Lady Macbeth

A detailed Summary of Lady Macbeth

"Lady Macbeth is a powerful and dramatic character, but her death at the end of the play is no surprise to the audience."

Discuss this statement with close reference to the text.

"Macbeth" is one of the most famous tragedies written in the Elizabethan times by William Shakespeare for King James 1. Set in Scotland, it details the story of man, so desperate for the status of king, that he will do anything to achieve it. As an established 'good and hardy soldier', and quite content within that role, Macbeth is surprised to find some witches who predict his reign as king.

'All hail Macbeth! who shalt be king hereafter.' (Act 1 scene 3)

On informing his wife, Lady Macbeth, he soon embarks on a killing spree that doesn't end until both partners' demise. However, Macbeth could not have committed the first few crimes without the help and insistence of his wife. She acts as the fate the witches spoke of to make him king and yet ironically is mainly responsible for aggravating Macbeth's struggle between morality and ambition. She has a hugely diverse character, and this helps plant the seed of Macbeth's, and her own, eventual downfall.

Lady Macbeth receives a letter from Macbeth at the beginning of the play, telling h

'They met me in the day of success: and I have learned by the perfect'st report, they have more in them than mortal knowledge.' (Act1 scene 5)

As Macbeth commits the murder, Lady Macbeth says, 'that which hath made me drunk, hath made me bold.' This quote shows that she may have not felt fully confident with the plot, as she needs alcohol to make her confident with what she's doing. After Macbeth has done the deed, he is in a trance, and it is left up to Lady Macbeth to place the dagger he used next to the guards and smear them with the kings blood. She then returns to Macbeth and has to clean his hands, saying 'a little water clears us of this deed.' It is terribly ironic that Macbeth, who is throughout the play 'haunted in his sleep' by what they have done, in fact ends up as the over confident one, whilst Lady Macbeth becomes so ridden by guilt, that she commits suicide.

After she has read the letter, she is determined to make the witches' prophesy come true. She imagines that she has the capability to be a remorseless and determined villain. However in reality this is just an act, and in fact her true self possesses no such traits. This is obvious when she makes a huge effort to get herself into a murderous state of mind, crying out, 'Come you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty!' Lady Macbeth wants to lose her femininity so she can be cold-blooded and commit murder like a man does. However, more than anything, it appears that Lady Macbeth is a very greedy woman, desirous of things that seem very much out of reach.

This puts a great strain on her, as she was not expecting it. Macbeth's madness pushes him and his wife further and further apart, which is not at all what she wanted. Lady Macbeth had been very naive toward the situation. She didn't consider the consequences of her actions, just went ahead with the plan, blinded by her own ambitions. As she becomes more aware of what is happening, and all the killings Macbeth is committing, she becomes deranged from having to hide her true emotions for so long.

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Approximate Word count = 1628
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English