Compare and Contrast Macbeth and Lady Macbeth Throughout the play.
Compare and Contrast Macbeth and Lady Macbeth
Throughout the play.
At the beginning of the play, we see Macbeth as a valiant soldier, fresh from the glory of his achievements on the battlefield. This all changes once he meets the witches, falling under their spell and that of his manipulative wife. Lady Macbeth has a good relationship with her husband. They depend on one another planning and plotting the death of Duncan at the beginning of the play. At the end of the play Macbeth the king is defeated and the order is restored. He does not die a hero's death but is slain in an act of revenge, against the usurper king. Lady Macbeth is no longer the, "partner in greatness". She is out of control. Filled with guilt and fear. She re-enacts past happenings, her mind wandering from one event to another.
The good side of Macbeth is shown when we hear about him first time and when the sergeant tells Duncan the story about the battle Duncan says, "o, valiant cousin! Worthy gentleman." Duncan is very proud of his cousin. Ross enters and tells Duncan, "point against point, rebellious arm 'gainst arm,
Curbing his lavish spirit: and, to conclude,
The victory fell on us."
Duncan is very happy when he hears this news he says: -
"No more than thane of cawdor shall decieve
our bosom interest: go pronounce his present
death,
And with his former title greet Macbeth."
At this stage Macbeth is held in high esteem by all.
When Macbeth hears the witches prophesies he is shocked and wants to know more, "But how of cawdor? The thane of cawdor lives." "And to be king stands not within the prospect of belief." The witches ability to prophesy is proved when Macbeth receives the title, "thane of cawdor" his reaction to the news of the witches is strange, he is startled, then appears "rapt withal" showing he has had thoughts of becoming king before. The news comes so closely after the witches prophesy. He is preoccupied and cannot think of anything else. He trys to persuade himself that the prophesy is good. He is enchanted, "thanks for your pains." This soliloquy marks the beginning of the main plot of the play. The idea of kingship is linked with evil. "The greatest is behind," means he has already achieved the first prophesy and is looking forward to the next, what of "king hereafter?" He believes that if the first can be achieved then so can the next.
The second soliloquy reveals exactly what is on his mind, "two truths are told." Yet Macbeth believes: -
"This supernatural soliciting cannot be ill,
Cannot be good if ill,
Why hath it given me earnest of the success,
Commencing in a truth."
He is not sure what is real. He is not certain whether he could leave it all to chance and he could become king without having to act against Duncan. He is in a trance. Banquo realises what Macbeth is thinking about-the possibility of becoming king. There is conflict in Macbeth's mind. This is the first in Macbeth that he is contemplating murder in the play. There are signs in the speech that Macbeth may have considered murdering the king before, such are his ambitions. He wrestles with the ideas of good and evil. It is as if he wants the witches' predictions to be true. He wants to be king and realises that in order to be king he has to kill Duncan. This idea does, however horrify him: -
"Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair,
And make my seated heart knock at my ribs."
He tells lies to Banquo. He pretends he was preoccupied with things he had forgotten when really he had been plotting to kill King Duncan. This marks his deceit, lies and his corrupted thoughts.
At this point Macbeth is very close of becoming evil all because of the witches' prophecies. All the witches do is make statements about the future. It is Macbeth who chooses to follow up on what they have to say, making the decision to act upon their suggestions once he is proclaimed Thane of Cawdor. An indication that there might be truth in the prophecies. When Macbeth arrives at the palace at Forres, Duncan is very generous: -
"Thou art so far before,
That swiftest wing of recompense it slow,
To overtake thee."
Macbeth hears that Malcolm is to be Duncan's rightful heir to the throne. This eliminates any possible hope Macbeth may have had in becoming king, "by chance". He has been partly responsible for this decision. He is not deterred by the news. He knows now that he has to: -
"Oer-leap,
For in my way it lies."
He asks the stars to hide. Stars are associated with brightness, which shine on the noble, the honourable. He does ...
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"Thou art so far before,
That swiftest wing of recompense it slow,
To overtake thee."
Macbeth hears that Malcolm is to be Duncan's rightful heir to the throne. This eliminates any possible hope Macbeth may have had in becoming king, "by chance". He has been partly responsible for this decision. He is not deterred by the news. He knows now that he has to: -
"Oer-leap,
For in my way it lies."
He asks the stars to hide. Stars are associated with brightness, which shine on the noble, the honourable. He does not want his evil thoughts and plans to be known and to be seen in the light. Stars hiding their fires would ensure darkness. His plans would then be associated with evil and darkness, "let not light see my black and deep desires." Macbeth is now contemplating murder. His ambitions becomes more focused. He realises he has two people in his way, Duncan and Malcolm. This is the point where Macbeth turns evil.
