When Lady Macbeth reads Macbeths Letter she instantly thinks that Macbeth is “too full of the milk of human kindness” and “he art not without ambition but without illness that should attend it” to do what she thinks must be done to become king. It is strange that straight away she thinks that the only way it will happen is if they kill Duncan and not just think that it will happen just because it is the future. This tells us she is a very practical woman who doesn’t really believe in Destiny. Also it almost gives the idea that maybe she had thought about becoming a queen before. Especially as when she hears about the possibility, she doesn’t say anything about it not being true or being impossible. Just like before she also proves the fact that Macbeth is very ambitious but she doesn’t think he is a butcher because she thinks he is too kind and loyal to kill Duncan but she knows that with a little persuasion from her he probably will. “Chastise with the valour of my tongue.”
Macbeth has a lot of soliloquies that tell us that Macbeth isn’t just a slaughterer but a real person and gives us an insight into exactly what he’s thinking. At one point he is wondering whether or not to kill Duncan and says;
If th’assassination
Could trammel up the consequence and catch
With his surcease, success, that but his blow
Might be the be-all and end-all.
This is Macbeth telling us that if there were no consequences to the murder then he would do it even risking going to hell in the future. This makes you think that he isn’t really worried about killing Duncan just about what might happen after. And that makes him seem selfish and not worried about Duncan more like a butcher. On the other hand he also says,”I am his kinsman and his subject strong both against the deed.” This tells us that really he is quite noble and knows its wrong to kill Family and the king as well as the fact that he thinks Duncan is a good man. He ends it with saying that his only incentive is Ambition, and so, decides not to kill Duncan after all. This make the reader really understand what he’s going through and makes you feel sorry for him. He has gone through so much stress even though he’s saying that he wouldn’t mind going to hell if he could have a nice life as king. All in all even here he isn’t like a butcher because butchers don’t even think about what there doing and just kill because it’s what they do, but Macbeth has a conscience and is troubled by it.
After Macbeth decides to proceed no further he goes and tells Lady Macbeth this but she is outraged. Afterwards she tries to persuade him otherwise, and tells him “From this time I account your love.” This is a real blow to Macbeth as he has is very close to her. We know this because he says “my dearest partner in greatness” as well as the fact that she was almost the first person he told about the meeting with the witches and in those days that was a rare thing as usually men would tell their other men friends first before their wives.
Additionally she says;
I have given suck and know
How tender ‘tis to love the babe that milks me:
I would, while it was smiling in my face,
Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums
And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn.
This is a very powerful and fiendlike speech that she uses to make Macbeth feel guilty even though he never actually promised to kill Duncan. Furthermore she is constantly putting him down and telling him if he doesn’t do it he will be less of a man and coward “When durst did it, then you were a man” telling a Man like Macbeth these kind of things would be very patronising considering the fact that he is an incredibly powerful warrior and he certainly wouldn’t want his wife to think him unmanly and weak. On top of all this Lady Macbeth also dominates the whole conversation and hardly let’s Macbeth get a word in. This is a very clever tactic because it doesn’t let Macbeth think about what she’s saying and will confuse him. She keeps doing all this until he gives the slightest waver of giving in”If we should fail?” at which point she pounces on him and makes it seem incredulous that there is any chance of them failing “we fail?!” Then to top it of she tells him exactly what they need to do and makes it seem simple, easy, and bullet proof. The whole argument is obviously very well thought out and something that only a fiend like queen would be able to think up. Very few people would be able to argue with it, especially someone like Macbeth who hardly even tries. I think the reason for this is the fact that really he kind of wanted to do it all along and now he has her telling him he should, its easy just to go along with it.
Just before and just after the death of Duncan Macbeth suffers from a lot guilt and regret. This is greatly shown in one of his soliloquies in which he is hallucinating. “A dagger of the mind, a false creation proceeding from the heat oppressed brain.” This tells us that he is disturbed about what he is about to do, as his head is “heat oppressed” and because he is hallucinating it makes you think that he’s a bit distressed. After he has murdered Duncan he goes back to this wife but in his hurry to get away he forgets to leave the daggers and starts hallucinating again, “Methought I heard a voice cry sleep no more.” He thinks he’s hearing voices. On top of this he is taking about how he is unable to say amen, “But wherefore could not I pronounce amen.” The fact he can’t say amen gives the idea that he thinks he’s going to hell, this is telling us that Macbeth is very disturbed by what he has just done and feels like what ever he dose he won’t be able to get rid of his guilt. “This my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine.” Even after Macbeth has ordered the murderers out to kill Banquo he still shows regret, “Full of scorpions is my mind.” This tells us that he can’t stop thinking about the terrible things he has done and as a result his mind is hurting like a scorpions bite. This pain is so great that he even says he would prefer to be dead just like Duncan if it meant he could be in peace and this shows the depth of his regret. “Better to be with the dead.” Lastly it shows more guilt when he sees the ghost of Banquo, “Prithee, see there.” I think that the reason he sees the ghost is that he wants Banquo not to be dead and almost to comfort him. “If thou can nod speak too.” Overall all Macbeths’ reminiscence shows that he is far from a butcher. For a long time and it’s not until he can get over his guilt that he turns into one.
