With close reference to at least 3 scenes in which she appears, explore the character of Lady Macbeth showing how she changes during the course of the play.
Lady Macbeth is a character in Shakespeare's Macbeth and the wife of the play's antagonist, Macbeth, a Scottish nobleman, who plays a pivotal role in the events of the production. During the course of the play, Lady Macbeth goes from terrifying audiences with her otherworldly power and ruthless approach to the play’s terrible deeds to becoming a sleepwalking madwoman, wracked by the guilt from her actions and despairing at her newfound subservience to her husband. Her relevance to the play ends with a servant’s statement that she,’ By self and violent hands took off her life.’
During her …show more content…
Firstly, Lady Macbeth suggests in her first soliloquy that Macbeth is,’ 'too full o'milk o human kindness.' As milk has connotations of nurturing and femininity, Lady Macbeth portrays Macbeth as a benevolent character in her eyes. This comment is interesting as Macbeth was previously portrayed as a remorseless killer in Act 1 Scene 2, shown when he,’ unseem’d him (his enemy) from nave to chaps.’ The fact that Lady Macbeth believes that her husband is too cowardly indicates to the audience that she is even more remorseless than he, adding emphasis to the ruthlessness of her character. Her ruthlessness is emphasized further when she says, in relation to the prospect of murdering Duncan, ‘Make thick my blood…stop up the passage to remorse.’ This …show more content…
Throughout the scene, Lady Macbeth obsessively mimes washing her hands while she is sleepwalking, saying things like, ‘yet here’s a spot’ This obsession is akin to what Macbeth felt in Act 2 Scene 2 and symbolizes her need to wash way the guilt of committing the murders. This characterizes Lady Macbeth as intensely guiltily over what she has done, showing development in her character when compared to Act 1 Scene 5 when she wants to, ‘stop up the passage to remorse.’. In addition, the compulsive nature of the hand-washing reflects the early onset of Lady Macbeth’s madness, which kills her in Act 5 Scene 9, therefore producing the effect of foreshadowing. Finally, towards the end of the scene, Lady Macbeth exclaims, ‘all the perfumes of Arabia will not squeeze in this little hand’ This hyperbolic proclamation is vivid because of the juxtaposition between the enormity of ‘all the perfumes of Arabia,’ with her ‘little hand.’ shows the enormity with which she regards her crimes. The line is also pivotal in the role reversal between Lady Macbeth and her husband as Macbeth says, 'Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean off my hand.' In Act 1 Scene 5. This reversal of ideology shows that Lady Macbeth has become just as weak and hopeless because of how she regarded Macbeth after he murdered Duncan. These points ultimately converge to characterize Lady Macbeth
Lady Macbeth is a character in Shakespeare's Macbeth and the wife of the play's antagonist, Macbeth, a Scottish nobleman, who plays a pivotal role in the events of the production. During the course of the play, Lady Macbeth goes from terrifying audiences with her otherworldly power and ruthless approach to the play’s terrible deeds to becoming a sleepwalking madwoman, wracked by the guilt from her actions and despairing at her newfound subservience to her husband. Her relevance to the play ends with a servant’s statement that she,’ By self and violent hands took off her life.’
During her …show more content…
Firstly, Lady Macbeth suggests in her first soliloquy that Macbeth is,’ 'too full o'milk o human kindness.' As milk has connotations of nurturing and femininity, Lady Macbeth portrays Macbeth as a benevolent character in her eyes. This comment is interesting as Macbeth was previously portrayed as a remorseless killer in Act 1 Scene 2, shown when he,’ unseem’d him (his enemy) from nave to chaps.’ The fact that Lady Macbeth believes that her husband is too cowardly indicates to the audience that she is even more remorseless than he, adding emphasis to the ruthlessness of her character. Her ruthlessness is emphasized further when she says, in relation to the prospect of murdering Duncan, ‘Make thick my blood…stop up the passage to remorse.’ This …show more content…
Throughout the scene, Lady Macbeth obsessively mimes washing her hands while she is sleepwalking, saying things like, ‘yet here’s a spot’ This obsession is akin to what Macbeth felt in Act 2 Scene 2 and symbolizes her need to wash way the guilt of committing the murders. This characterizes Lady Macbeth as intensely guiltily over what she has done, showing development in her character when compared to Act 1 Scene 5 when she wants to, ‘stop up the passage to remorse.’. In addition, the compulsive nature of the hand-washing reflects the early onset of Lady Macbeth’s madness, which kills her in Act 5 Scene 9, therefore producing the effect of foreshadowing. Finally, towards the end of the scene, Lady Macbeth exclaims, ‘all the perfumes of Arabia will not squeeze in this little hand’ This hyperbolic proclamation is vivid because of the juxtaposition between the enormity of ‘all the perfumes of Arabia,’ with her ‘little hand.’ shows the enormity with which she regards her crimes. The line is also pivotal in the role reversal between Lady Macbeth and her husband as Macbeth says, 'Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean off my hand.' In Act 1 Scene 5. This reversal of ideology shows that Lady Macbeth has become just as weak and hopeless because of how she regarded Macbeth after he murdered Duncan. These points ultimately converge to characterize Lady Macbeth