Lady Macbeth first speaks in Act 1; she is reading a letter sent from Macbeth, telling her that three witches predicted Macbeth would be king. Her initial reaction after reading it is very powerful and dramatic. She immediately decides that Macbeth will be king, “Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be What thou art promised.” She does not hesitate for a second, and thinks that herself and Macbeth are thinking the same thing.
Furthermore, Lady Macbeth knows her husband well. She thinks he may be too kind in order to murder the king. To overcome this weakness, she invites evil spirits to enter her:
“Come you spirits
That tends on mortal thoughts! Unsex me here,
And fill me from the crown to the top-full
Of direst cruelty!”
She represses her conscience, so she can persuade Macbeth into committing the evil deed. She cannot do it herself, as she is too feminine, so she tells the spirits to take away her femininity.
A Jacobean audience will be shocked at this speech by Lady Macbeth as it is so evil, but a modern audience would not care as much.
In Act 1, Lady Macbeth is portrayed as an extremely strong character. First of all, her high ambition is shown, as she clearly wants Macbeth to rule. This becomes even clearer, when Macbeth brings further news that King Duncan is coming to stay with them, so she seizes the opportunity. Wanting to murder Duncan also shows that Lady Macbeth is immoral and cold-hearted, and does not have any second thoughts about it.
Macbeth and his wife have a loving relationship. Lady Macbeth is the more dominant of the pair, as he is “full of the milk of human kindness.” He is susceptible to the power of women. Lady Macbeth is strong, while Macbeth is weak. The Jacobean audience would have been appalled at the dominance of women, whilst to a modern audience it would have been understandable.
Her sly and calculating motivational skills are shown when she persuades Macbeth to commit the murder also. She says, “only look up clear”, which persuades Macbeth because all he has to do is put up an innocent face.
Lady Macbeth uses very persuasive language to trap Macbeth into saying yes to the deed. She speaks confidently, and rhythmically, to improve the quality of her sleep. Her language is full of vigour and energy, which gives her a strong confident voice. Blank verse is used in her speech, as she is speaking freely to overcome Macbeth weak language in the scene.
In Act 5 Scene 1, the dramatic portrayal of lady Macbeth is a complete contrast to how acts in the beginning of the play. She is overwhelmed with guilt from the deed, and it is worse because she no longer has Macbeth by her side for support. He is weak, but she needs him to maintain her physiological equilibrium and state of mind.
When the doctor speaks to her, she admits she has done something, “will these hands ne’er be clean?” She is guilt ridden, and wants to be cleansed. This also shows fear as she is admitting all that she has done.
Before she had lost her femininity, but now she has regained it, and her conscience, as she is “pouring” out all of her feelings and guilt. She can no longer continue with life, now that Macbeth is dead.
The portrayal of Lady Macbeth is related to the themes of justice and retribution, which would upset the natural hierarchy of the order in society. Lady Macbeth is an ambitious character who over through the natural leader. This destroyed gods plan for the roles of men and women, so her natural state of mind was destroyed, which can lead to Lady Macbeth committing suicide.
Harry Hare 10Q