“Too much of good thing can be bad. The secret is moderation.” This cliche is especially true in Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth. Both Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth are extremely ambitious at opposite points in the play. The effects of these severe desires for power alter the character traits of the Macbeth’s drastically. Although they handle this ambition in different ways, the end result is eternal corruption for both. In the final Act, each Macbeth seems to possess the traits the other originally exhibited. Shakespeare creates the role reversal of the Macbeth’s to illustrate the different character responses to ambition and spousal discouragement; by doing so, Shakespeare comments on gender stereotypes of the time period. In the
…show more content…
Macbeth is initially pressured by his wife to go forth with the murder of the king. He deeply struggles with this request, repeatedly renouncing the idea and asking his companion, “If we should fail?” (1.7.59) For this cowardice, Macbeth is harshly criticized by his wife and is persuaded to perform the deed. At this point, Macbeth is portrayed as the more womanly of the two, being dominated by his wife. This weakness further explains Macbeth’s incapabilities of resisting his own ambitions as the plot progresses. However, soon after his first murder, Macbeth organizes three more, including the death of his dear friend Banquo. Macbeth’s thought process behind Banquo’s murder gives the reader a look into his already altered …show more content…
He does not want his sacrifice of killing the king to benefit another family, so he plans to have them killed. This insight reveals Macbeth’s hunger for power. He has not even been king for more than a month and he is already concerned with who will take his place. Yet, because Macbeth does not kill Banquo himself, it appears he still has a sliver of compassion within him. Finally, near the end of Act Three, the audience beholds the complete transformation of Macbeth. He speaks to Lady Macbeth, concerned Banquo’s murder will be revenged by his own murder. He then
Macbeth is initially pressured by his wife to go forth with the murder of the king. He deeply struggles with this request, repeatedly renouncing the idea and asking his companion, “If we should fail?” (1.7.59) For this cowardice, Macbeth is harshly criticized by his wife and is persuaded to perform the deed. At this point, Macbeth is portrayed as the more womanly of the two, being dominated by his wife. This weakness further explains Macbeth’s incapabilities of resisting his own ambitions as the plot progresses. However, soon after his first murder, Macbeth organizes three more, including the death of his dear friend Banquo. Macbeth’s thought process behind Banquo’s murder gives the reader a look into his already altered …show more content…
He does not want his sacrifice of killing the king to benefit another family, so he plans to have them killed. This insight reveals Macbeth’s hunger for power. He has not even been king for more than a month and he is already concerned with who will take his place. Yet, because Macbeth does not kill Banquo himself, it appears he still has a sliver of compassion within him. Finally, near the end of Act Three, the audience beholds the complete transformation of Macbeth. He speaks to Lady Macbeth, concerned Banquo’s murder will be revenged by his own murder. He then