How does the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth highlight the theme of confusion in the play?

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Hugo Price

How does the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth highlight the theme of confusion in the play?

        The theme of confusion and turmoil is introduced by the witches 'fair is foul and foul is fair" this is the technique of antithesis; the language of opposite pairs, this shows  how the relationship throughout the whole play is tumultous and Lady Macbeth's and Macbeth's roles change as the play goes on. Also this quote could mean that all though Lady Macbeth seems fair she is actually foul.         

        Lady Macbeth's and Macbeth's relationship is unusual. In in Elizabethan times a women would be expected to respect and obey the man's orders in the early scenes of "Macbeth" lady Macbeth is in more control and also is the one who gives the orders to her husband. She masterminds the plan and does not give him  a chance to show his reluctance she is dominant and he is submissive which is play on the traditional roles of a married couple. Another example of her being bossy and controlling of her husband is a after Duncan's murder she speaks in the imperative for example "Give me the daggers, Go get some water, get on your night gown " these extracts show how she makes the orders, she is proactive and in control of what she is feeling & doing, this is shown when she says "I shame to wear a heart so white' this means that even though her own hands are covered in blood she is still very calm, this is also ironic because later on in the play she in fact kills herself because she believes she has the stain of blood on her hands and she can not get it off. "A little water clears us of this deed " the way she says a little water shows how she believes it to be a deed of little importance. When Lady Macbeth is with Macbeth she seems confident about the murdering but we do see a small amount of weakness when she claims that "had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done't." this line infers that beneath her tough exterior there is a small bit of sentimentality underneath. The confusion of the play is shown in how Lady Macbeth is acting the calmer of the two, also after the murder it would be usually the man who would be able to deal with it the best but in the Macbeths case it is Lady Macbeth even though Macbeth is renowned for his bloodthirstiness and brutality.

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        By Act 3 Scene 2 we can see that there relationship has started to reverse. To start with Lady Macbeth seems to show more respect for Macbeth for example "My Lord" and "say to the King" this means that Lady Macbeth is in less control of the relationship. Also in this scene we see that Macbeth makes the plans and ideas, he is keeping the is keeping the idea of murdering Banquo to himself "be innocent of the knowledge". Now it is lady Macbeths turn to have doubts in their partners ideas "you must leave this". This shows how in ...

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