Character Analysis Of Shakespeare's Macbeth
Watching her husband nearly go mad at the sight of the slain king, the Lady derides Macbeth, saying, “My hands are of your colour; but I shame to wear a heart so white” (2.2.). Although it is not obvious at this point in the play, Lady Macbeth is turning her husband from a remorseful man into a bloodthirsty tyrant. The next kill, that of his former friend Banquo, comes much easier to the newly crowned King Macbeth. Perhaps this is because paid murderers do the killing, but still, Macbeth comes to his decision without his wife’s prompting. Again he is driven mad, this time hallucinating the ghost of Banquo. His conscience is obviously not clear, but Lady Macbeth quickly stamps out this sliver of humanity. She admonishes her husband, “O proper stuff! This is the very painting of your fear: this is the air-drawn dagger which, you said, lead you to Duncan. O, these flaws and starts, imposters to true fear, would well become a woman’s story at a winter’s fire, authorized by her grandam” (3.4.). This is the last glimpse of remorse seen from Macbeth. From after Banquo’s death until the end of the play, Scotland’s new tyrant sheds the blood of his subjects willingly and even almost gleefully. Lady Macbeth has created a