he deserves that name), disdaining fortune with his brandishing steel, which smoked
with bloody execution.” The captain praises Macbeth’s bravery to the extent that
Macbeth is almost portrayed as a fearsome killer. Macbeth is referred to as ‘Brave
Macbeth’ in comparison to his wife’s comments; this portrays Macbeth as a
courageous person. As in comparison Lady Macbeth comments on Macbeth’s
character as being too kind, “Yet I do fear thy nature, it is too full o’th’milk of human
kindness.” By saying this Lady Macbeth perceives her husband as being kind hearted.
Milk is a pure and healthy substance; by associating his character with it she is
implying that he is innocent and incapable of conjuring scheming plans in his head
like her. Shakespeare uses these contrasting views to emphasise his rational
thoughtful side and therefore to illustrate how powerful Lady Macbeth’s persuasion
techniques are.
Lady Macbeth further reveals her true inner desires, by revealing her more
devious, cunning and criminal side, “…unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to
the toe top full of direst cruelty.” Lady Macbeth upon hearing the arrival of Duncan
requests to be ‘unsexed’. The purpose of this request is to remove her womanly,
loving and feminine nature and replace it with that of a man. Where she can carry out
her devious and treacherous plans without bearing guilt. The reason for her wishing to
be unsexed is because in those times woman were expected to be dainty creatures who
were meant to be loving and caring. The audience at this point may greatly resent her
because after using her techniques to beguile Macbeth, she requires herself to be
removed of her sex. Her identity. Therefore the audience at this point begin to
perceive her as witchlike. The audiences viewpoint is further strengthened when she
says, “The raven himself is hoarse”, by saying this Lady Macbeth is implying that
someone is going to die soon, as ravens at the time were thought to foretell death. Her
perception of the raven being hoarse implies that the raven has cried so much for this
death that it is now hoarse. The use of the raven and fortune telling is a very witchlike
gesture. Therefore by saying this, the audience start to perceive her powers as
witchlike and evil.
Macbeth is at first strongly opposed to the idea of killing a good king who has
given him a high status and also been good to everyone else. As Macbeth says, “He
hath honoured me of late, and I have bought golden opinions from all sorts of people
…” he believes that he shouldn’t do wrong to a man who has been good to him. His
conscience prohibits him from doing this. When considering the matter by himself,
before he confronts his wife he realises that this doing will result in his own loss.
“This even-handed justice Commends th’ingredients of our poisoned chalice to our
own lips.” By saying that the bad deeds will result in his own death ‘…our poisoned
chalice to our own lips.’ Shakespeare uses dramatic irony he shows Macbeth’s future
condition and the audience become aware eventually that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth
die. Lady Macbeth however, uses conniving techniques to lure him into the plot of
killing Duncan; she does this by emotionally blackmailing him. By saying, “art thou
afeard/ to be the same in thine own act and valour/ as thou art in desire?” She taunts
him, by accusing him of being scared. This would be the biggest taunt for a man and a
brave fighter. By using words like ‘valour’ Lady Macbeth effectively manages to do
this. She then criticises his manhood, “When you durst do it then you were a man/ and
to be more then what you were, you would/ be so much more the man.” Again, Lady
Macbeth uses emotional blackmail and taunts his masculinity. Which, at the time
must have been the biggest offence of all. Since pride meant a lot to men especially to
men of high status, such as Macbeth. After repetitive taunting and teasing Macbeth
finally succumbs and admits to doing it. “If we should fail?” He is now considering
doing it. At the end of the scene he says, “False face must hide what the false heart
doth know.” When finally Macbeth consents to doing it, the audience perceive Lady
Macbeth as a witch, because she persuades a man who was strongly against her ideas,
but by twisting her words and using manipulative implications, she makes herself look
more witchlike in the eyes of the audience.
At the beginning of the scene Lady Macbeth appears to be bold and challenging, she
invigorates her ambition and intention to kill King Duncan. Lady Macbeth enters after
making the guards drunk, this is shown to the audience by her speech, “That which
hath made them drunk, hath made me bold, what hath quenched them hath given me
fire.” Lady Macbeth ignites her passion to complete this task by referring to the
drunken men, who as she says ‘hath made me bold’ and their quenched thirst ‘…hath
given me fire.” Therefore, Lady Macbeth’s unwavering intention may have provoked
the audience to think that she is a witch. By the ‘Valour’ of her tongue she triggers
Macbeth to carry out this task abruptly. Within a scene this task is accomplished,
therefore the audience comprehend Lady Macbeth as a witch due to her incredibly
powerful thoughts. Although Shakespeare portrays Lady Macbeth as a witch, he does
for a while reveal to the audience that her emotions aren’t completely drowned in evil,
“Had he not resembled/ My father as he slept, I had done’t.” By referring to Duncan
as her ‘father’ Shakespeare might want the audience to realise that she isn’t
completely evil. The audience’s response at this point may begin to change. Although
Shakespeare prevents the audience from fully comprehending Lady Macbeths
character, as Macbeth walks in abruptly with his hands covered in blood. Upon seeing
this, the audience might completely reverse their reaction towards Lady Macbeth and
realise that she was the main cause to the atrocity.
