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. What he has are ordinary human beings, like you and me, placed in situations that challenge and test them. Shakespeare does not have any evil characters. 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. 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 portrayed in pictures as something like a Disney character, a cross between Cruella DeVille and the wicked stepmother in Snow White.Īlthough she has some of the most bloodthirsty lines in Shakespeare she is not quite Cruella De Ville or the wicked stepmother. 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. Everyone, whether they have read or seen the Macbeth play, has a view of her. Lady Macbeth is possibly Shakespeare’s most famous and vivid female character. Each Shakespeare’s play name links to a range of resources about each play: Character summaries, plot outlines, example essays and famous quotes, soliloquies and monologues: All’s Well That Ends Well Antony and Cleopatra As You Like It The Comedy of Errors Coriolanus Cymbeline Hamlet Henry IV Part 1 Henry IV Part 2 Henry VIII Henry VI Part 1 Henry VI Part 2 Henry VI Part 3 Henry V Julius Caesar King John King Lear Loves Labour’s Lost Macbeth Measure for Measure The Merchant of Venice The Merry Wives of Windsor A Midsummer Night’s Dream Much Ado About Nothing Othello Pericles Richard II Richard III Romeo & Juliet The Taming of the Shrew The Tempest Timon of Athens Titus Andronicus Troilus & Cressida Twelfth Night The Two Gentlemen of Verona The Winter’s Tale This list of Shakespeare plays brings together all 38 plays in alphabetical order. Plays It is believed that Shakespeare wrote 38 plays in total between 15. The fact that Macbeth is a tragedy may be largely attributed to her actions, her schemes, and that she succumbed to these very actions and schemes. She takes advice from the witches, who may not even have been telling the truth. This is because she acts on instincts rather than logically thinking through possible choices when she decides to kill a handful of other characters in order to become queen. In conclusion, Lady Macbeth's personality and ambitions change throughout Macbeth. When she says "damned spot", she is not just talking about the imaginary bloodstain on her hand she is also using it as a metaphor for the fact that she has guilt in her heart that will not go away. Hell is murky!-Fie, my lord, fie! A soldier, and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account?-Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him" (5.1.25-29). She says, " Out, damned spot! Out, I say!-One, two. In Act 5, Scene 1, she retells the story of Duncan's murder. She becomes so guilt ridden and contrite that she begins to hallucinate and slowly goes insane. Ultimately, Lady Macbeth's attitude towards her actions changes. However, people are seldom happy with what they wish for. Lady Macbeth now has the royalty that she has always wanted. It seems as though the witches' prophecies have been fulfilled. They then kill Duncan and become king and queen of Scotland. They kill Malcolm and Macduff in order to bring Macbeth closer to kingship, but Lady Macbeth still shows no remorse for her horrible doings. She immediately starts imagining her life as Queen of Scotland and starts plotting to kill anyone who gets in her husband's way.Īs the story goes on, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth act out Lady Macbeth's plan to kill Duncan and seize his throne. When Macbeth returns from speaking with the three witches and tells Lady Macbeth about their prophecy that he will be Thane of Cawdor, Thane of Glamis and King of Scotland, Lady Macbeth is elated. However, it is important to remember that looks can be deceiving. Lady Macbeth changes from Macbeth's ambitious, power hungry wife into a contrite, guilt-ridden deranged person.Īt the beginning of the story, Lady Macbeth seems like a pretty average, mentally stable wife of a noble. In Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Lady Macbeth is very central to the development of the plot of the story.
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