After receiving the letter from her husband about the predictions of the three witches, Lady MacBeth dedicates herself to helping MacBeth become king. The witches had told MacBeth that he would soon become the Thane of Cawdor, and eventually the King of Scotland. When she learns that Duncan would be spending the night at their castle, she immediately decides to kill him. She mentions that her husband was not ruthless by nature, and that even if he wanted something so badly, he would not cheat to get it. She sees this as a character flaw. However, Lady MacBeth does not have that problem. In fact, her goal is to get MacBeth to feel as she does. She does so by questioning his manhood in saying:

To be the same in thine own act and valor Which thou esteem'st the ornament of life, And live a coward in thine

The next obstacle, according to the predictions, is MacDuff. He is already suspicious of the deaths and the role MacBeth may have played in them. Upon his second visit with the witches, MacBeth hears, "Beware MacDuff, / Beware Thane of fife." (V, i, 171). It is learned that MacDuff, who is now acknowledged as MacBeth's enemy, has gone to England. He wants help from the King's army to overthrow MacBeth. At this time, MacBeth's men are going to MacDuff's castle. The massacre of the MacDuff family marks an all new low for MacBeth: the killing of women and children. Lady MacBeth sees this as one big nightmare that she can not awaken from. Sleepwalking, she relives the murders she and her husband have committed. She speaks, as if to her husband, "What need we fear who knows it, / When none can call our power accompt?" (V, iii, 40). Fear and guilt torture her. While sleepwalking, she continuously wipes off her hands, trying to rid them of Banquo's blood. She tries to make her hands "clear of the deed." This insight into Lady MacBeth's thoughts is the last time she is seen alive in the play. The final thread is broken, and she is forced to end her suffering with suicide.

"She feels in an instant that everything is at stake, and ignoring the point, overwhelms him with indignant and contemptuous personal reproach." (Bradley, 81.) She seems to welcome the darkness into her when she says, "Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts / Unsex me here, and fill me, from crown to toe / Top-full of direst cruelty." (I, v, 44). Lady MacBeth takes control of the situation involving Duncan by pushing her husband into wanting to commit the murder. The plan is derived to kill the king in his sleep and blame it o

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Approximate Word count = 1164
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)