At first, Macbeth continuously repents upon his doing. He is unable to comprehend
what he has just done and Lady Macbeth tries to prevent him from pondering over
what he has just done, “A foolish thought to say a sorry sight…Consider it not so
deeply.” Lady Macbeth is aware that her husband has committed a crime, but she
doesn’t want him to be upset pondering over it. Therefore, Shakespeare shows Lady
Macbeth as a loving wife, so that the audience witness a vulnerable side to her
character. As it is possible that Lady Macbeths immense love for her husband may
have made her commit the crime in the first place. The audience’s reaction towards
her may begin to change after witnessing this scene.
When Macbeth sees the ghost then Lady Macbeth taunts his masculinity. Quite in the
same way as she did earlier on in the play when she incited him to kill Duncan by
mocking his masculinity. In this part she questions his masculinity, “Are you a man?”
By doing this she once again makes an attempt to attack his pride by questioning his
masculinity, which in those days was a greater offence. Lady Macbeth becomes more
anxious about her husbands behaviour as he fears at the sight of Banquo’s ghost, yet
when the guests leave she manages to remain composed despite her growing fears,
“You have displaced the mirth, broke the good meeting/ with most admired disorder.”
From this the audience are beginning to see a change in the ambitious Lady Macbeth,
because she is now slightly worried about the consequences of the Murder committed
earlier on and the effect its going to have on her and her husband. Once Banquo’s
ghost leaves Macbeth regains his stature and says, “I am a man again.” By saying this
Macbeth probably means that he has recovered his sense of guilt, he is aware of his
wrong doings and recalling what he did wrong has made him a man again. Therefore,
at this point in the play the audience are more likely to be convinced that she is a
witch. Her last scenes sharply contrast with her first ones. The once powerful
determined woman is reduced to a mad, confused and guilt-ridden person.
In this scene Lady Macbeths character changes completely. Shakespeare portrays her,
as a more human like figure whom upon realising the mistake, is guilty. Lady
Macbeths mind may have been clouded with love for her husband or greed for power.
Whatever the reason Shakespeare portrays Lady Macbeth as a human character with
no immoral or supernatural powers, by making her guilt apparent Shakespeare is
suggesting to the audience that whether male or female. Guilt is the consequence of a
murderous act; the human conscience cannot suppress these feelings of guilt forever.
They are bound to be unleashed into irrepressible guilt. “What will these hands ne’er
be cleaned?” Earlier in the play the audience may recall that Lady Macbeth told her
husband to wash his hands and she also washed hers. Although, now the audience are
probably convinced that Lady Macbeth suffers from false illusions. Which proves,
that she is mentally ill. The doctor by saying, “Unnatural deeds do breed unnatural
troubles…More needs she the divine than a physician.” By saying this the doctor is
telling the audience that by doing bad deeds bring bad consequences. Therefore a
moral for the audience upon which the whole play is based on. The audience might
react to this moral by becoming more conscientious. Also, when the doctor mentions,
“…More needs she the divine than a physician.” He indicates to the audience the
power of God and that none can help Lady Macbeth except God alone.
At the beginning, Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as an ambitious and powerful
woman. She has the power to change her husband’s opinion, a man whom others
regard as a swift and deadly soldier. By regarding her as an equal the audience may
perceive their marriage to be unnatural as she is able to convince him with her talks
within a small amount of time. By her intention to kill Duncan the audience perceive
her as witchlike. However, later on in the play as Lady Macbeth becomes guilty of her
doings and eventually dies as a result of it, the audience are then aware of her true
human conscience, and so by their ability to reflect their guilt in Lady Macbeth’s
character they eventually pity her. For it may be that she carried out all these acts for
her husband, it may be because she was so deeply in love with him that she was
blinded by her actions. Therefore, the audience’s response will vary depending on the
type of audience, as a modern audience wouldn’t find it unusual for a woman to incite
or be regarded as an equal to a man, therefore they will be more likely to be able to
feel sympathy for her. Whereas, a Shakespearean audience would find it very difficult
to perceive, which is why a Shakespearean audience may find it hard to be
sympathetic towards her in the end and instead might feel that she gets what she
deserves.
