxious even though she taunts Macbeth, this time she is weary. In contrast to her powerful speeches at the end of act 1, here she only suggests that he needs sleep. Once the ghost has vanished Macbeth expresses, â€Å"I am a man again.†(p.65) Lady Macbeth then utters, â€Å"You have displaced the mirth, broke the good meeting, With most admired disorder.† (p.65) The greater part of the play is devoted to this part. He is king. We see Macbeth in action, others comment on his reign of terror. Macbeth is king but he wants to be safe king where he has nothing to fear and he fears Banquo a lot because he is the only one that has seen and heard the witches tell Macbeth the prophecies: – â€Å"To be thus is nothing, But to be safely thus: our fears in Banquo Stick deep, and in his royal nature Reigns that which would be feared.† Macbeth’s tells the murderers that they were treated badly by Banquo and this is the time to kill him, but Macbeth doesn’t want to get involved in the murder. He wants the murderers to get the blame. The murderers do whatever they are commanded: – â€Å"We shall my lord, Perform what you command us, Though our lives.† This is a sign that being King Macbeth means getting so much respect. In comparison from the moment he is crowned king. Macbeth executes a reign of terror that has already started with the killing of Duncan, together with his wife he is ruthless in pursuing his own selfish aims. He organises the death of those whom he se †¦ Macbeth: Lady Macbeth’s Character Lady Macbeth is a controversial figure. She is seen by some as a woman of strong will who is ambitious for herself and who is astute enough to recognise her husband’s strenghts and weaknesses, and ruthless enough to exploit them. They see her in her commitment to evil and in her realisation that the acquisition of the Crown has not brought her the hapipiness she had expected, and finally, as one who breaks down nuder the strain. Others see her as a woman ambitious for her husband whom she loves. She recognises the essential good in him, and feels that, without her, he will never win the Crown. She allies herself with the powers of darkness for his sake, but here inherent(congenital) femininity beraks down under the strain of the unnatural murder of Duncan and the alienation of her husband. She is seen as simple and realistic where Macbeth is complicated and imaginative. She can see what must be done; he visualises the consequence. There is a vast difference between Macduff’s â€Å"O gentle Lady ‘Tis not for you to hear what I can speak The repetition in a woman’s ear Would murder as it fell.† ACT II, Sc.ii and Malcolm’s assessment of her as a â€Å"fiend-like queen† (Act IV, Sc.vii). So we must examine the text. To Macbeth, in his letter to her, she is his â€Å"dearest partner of greatness†, an indication of love and trust. We see her as she analyses his virtues and weaknesses and decides to overcome his scruples, â€Å"hie thee hither That I may pour my spirits at thine ear† Is there any evidence here as to why she wishes him to be king? Overcome By Ambition – When she calls on the powers of evil to unsex her and make her cruel, does this imply that she fears her own womanliness and realises the unnaturalness of the murder of Duncan? Is she, like Macbeth just an ordinary human being overcome with ambition? Does she really lose her womanliness? Do the words(Act I, Sc. ii) â€Å"Had he not resembled My father as he slept, I had done’t† imply that she is still a woman with a woman’s tendernesss? Does she show herself strong willed and more determined than Macbeth, Act I, Sc.vii, as she argues and demands his agreement to the murder? Is she alloy by exploiting his love for her when she makes his consent to murder a test of his love? Is she being cynical when she inverts logic and reality in asking him if he is afraid to be what he wants to be and in suggesting that to be a true man he must take what he wants? Must she take some of Macbeth’s guilt here? In the murder scene (ActII, Sc.ii) she resorts to wine to give her courage. Does this also show that she has not been filled from top to toe with â€Å"direst cruelty†? She is aware, too, that dwelling on the moral aspect of the murder â€Å"will make us mad†. The Better Criminal? – She seems to be the better criminal; she remembers the details that Macbeth has overlooked, â€Å"Why did you bring these daggers from the place?† and shows her as she brings the daggers back. Does she really despise Macbeth when she argues him of wearing â€Å"a heart so white†? Or is she afraidfor him that he may betray himself? In Act II, Sc.ii, when she calls for help does she do so because of her feminie weakness, or is she afraid that Macduff may question Macbeth further as to his killing of the chamberlains? If the latter, does it again illustrate her quick thinking? Unhappiness – In Act III, Sc.ii, Lady Macbeth is coming to realise that the Crown has not brought happiness, â€Å"Nought’s had, all’s spent, Where our desire is got without content.† Is she suffering from remorse here, or does she think that the murder of Duncan has alienated Macbeth from her? â€Å"How now, my Lord! Why do you keep alone?† Is she worried that he is unhappy? She tries to console him, â€Å"what’s done is done.† and to rally his spirits. She again shows her presence of mind in the Ghost scene when he becomes ‘unmanned’, but then, she does not see the Ghost. She uses the old stragedy of appealing to his manliness, but without success. When the guests have departed she does not upbraid Macbeth, but makes excuses for him that he lacks â€Å"the season of all natures, sleep.† Does this show her gentleness and compassion towards him? Or does she feel that further argument would be useless? The Sleep-Walking Scene – We do not meet her again until this scene. She has now been reduced to a poor, mad creature, broken by events. Our last view of her is her delusion of nearness to Macbeth. Is there a stress on her sense of guilt, her despair and, perhaps still, her determination? Macbeth’s few words about her (Act V,Sc.v) may be uttered in an indifferent tone, or even with a sense of something already lost. In the end, perhaps, we feel guilty for her, but we may still remember what appeared to be hardness and cruelty. +Persuading Macbeth She says that he is acting as if he were drunk when he clothed himself in his hopes to become king. In a powerful speech she explains how far she would ne prepared to go to get what she wanted. Lady Macbeth tells him that if, like him, she had sworn to do something, then, before she would go back on her word, she would ‘pluck her own baby from sucking milk at her nipple and dash its brains out’.