Character analysis of Lady Macbeth

Lady Macbeth is the one of the most important characters in William Shakespeare's Macbeth and at the same time probably the most evil one. She is the key figure to the play, creating the rising action for the main character, and building tension in the reader. Her evilness is reflected through her ambition, cruelty and manipulation. Lady Macbeth is ay more ambitious than Macbeth. She thinks of her husband as a man ho

desires po er, but too

eak to achieve his goals, so she takes matters in her hands. !ven if the as subconsciously aiting for a sign to

path is something unstable, based on belief, as soon as it lights the chance in front of her to make her husband more po erful, she grabs it as though she strike do n. She kno s that if his husband's po er increases, so ill her's. Her conscience does not seem to be affected by the horrific actions she plans to do, on the other hand her man, ho's soul is constantly encumbered by the depths of the crimes. His only eak ho needs support, and Lady Macbeth ay to ho is endure the killing is by leaning on Lady Macbeth. "hus, the role of the man and family is s itched# Macbeth being the oman in the

strong, she kno s hat she ants and is resolved enough to achieve it. Her determination is hat keeps Macbeth going, but later on the murder of Macduff's family is planed solely by him, then he is capable of doing it on his o n. Lady Macbeth doesn't sho any mercy or any humane attitude concerning other persons. $s soon as Lady Macbeth finds out about the prophecy of the three itches, seeing the opportunity, ill not leave ants to ithout a moment of hesitation she decides, and vo s to herself that %ing &uncan e'tinguish the little good in her that might get in the ay of accomplishing the plan#
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 cro n to the toe top!full "f direst cruelty# Make thick my blood. $top up the access and passage to remorse,

the castle alive. She kno s of the deeds she is about to commit that they are bad, and

That no compunctious visitings of nature $hake my fell purpose, nor keep peace bet een The effect and it# Come to my oman%s breasts, And take my milk for gall, you murdering ministers, &herever in your sightless substances 'ou ait on nature%s mischief# Come, thick night, And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell, That my keen knife see not the ound it makes, (or heaven peep through the blanket of the dark, To cry %)old, hold#% (&illiam $hakespeare ! Macbeth, ).*.+,

"he summoning of bad spirits can be thought of as a connection of Lady Macbeth's identity to a itch or at least someone ho is ell versed ith the under orld and vile deeds. Her invocation# -fill me from the cro n to the toe top.full/0f direst cruelty- directly proves her desire to be cruel. She even ants to get rid of her being as a female# -unse' me here-1 - Come to my oman's breasts, /$nd take my milk for gall.- She ants to be less like a oman and more like a man, thinking that being a oman means to be kind, compassionate to ards people, hich is obviously the opposite of her plan. *xchanging her milk for gall forms an antithesis+ milk representing birth, reproduction, life in contrast ith gall hich represents+ decay and death. Lady Macbeth is even cruel to ards her husband. After the murder of ,an-uo, on the feast that night, Macbeth is startled by the ghost of ,an-uo ho has appeared. Macbeth is unable to speak or react, even resembling madness. .ady Macbeth does not care one bit about her husband%s trauma, trying to set the situation right by telling the guests to ignore the scene. Lady Macbeth is highly manipulative as ell, to ards her husband especially. $lthough she states that she ants po er for Macbeth, the reader might e'pect her to be Macbeth's accomplice standing on e2ual ground ith him, but Lady Macbeth is the true mastermind behind the treason. When Macbeth arrives home, his ife greets him ith his ne title, already planting the seeds of murder in his head. He agrees ith the plan to murder the king. Ho ever, later before the murderous stab could be done, Macbeth starts to doubt the rightfulness of the act, remembering ho the king trusted him. Lady Macbeth uses her manipulative techni2ues to convince him to continue ith the plan#

&hat beast as/t, then, That made you break this enterprise to me0 &hen you durst do it, then you ere a man1 And to be more than hat you ere, you ould ,e so much more the man. (or time nor place Did then adhere, and yet you ould make both. They have made themselves, and that their fitness no Does unmake you. 2 have given suck, and kno )o tender /tis to love the babe that milks me. 2 ould, hile it as smiling in my face, )ave plucked my nipple from his boneless gums And dashed the brains out, had 2 so s orn as you )ave done to this. (W. Shakespeare . Macbeth, ).3.45.*6,

7n her speech, Lady Macbeth says to her husband that she so highly by people,

ould only accept him as a man if he ho is respected ords ho ould definitely find these

does the murder. 7n case he does not she ill consider him a co ard. 8or a man ho is a high ranked soldier, a captain, offensive. %no ing these, his spouse ignites the pride up ard on the scale of positive values, she boasts

ithin him. 9aising the act of murder

ith the fact that if it had been her baby

she had been resolved to kill, she ould have done it easily. 7t is not that surprising since she had -prayed- to the evil spirits to bereave her from any affection to ards humans. 7n his play, Shakespeare emphasi:es the fact that masculinity, hich is suggested by ambition ho are not

and po er, is not the only thing one needs to achieve his or her goals, but people

disturbed inside by the result of in;ustice or deeds hich ould compromise one's consciousness. <ntil the itches' appearance, compared to Lady Macbeth, her husband as a true soldier, a loyal patriot if not friend of the king, fighting ith his full strength in battle hich he could only achieve by being honest. "his ay he orked his ay up to the rank of a captain. $t the end of the play, Lady Macbeth's role has been drastically reduced, as she lost her sanity due to her consciousness hich after all as present in her as ell. She made it to a point here no doctor could help her, she as constantly hallucinating, trying to ash her hands of the blood, talking about the murder. Shakespeare punishes his character for her cruelty, as her death is ;ust mentioned as a side note compared to the flo his survival instead. of actions hich continue ithout disruption, nobody takes time to bemoan her, even Macbeth pushes the idea of her death aside focusing on

Works cited# Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. =e >ork# Washington ?ress, )66@