Lady Macbeth Character Analysis

Lady Macbeth is shown as being a very dominant, ambitious, and power driven person at the very beginning of the play when she is first introduced. When Lady Macbeth first appears in the play, she is learning of the witches prophesies from a letter sent to her by Macbeth. The witches prophesies reveals that Macbeth is destined to be King.When Lady Macbeth finds out that her husband, Macbeth was going to be King to the throne, she automatically sets her sights on obtaining that power. At this point in the Lady Macbeth plans for King Duncan to be killed in order for Macbeth to be on the throne, and for Lady Macbeth to obtain the power that she craves and desires so much. However, she does not believe that Macbeth is strong enough to do what she need him to do. So she

Macbeth, written by william shakespeare displays a diverse range of themes and topics throughout the play. These themes are represented through a wide range of characters throughout the dramatic text. One that is strongly underlined throughout the whole play is the theme of the connection between ambition and manipulation and one of the main characters; Lady Macbeth. Throughout the sequences of the play, lady macbeth is depicted as a head-strong ambitious woman who challenges her husband's masculinity in order for him to commit actions in order to gain power.

In play Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is one of William Shakespeare’s most dominant and frightening female characters, known for her ambitious nature. As Macbeth’s wife, her role is significant in his rise and fall from royalty. 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

Lady Macbeth comes off as one of the most oblique, yet determined characters in the play. She had her mind set on helping her husband conciliate the throne and encourages him to pursue his dreams of being crowned as the king. When his weaknesses appeared she remained firm and made Macbeth’s goals her own ambitions. Things do seem a bit outrageous at that particular moment where Lady Macbeth explains to Macbeth how they should kill King Duncan but it shows not only the true love and devotion for her husband, but how she would stop at nothing until he gets what he wants.

She is most influential person in Macbeth´s downfall, next to the witches. However, her relationship with him goes far deeper then that of the witches. It is my belief that the witches act only as a trigger to start the events in the play, and that Lady Macbeth herself was the driving force behind Macbeth´s actions. It is she who he contacts when he meets the witches, and immediately trusts her with the prophecy he is given.

In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is the true villain of the play as she is evil, ambitious and eventually insane. Lady Macbeth masterminded the idea to kill King Duncan and planted the vision into Macbeths mind, she convinced Macbeth to commit such a crime, and her love for her husband was eventually overruled by her determination and lust for power. Throughout the play she starts to show her true colours and the destructive force of her ambition, which inevitably results in nothing but disaster.

In Shakespeare play, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth’s character progresses in an interesting manner. Lady Macbeth is made to act as an incentive to Macbeth's immoral actions. Even though Macbeth is generally the person to have a final say before killing someone, Lady Macbeth plays the role of his “sidekick”. She mocks her husband if he worries over a sinful deed (which usually she instructs him to do), saying he would be less of a man if he does not follow through with their plan (I. vii. 56-57). She gives 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). Although her husband was still having doubts, she was always ready to go in for the kill. She did not think twice about it or feel any remorse. This shows that Lady Macbeth evolved into looking like a humble and quieter person on the exterior, but being an insane woman and criminal due to the events that have affected her.

We see her as a suppressed female clawing to power through men. The most notable scene where Shakespeare conveys this is Act 1 Scene 5. He has Lady Macbeth say, “unsex me here”, demanding elimination of all womanly attributes. She also says, “take my milk for gall”. This demonstrates she does not want to be a nurturing, mother figure. Lady Macbeth thinks her femininity is useless and that she could accomplish more as a male. In the Elizabethan/Jacobean era, women were often subjugated – made to submit to and follow men, regarded as weak and in need of protection. Given no control, women were forced to stay home and bear children. Lady Macbeth yearns liberation from these stereotypes and ideal standards of her time. Her authority cravings lead her to tell Macbeth, “Leave all the rest to me” – seeking dominance. Her husband is essential to succeed so she can be interpreted as somewhat manipulating him into committing larger crimes – namely

