Lady Macbeth is certainly not swayed by this argument; in fact she is incensed that Macbeth is trying to avoid carrying on with the plan:
"Was the hope drunk, Wherein you dress'd yourself?"
Lady Macbeth's language in the speech is very sarcastic and she is scathing of Macbeth, calling him "green and pale" and calling into question his bravery and his virility. I find it noticeable that the style and language Lady Macbeth uses is very different from Macbeth's. Her speech is full of exclamations, as well as questions which she does not give time for Macbeth to answer. Macbeth's soliloquy in contrast is full of complex statements.
Macbeth tries to retaliate, saying he dares to do "all that may become a man". This brings up an interesting point about the role of men and women at this time. Much of Lady Macbeth's difficulty seems to stem from the fact that she is a woman and so can only gain power through her husband. Lady Macbeth goes on to accuse Macbeth of breaking his promise.
By this stage it is clear that Lady Macbeth's arguments are beginning to swing Macbeth back to her point of view. Although in line 59, Macbeth clearly still has doubts: "If we should fail?” even he considered the concept of failure implies that he is again considering action. Lady Macbeth however, appears to me supremely confident and totally self-assured. She compares the way Macbeth must screw his courage up to tightening the strings of a lute to the "sticking-place".
Overall, I feel that this scene leaves you with a greater understanding of the two main characters. First, the audience sees Macbeth in deep moral turmoil during his soliloquy. During his subsequent conversation with Lady Macbeth, we can see her manipulative skills working on Macbeth. We can also see the characters' differing morals at work - Macbeth thinking up reasons against the murder, while Lady Macbeth argues that Macbeth must keep his 'promise'.
The different types of language spoken by the characters are used by Shakespeare to contrast their personalities - Macbeth's slow convoluted soliloquy perhaps reflects the state of his tortured mind, while Lady Macbeth's scathing accusations reflect on her sharp, ruthless determination.
The scene works especially well dramatically because the audience can compare Macbeth's behaviour on his own and that with his wife. It is clear that Macbeth has the potential to make the 'right' decisions when he is not being affected by Lady Macbeth.
In the context of the play as a whole, the scene is important because it is in this scene that Macbeth is finally persuaded to carry out the killing. With this decided, what follows is perhaps inevitable.
We had to compare Act one scene seven with one other scene as well. I have chosen to compare it with Act three scene four.
Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, , , and other lords and attendants are at in Macbeth's palace. Rather than sit at his place at the head of the table, Macbeth insists to sit among the lords while his wife sits on the dais. Macbeth the lords to seat themselves and insists that welcome their guests with a speech. She Macbeth to welcome them for her and he says that her heart welcomes them and their hearts return thanks for the welcome. He is too distracted to give a prolonged speech because one of the murderers has appeared in the doorway. He tells the that in a moment they will all drink together and then he walks to the doorway to talk with the murderer.
Macbeth is satisfied to see the blood on the murderer's face and learn that Banquo is dead. He believes that he can take care of Fleance in time, so he is not worried about the young man now. He tells the murderer that they will meet tomorrow. Lady Macbeth warns her husband that his lack of hospitality is ruining the banquet. She tells him that if the lords had wanted only to eat a meal, they could have stayed home to do that. They have joined him in the feast for his hospitality and the company of a host.
Rejoining the lords at dinner, Macbeth mentions that he wishes that Banquo were with them as he promised he would be. Lennox invites the king to sit with them, but Macbeth looks around and does not see an empty seat. is in the seat reserved for the king, and Macbeth doesn't realize that it is a ghost until Lennox again points to the seat as being empty. Macbeth asks who has brought the ghost and says that they cannot say that he did anything. He rambles on at the ghost while Lady Macbeth tries to play off his mutterings as a common illness that he has. She attempts to convince the lords that it is just a spell that will pass, telling them to wait only and the king will be himself again. Then she tries to snap Macbeth out of his guilt-ridden panic so that he will not give them both away to the lords. She tells him that he acts like he is frightened by a superstitious ghost story. Macbeth rants on about the dead returning from their graves for only a moment more and then the ghost disappears. Macbeth is still bothered by the ghost and his own guilt, but Lady Macbeth convinces him to go back to the table with the lords and play off his outburst as an illness.
Macbeth resumes the feast and is explaining his illness to the lords when the ghost re-appears at the banquet. Macbeth speaks again to the ghost telling it to return to the grave and bother him no longer. The ghost vanishes again and Lady Macbeth tells her husband that he has ruined the light mood of their banquet. Looking at her composure he tells her that it disturbs him that she could look upon such sights (the ghosts of the people they have murdered) and maintain her composure while he is so afraid. When the lords begin to question Macbeth about what sights he means, Lady Macbeth sends them all away because she claims that her husband's health is deteriorating and their questions will only make his illness worse. The thanes leave Macbeth and his wife.
When they are alone, Macbeth tells his wife that the blood that has been shed at their hands will be avenged and their guilt will be discovered. Then he tells her that Macduff refused the invitation to dinner and he's not sure how to take the rejection. He plans to send another invitation to Macduff tomorrow and also to visit the three witches to find out what his future is. He wants to know his fate, be it good or bad. He has schemes in his head that must be enacted before he is able to think too long on them and see the wrongness of his actions. Lady Macbeth tells him that what he needs more than anything else is sleep. He agrees that he needs rest because he has not rested well. The guilt of his actions keeps him awake because he is not yet an accomplished enough murderer to be able to ignore his conscience. They go to bed.
