We see her persuasive techniques in ACT 1 SCENE 7 when Macbeth rethinks his plan to kill the King, and how she manipulates him to change his mind by saying
“Was the hope drunk, wherein you dressed yourself? Hath it slept since?” She basically questions Macbeth’s love for her, and if he loves her then he will kill the King, which is very cunning and clever but also evil.
I feel Lady Macbeth uses her femininity to cast Macbeth under her “spell” by flirting with him and kissing him. At least this is how it is interpreted in Polanski’s film of the play.
Also in Act 2 Scene 1 it is Lady Macbeth, who returns the daggers to set up the guards. It was also Lady Macbeth’s plan and she also volunteered to commit the murder herself.
When Duncan is found dead, Lady Macbeth acts and speaks brilliantly and claims
“Duncan was like a father to me” and it is Lady Macbeth who is calm, while Macbeth is all over the place and fearing the worst but Lady Macbeth calms and reassures him.
In Act 3, Banquo dies, which is all down to Macbeth’s jealousy, as he knows Banquo’s descendants will be King, so he orders Fleance to be killed. Fleance escapes, which confirms everything the witches said has turned out to be true. So when Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost in his seat at the banquet, his wife is the one who lies convincingly and convinces the people there that it’s an illness Macbeth has
“My lord is often thus, and hath been since his youth, The fit is momentarily, upon a thought he will again be well”
Through all of this evidence, it is easy to see who has handled the situation better, and who is mentally stronger, which can be connected to the fact that she is partly in control of her husband.
The relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is a very close but rather strange one. Although the couple love and adore each other greatly there are a lot of things than Macbeth does not understand about Lady Macbeth. He does not realise that she knows his weakness of character and his strengths and therefore can manipulate his behaviour. At the beginning of the play Lady Macbeth is the stronger of the two. Throughout the play there are times where Macbeth is stronger and times where Lady Macbeth takes control. The communication between the couple is very strong at the beginning but as the play progresses it alters and eventually breaks down. Many factors like persuasion and ambition are a big part in the couple's relationship. When Lady Macbeth reads the letter about her husband's victory she becomes the more powerful character. Although it was the witches who told Macbeth he will be king, it was Lady Macbeth who uses her art of persuasion and knowledge of Macbeth's weaknesses, to make him kill the king, and to achieve the prophecies set by the witches. Lady starts to persuade Macbeth from their first meeting. This meeting is very romantic and close, and this helps her with her persuasion. Another factor that helps lady Macbeth persuade Macbeth is the knowledge she has of him. She knows how to get him motivated. Due to Macbeths lack of knowledge of his married partner, he is unable to prevent her. Lady Macbeth has a driving ambition, not just for Macbeth to be king, but for herself to be queen. This causes her to really try hard, to get the position, making her more powerful. Lady Macbeth is still the more powerful of the couple when King Duncan is murdered.
The point where Macbeth starts to take control is when he slaughters the guards. This was not in Lady Macbeths planning and for a little while Macbeth is in control of the situation. From that point, he goes from strength to strength and plans Banquo's and Fleances murdered. The only weakness shown there is that he had to get hit men to do it, he could not kill his best friend himself. Macbeth is in control and very powerful until the banquet scene. This is the last time in the play that Lady Macbeth is involved, and is able to become the more powerful of the two. After the banquet scene Macbeth goes from strength to strength again, and having Macduff's family killed is a sign of this. When Macbeth consults the weird sisters for the last time, they trick him to make him think that what they say can't happen. For example, they said the Birnam Woods will move. This trickery causes Macbeth to become more powerful and more ambitious as he thinks that no harm will come to him and he doesn't need Lady Macbeth anymore. This is a big point in the breakdown of the couple's relationship. An illustration of Lady Macbeth's weakness and her mental breakdown is portrayed through the sleepwalking scene. This is where Lady Macbeth reveals everything about Macbeth and herself killing Duncan. The decrease of Lady Macbeth's power eventually leads to her suicide. At the beginning of the play, the relationship between the couple is very close as they are dependent on each other. As the play progresses, and Macbeth becomes more powerful, he doesn't need Lady Macbeth anymore, causing her breakdown and her suicide.
Macbeth, I fell now has no feeling or emotion left in him, which is probably why he fights single – handily.
As I mentioned, the role of the witches is huge. They prophesised everything that happened and Macbeth wouldn’t have killed the King or thought about it if it wasn’t for them. They led Macbeth to think he was invincible, so he probably got what he deserved in the end. The witches also made apparitions, which led to Macbeth’s downfall.
The first apparition showed Macbeth to be wary of Macduff.
The second apparition showed Macbeth that no born man or women could hurt him, which Maduff later jokes that he was born by a caesarean operation.
The third apparition tells Macbeth that he will not be beaten until Birnham Wood moves to Dunsinane.
The witches use of language and rhythm in rhyme is very persuasive and believable and never at any stage did Macbeth doubt them, he was too concerned about his fate. For example,
“When shall we three meet again, In thunder, lightning or in rain”
“When the hurlybuyly’s done, When the battle’s lost and won”
Very consistent rhyme and rhythm shown, which is a use of iambic pentameter.
We also learn that the witches are very evil from the start as what they did to that sea – captain and how they
“Drain him dry as day”
“Sleep shall neither night or day”
I think that overall a combination of many factors’ led to Macbeth’s downfall, in his decision to kill the King, Lady Macbeth played a part.
But Lady Macbeth didn’t make him kill Banquo or the Macduffs or turn him into a stubborn and Tyrant King.
The witches also played a part as Macbeth wouldn’t have even dreamed about killing the King if they hadn’t have told him he would be King, that was a big factor as well as Macbeth’s own greed and arrogance. Although, lady Macbeth did confirm her husband’s thoughts on killing the King, but it was Macbeth’s idea in the first place, so therefore most of the responsibility lies with him alone.