After the incident with the ghost Macbeths attitude changes completely and he decides that now he will do anything he has to without remorse. This is the start to his career as a butcher. “For mine own good all causes shall give way.” Suddenly he has stopped worrying about the consequences of what he might have to do and has loads of confidence. This is because he has got over the guilt and found that it is easier not to think about what he is doing and just get on with things. We know this because after this scene Shakespeare stops writing anything from Macbeth’s point of view. That’s because Macbeth has resided within himself so he doesn’t have to think about what he’s doing. His relationship with everybody changes, even his attitude towards his wife which before is very good, goes downhill, and everyone starts to hate him, “Smacking of every sin that has a name.” From now on Macbeth acts a tyrant, but really, I think he has already given up on himself and thinks it’s to late for him to do anything to stop it even if he wanted to.
Now I will move onto Lady Macbeth, I have briefly mentioned her previously but will now go into greater detail. After she has found out about the prophecy Macbeth got, you can tell that being a queen would be something of a dream to her, ”All that impedes thee form the golden round”. But she knows that to do it she will have to be fiend like and tries to make herself one by calling on evil spirits. “Full me from the crown to the toe topfull of the direst cruelty.” After this as I have explained previously she behaves very fiend like in persuading Macbeth to do the deed, but is the only reason she is so like the devil in doing this because she asked to be full of evil? I think this probably has quite a lot to do with it, but just like Macbeth without her ambition, and devotion to power, I doubt she would have be anywhere near as successful in what she did.
Lady Macbeth seemed to be very confident and in control of what she was doing, but we find out in the next scene that that isn’t quite the case
“That witch hath made them drunk, hath made me bold” This proves that to drug the guards she had to have a drink herself so she had the courage to do it and makes you think that she didn’t find it as easy as she made out. Also she says;
These deeds must not be thought
After these ways; so, it will make us mad.
Because Lady Macbeth doesn’t want to think about what they have just done it shows that she thinks it is wrong and feels guilty about it. Also, it is ironic just like “Macbeth doth murder sleep.” and “a little water clears us of this deed. They are ironic because later in the play Lady Macbeth actually does go mad. She starts to sleepwalk and whilst sleepwalking she talks about how she can’t wash the blood from her hands. This tells us that Lady Macbeth doesn’t really know what she’s talking about and just says it to make her and her husband feel better. All in all at this point she is a bit like a fiend because although she makes out that she is very confident and knows what she’s doing she doesn’t actually. On the contrary, unlike a fiend, she feels some guilt and insecurity about what they have done so at this point she is half-and-half.
Although Lady Macbeth acts the part of the queen, now she’s got what she wanted she becomes less and less fiend like and when Macbeth decides to kill Banquo she dose not take any part in it. “Be innocent of the deed dearest chuck.” After this we slowly start to hear of her less and less, and unlike at the beginning of the play, after the banquet Macbeth seems to take the lead, not her. This is the start of Lady Macbeth’s undoing and one of the reasons for it is because of her disappointment. She thought that once she was queen every thing would be good and would mean that she would gain loads of power. ”Give solely sovereign sway and masterdom.” Therefore she thought it would be like a happy ending, but because it isn’t she gets depressed and her madness begins.
In act five, Scene one, Lady Macbeth completely looses it. Her guilt becomes too much for her and she starts sleepwalking and talking. I have already mentioned about some of the things she does, but she also seems to be writing something, witch is probably a confession “Take forth paper, fold it, write upon it, and read it.” The reason I think it’s a confession it that all of what else she is saying is one so it is likely that is too. Also she says, “hell is murky” this proves that she has realised her consequence is that she will have to go to hell and the fact that it is murky makes me think that she is almost considering suicide and wondering if its worth it. In addition the doctor says “her heart is sorely charged.” This is quite a good description of her and makes you think that her heart is very full, but of the wrong things. Taken as a whole this shows us that Lady Macbeth has had a lot of feelings, (especially guilt,) that she has had to keep inside her and pretend they are not there, but suddenly they have become too much for her and she has had face up to them, in the form of nightmares. I think the reason that in her nightmares she has been sleepwalking is that she hasn’t been able to tell anyone about anything so the only time she can talk about it is in her sleep. After this scene Lady Macbeth commits suicide off stage. Altogether this scene is very important, as it tells us a lot about Lady Macbeth and how she is just like any other human and can’t escape what she has done even though she, herself has only just realised this.
To conclude Shakespeare creates two very complex characters; who because of the way they are portrayed, definitely do not seem like a fiend and butcher. I think that Macbeth is never really a proper butcher, as at all points during the play he suffers from; guilt, regret, a super natural force, or simply the fact that he feels he has to kill people because it’s to late to stop. On the other hand, I can understand why Malcolm would think what he did as he only knew the story from a spectator’s view, so therefore I believe that it was a fair thing for him to say, just not a particularly accurate one. The reason that we, as readers can learn so much about the characters is that Shakespeare really lets us into the minds of the characters; one of the best examples of this is in Macbeth’s soliloquies
Without this we probably would; just like Malcolm, have thought Macbeth was a Butcher. As for Lady Macbeth, I feel that she is also never really a fiend. Just like Macbeth there is always something which makes her seem more human than that and it is all due to Shakespeare’s great techniques. For Lady Macbeth, probably the most important is her last scene in which she sleepwalks, as it tells us so much about her real personality. As a result, just like Macbeth I think that Malcolm has the right to think of her as a fiend as she did do some terrible things, but because we know so much more about her we know that really she isn’t a fiend at all. Furthermore there are the witches. Without them I think without none of the murders would ever have happened. I think that they also prove that Macbeth and his wife are not evil because a lot of their actions were out of their control. Although I don’t think the witches controlled everything, I think they where the catalyst to a lot of it.
The end at last.
