“to beguile the time, you have to look like the time.” Lady Macbeth tells him to “bear welcome in your eye.” She tells him to be welcoming. He has to be like a flower on the outside, but a serpent on the inside:
“look like th’ innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t.” She mentions “Which shall to all our nights and days to come give solely sovereign sway and masterdom.” This means that tonight ensures our royal future and this is the most important night of our lives. Lady Macbeth creates many dark images in the play. Her language is dark and sinister. This clearly reflects the “fiend-like” nature of Lady Macbeth: “murdering ministers”, “dunnest smoke of hell” and “come, thick night.” This language is extremely dark and “fiend-like.”
When we examine Act 1, Scenes 6 and 7, we again see Lady Macbeth as a “fiend-like queen.” In Scene 6, Duncan has arrived for his visit. On arrival, King Duncan comments on the beauty of the surroundings and how Lady Macbeth is “our honoured hostess.” Duncan doesn’t yet know about his fate. This is dramatic irony. The King is warmly welcomed by her. At this point, Lady Macbeth is very nice, sweet and polite, but she is being false and two faced: “your Majesty loads our house.” This means she is honoured to be the host for Duncan’s visit. This is more proof that she is a “fiend-like queen.” The audience would have been disgusted and gob-smacked at Lady Macbeth being so nice to the person she is planning to kill. In Act 1, Scene 7, Macbeth himself is weighing up the pros and cons of killing Duncan. He has his doubts about the plan: “return to plague th’ inventor.” This means that the deed would rebound on the person who started it. The punishment in his mind would be inevitable. Also, Macbeth says Duncan has been good to him. Lady Macbeth enters. Macbeth is a little on edge: “Hath he asked for me?” he thinks Duncan is getting suspicious. Macbeth then reveals he isn’t going to proceed with the murderous deed:
“We will proceed no further in this business.” She erupts in anger at Macbeth saying:
“Was the hope drunk wherein you dressed yourself?” She asks if Macbeth was drunk when he gave his permission to go along with the plan. She then teases Macbeth: “and live a coward.” This, in her mind, was supposed to change his mind. Also, she questions his masculinity: “be so much more of a man.” He would be manlier if he committed the murder. Then, the possibility of failing arises. Lady Macbeth erupts at the thought: “we fail?” Then the plan comes out. She came up with the whole thing. Macbeth is full of admiration because of her planning and confidence at this point. The two must “mock the time” which means they need to deceive the world. Lady Macbeth has succeeded in changing the wavering mind of Macbeth. The audience would have seen her as a completely “fiend-like queen.” They would have been disgusted with her at this point.
When we examine Act 2, Scenes 2 and 3, we can see her as “fiend-like” but during these scenes, we see that Lady Macbeth isn’t all fiendish. In scene 2, we see that Lady Macbeth has been drinking:
“That which hath them drunk, hath made me bold.” When she hears a sudden noise, she is on edge and jumpy. Is she regretting anything now? Macbeth then speaks to her. She tells that she couldn’t commit the murder:
“Had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done’t.” we can see some emotion and pity flowing through her veins. Macbeth also seems a little on edge as well: “Didst thou hear a noise?” He makes sure that he wasn’t seen or heard from any other rooms: “who lies I’ th’ second chamber?” she then gets her “fiend-like” qualities back when she says Macbeth is foolish when he said that their bloody hands were a “sorry sight.” In my opinion, she is back to her old tricks again. She thought Macbeth was reading too much into the deed. Lady Macbeth is then furious when Macbeth brings back the daggers which were to be planted on the guards. Her response to the blood is:
“A little water clears us of this deed.” The two hear a knocking at the south entrance. “Get on your nightgown.” They must look as if they are innocent and were in bed the whole time. By the end if the scene, Macbeth wishes the knocking would wake Duncan. Macbeth is definitely regretting what he has just done. In Scene 3, a porter who has been drinking responds to the knocking. He is angry at his rest being disturbed. It is Macduff and Lennox. They have come to wake Duncan as planned. Macduff is the one to find the body and raises the alarm. The Macbeths have to act shocked at the discovery. Lady Macbeth enters. She acts as if she knows nothing of this deed: “what’s the business…………….?” Eventually, all the characters at the castle feature. They are revolted, shocked and horror-struck. All the visitors are suspicious. As part of the plan, she faints to take the emphasis off the subject: “Help me hence, ho!” Banquo then takes charge. All present swear an oath to right. However, Malcolm and Donalbain the sons of Duncan, flee to England and Ireland for fear they too will be murdered.
In Act 5, Scene 1, Lady Macbeth is having trouble sleeping. A gentlewoman calls a Doctor to see what is wrong. On the night the Doctor is there, she enters, carrying a candle. We find out that she now has to have a light with her as she sleeps: “’tis her command.” She begins speaking: “out damned spot, out I say!” she is washing her hands and thinks she sees a spot of Duncan’s blood on her hand. She goes on to speak of the murders of Duncan, Lady Macduff, and unknown to him, the death of Banquo. The Doctor is unsure what she is talking about. Finally, the Doctor says she needs a priest rather than a Doctor: “The disease is beyond my practice.” The Gentlewoman is told to keep an eye on Lady Macbeth and the Doctor leaves. The audience would have seen her as completely changed. She now has nightmares about the murderous deed committed.
To conclude, I thought at the beginning of the play that she was a “fiend-like queen”. But as I read on, I saw her change momentarily and then go back to her old ways. But by the end, she was having nightmares and finally at the end of the play throws herself off the top of the castle. She couldn’t live with the guilt and killed herself. Macbeth was in mid-battle at this point and was eventually killed by Macduff, There is no happy ending for the Macbeths. I think that she was completely and utterly “fiend-like” because of the plan and the constant taunting of Macbeth. Also, she was very two-faced and fraudulent. That is my decision. She was a “fiend-like queen.”
