Lady Macbeth character analysis

        Lady Macbeth is sly, selfish, and manipulative because she finds an approach to change Macbeth’s decision about the regicide by using emotive arguments to refute his logic. At first, Macbeth remains thoughtful: “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition.” In contrast, Lady Macbeth is completely guided by her desire to gain self-profit. When she sees that Macbeth is close to rejecting the idea of regicide, she decides to play on his pathos. She applies hyperbole to display her bravery by saying that she is capable of "pluck[ing] nipple from [baby’s] boneless gums and dash[ing] [its] brains out." She purposely uses this exaggeration to juxtapose her own qualities with those of Macbeth. She implies that Macbeth is less manly than she is, thus pushing him into committing the crime to prove his masculinity. She even goes as far as to state her challenge of Macbeth’s masculinity directly: “when you durst do it, then you were a man”.

        Lady Macbeth’s emotional outbursts immediately undermine Macbeth’s position, and he even seems to fear her. Lady Macbeth’s tone sways among outrage, aggression, and cajoling. In her rhetorical question: “Was the hope drunk… and wakes it now, to look so green and pale at what it did so freely?” Lady Macbeth’s aggressive personification completely defeats any last doubts that Macbeth may have had. Lady Macbeth’s eloquent language establishes her domination over Macbeth. To assert her authority, Lady Macbeth presents Macbeth with a bitter invective: “…Screw your courage to the sticking plate.” Lady Macbeth repeatedly taunts her husband using diction such as “barren sceptre” and “live a coward.” In a moralizing way she proclaims that he is “too full o’th’ milk of human kindness”.

        Macbeth ends up respecting Lady Macbeth’s courage by drawing an analogy between her and “undaunted metal.” In a way, Macbeth looks up to his wife’s opinion by echoing her thoughts and borrowing her style of language: “False face must hide what the false heart doth know.” Yet, he decides to challenge her claims by resolving to kill the king. The alliteration “false face” perfectly describes the characters’ final decision. The “f” sound accentuates the hideousness of this decision.