Lady Macbeth- the malicious mastermind, and the second driving force behind the murders done by Macbeth, had believed that by portraying a man’s ways, she would attain power-for her and her husband, and gain whatever they needed without remorse or sorrow. Lady Macbeth urges Macbeth to frame two guards by getting them intoxicated and even prepares the murder scene for Macbeth to take King Duncan's life. Macbeth even questions his loyalty and righteousness in this moment by saying, “But in these cases, we still have judgment here…bloody instructions…return to plague the inventor” and . . .” He is here in double trust; first as I am his kinsman and his subject, strong both against the deed; then as his host” (I.VII.7-14). This just

In the play “Macbeth” the author furthers the ideas of ambition, manhood and violence throughout the play using a gender lens, mainly for masculinity in men. In the play “Macbeth” ambition plays a big role in the man characters life; Macbeth. In Act 1 scene 3, lines 125-129, “And oftentimes, to win us to our harm; The instruments of darkness tell us truth.” (Shakespeare 1.3.125-129). This quote stated by Banquo foreshadows Macbeth further into the play. Macbeth ends up killing King Duncan because he wants to be in power over the kingdom. When Banquo questions Macbeth about the killing of King Duncan, Macbeth’s ambition to kill Banquo skyrocketed. Macbeth didn’t want anybody to think or know that he ended up killing King Duncan for power. This started a cycle of death for Macbeth’s ambition to kill to stay in power. This example of ambition from “Macbeth” has a very similar motif from the movie called “The Mask You Live In”. In the movie, George Orwell states, “He wears a mask and his face grows to fit it.” The idea of the mask he wear fits his face helps us further the reason for men’s ambitions. Men’s ambitions are driven by power and dominance over people and prized possessions. For men to be able to gain power, they need to prove how masculine they are to society. In doing so they are dehumanizing their biological thoughts and feelings and turning them into artificial ones in order to be seen more powerful or dominate to the public.

     Lady Macbeth progresses throughout the play from a seemingly savage and heartless creature to a very delicate and fragile woman. In the beginning of the play, she is very ambitious and hungry for power. She pushes Macbeth to kill Duncan in order to fulfill the witches’ prophecy. In Act I, Scene 6, she asks the gods to make her emotionally strong like a man in order to help her husband go through with the murder plot. She says, “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!” Also, she does everything in her power to convince Macbeth that he would be wrong not to kill Duncan. In Act I,

Lady Macbeth from “Macbeth” was a very powerful and influential character in the play. However, her traits are portrayed as bitter making her seem as an undesirable figure. Throughout the book she is interpreted as controlling, demanding, power seeking, and corrupt, but it will later come back and cause conflict. In the book she says, “ Infirm of purpose! Give me the daggers. The sleeping and the dead Are but as pictures… For it must seem their guilt” (Shakespeare 59). At this point in the book, Lady Macbeth is showing how controlling she is by taking the matters into

Manipulation, greed, narcissism, desire, impulsivity, paranoia, lack of empathy. These are the words often used to describe a sociopath. Sociopaths use these traits to fulfill desires and gain power. They do not retain or possess empathy for anything, and although it may seem like they care, the relationship is superficial and often toxic. In Macbeth, the relationship between Lady Macbeth and her husband is not only damaging but is also toxic to those around them. While Macbeth may exhibit sociopathic tendencies, the true sociopath is Lady Macbeth. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Lady Macbeth shows how her sociopathic behavior shaped the story through her use of manipulation used to coerce Macbeth, the impulsivity of these actions, and the paranoia that follows them.

Lady Macbeth can be said to be one of Shakespeare's most famous and frightening female characters. She fulfills her role among the nobility and is well respected, like Macbeth. She is loving, yet very determined that her husband will be king. At the beginning of the play, when she is first seen, she is already plotting the murder of Duncan, showing more strength, ruthlessness, and ambition than Macbeth. She lusts after power and position and then pressures her husband into killing Duncan. Upon receiving the letter with the witches' prophecies from her husband, she begins to think and knowing that Macbeth lacks the courage for something like this, she calls upon the forces of evil to help her do what must be

In perhaps the most pivotal scene in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Lady Macbeth’s motives are truly revealed in her manipulation of Macbeth to show how humans have a desire for power and once they get a taste of it, they will go through any lengths to have it, no matter the effect on others. Her lust for power is showcased through how she persuades Macbeth by insulting his masculinity and using emotive language to counter his logical reasoning. This section of the play illustrates the tipping point of each character’s morality with Macbeth having second thoughts about the planned murder and Lady Macbeth diving straight in.