The impact the character of Lady Macbeth Has on the audience.

Richard Roberts 11’1 18th of November 2002

The impact the character of Lady Macbeth

Has on the audience.

In this essay I am going to write on how the character of Lady Macbeth has on the audience. Lady Macbeth is one of the leading characters in this play. Lady Macbeth and her husband have decided to kill everyone so that Macbeth can become the king of Scotland. As they go further into the play they become mass murderers.

In the first act Lady Macbeth and her husband have planned to kill King Duncan. In line sixty-five and line sixty-six Lady Macbeth tells us ‘He that’s coming must be provided for’ this quote that Lady Macbeth tells us that the king is coming to the castle and that he shall be killed after he falls asleep. Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth this quote so that no one would expect them of killing the king. She also tells Macbeth that when the king arrives he shall be murdered after he has fallen asleep. After the king arrives at the castle Lady Macbeth questions Macbeth’s manhood. Lady Macbeth tells him ‘When you durst do it, then you are a man’ This lines that Lady Macbeth tells us suggests to me that Lady Macbeth is calling Macbeth a coward. She is also questioning him about his manhood. She is forcing him to kill King Duncan, she tells him that after he kills the king then she will call him a man.

In the second act they have done the deed and Macbeth asks Lady Macbeth why she didn’t kill Duncan. She then tells us ‘Had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done’t’. In my opinion Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth this as an excuse. This line also shows the cowardly side of Lady Macbeth. This quote is also an ironic peace of writing. Further on in act two Lady Macbeth is trying to calm Macbeth down. Lady Macbeth tells him ‘A little water clears us of this deed’. Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth this to try and calm him ...

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Richard Roberts 11’1

very clearheaded, this quote also shows the caring side of Lady Macbeth.

In act three Macbeth has let the guilt get to him. This scene shows how guilty Lady Macbeth and her husband are. When Macbeth starts to shout Lady Macbeth tells the guests ‘Sit, worthy friends: my lord is often thus, and hath been from his youth’ This quote that Lady Macbeth tells us is very clever and also shows the caring side of Lady Macbeth. In my opinion Lady Macbeth tells the guests this quote to try and cover up for everything that Macbeth has been shouting out. In this scene Macbeth gives the plot away completely, and because of this it shows the manipulative side of Lady Macbeth.

In act five scene one Lady Macbeth has also let the guilt and the frustration get to her. Because of this Lady Macbeth starts to sleep walk. While she is sleep walking she tells us ‘What, will these hands ne’er be clean?’. In my opinion Lady Macbeth has given everything away. By the end of the play Lady Macbeth realises that everything has gone wrong and that everything is over. Lady Macbeth has gone mad because guilt has overcome her.

In my opinion Lady Macbeth is a key characters in this play. I think that she has had a big influence on the audience, because of her everything has gone wrong for Macbeth. Also she has made Scotland a living hell.