Macbeth is so happy that he is the Thane of Glamis and now wants to be king. So he writes to his wife telling her about the prophecies and the witches saying, "hail, king that shalt be!" Macbeth is ready for the murder and can't wait for it to happen. In this scene Lady Macbeth seems totally devoted to evil. She calls upon the forces of evil to unsex her. There is a dreadful destructiveness in her words, a fervour and commitment that is truly frightening: -
"Come' you spirits
That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,
And fill me, from the crown to the toe,
Top full
Of direst cruelty."
There is only one aim in life: to achieve the goal of kingship for Macbeth, with Lady Macbeth at her side. In the pursuit of this aim it becomes necessary to put aside any weakness or tenderness. She becomes the essence of evil, cruelty and heartlessness is free of the morality of mankind. From Lady Macbeth's first appearance we are made aware of the enormity of her desire to succeed at all costs in spite of her husbands apparent virtuousness and compassionate nature: -
"Come thick night,
And pull thee in the dunnest smoke of heir,
That my keen knife see not the wound
It makes"
Lady Macbeth seems inherently evil, but we should consider that she is trapped by the very same device that leads to her husband's downfall. Macbeth's letter prompts her dark and evil thoughts. If he had not met the witches her ambition might also have lain dormant. At this point Lady Macbeth is completely evil and Macbeth isn't. He has a guilty conscience because he doesn't want to kill Duncan.
In the next scene Lady Macbeth uses guile when dealing with Duncan, making him believe she welcomed him as king and kinsman. This is the irony as she speaks to Duncan with such respect: -
"All our service
In every point twice done and then done,
Double,
Were poor and single business to contend,
Your majesty loads our house."
By the time we get to Macbeth's fourth soliloquy he has just returned from battle, having let his wife know of the witch's prophecies. He is aware of how resolute and determined she is to see him become king. He loves his wife and will do anything to please her. She is aware of his weaknesses, how indecisive and irresolute he can be. She is his, "partner in greatness". She is worried that Macbeth is too kind and can't complete the deed. She greets him on his return from battle with, "I feel the future in he instant." She is convinced he will be king but Macbeth is not sure. She tells him that she will make the plan herself.
At the banquet Macbeth is disturbed as seen in his thoughts expressed in his soliloquy he says: -
"This blow
Might be the be all and the end-all-here
But here."
This shows he still has doubts. Tension is increased as Macbeth changes his mind as Lady Macbeth goes to persuade him. At this time we see her as a vicious and driven woman. We watch as she goes about achieving her aims, using her powers as a woman to win over her husband: -
"Was the hope drunk
Wherein you dressed yourself? Hath it slept since?
And wakes it now to look so green and pale."
Lady Macbeth is always in charge. She takes control. She appears to be absolutely secure in her belief in her husband's claim to the throne and her own position as queen. At this point Macbeth and his wife appear to have a good relationship, they depend on one another planning and plotting the death of Duncan. However it is Lady Macbeth who emerges to the stronger and more determined. She uses all her powers to convince her husband to kill the king. This includes her attempt to shame Macbeth into action and prompt him to kill Duncan: -
"I dare do all that may become a man
Who dare do more, is none."
Lady Macbeth says: -
"What beast wasn't then
That made you break this enterprise to me
When you dust do it, then you were a man."
Macbeth knows he will be judged here on earth and Duncan is in his home. Duncan is a good king and he has no good reason to kill Duncan except his ambition and the desire for power. The persuasion of Lady Macbeth works and Macbeth wants to do the murder. The soliloquy at the start of the play voices his fear and doubts.
When Macbeth is talking to Banquo in Macbeth's castle few hours' later, he talks as if he is going to do the murder. After Macbeth hallucinates and sees dagger because he is feeling guilty of the deed he is just committing: -
"There's no such thing:
It is the bloody business, which informs
Thus to mine eyes."
He is so obsessed with murder that he is seeing things. He thinks the witches are doing this: -
"Now witchcraft celebrates,
Pale Hecat's off rings."
A bell rings suddenly from nowhere which is a sign of the witches powers and he says it is an invitation to the murder.
At the start of the murder scene Lady Macbeth is very nervous and agitated: -
"Alack! I am afraid they have awaked,
And tis not done: Th'attempt and not the deed
Comforms us." This tells us that she is very panicky and doesn't want to get caught, if she does get caught her life being a queen will be ruined.
When Macbeth arrives Lady Macbeth is very happy and knows that the deed, "my husband!" she says. The murder is over and Lady Macbeth is relieved but Macbeth's got a feeling he might get caught. Macbeth won't take back the daggers because he is so ashamed that he has done the murder and he can't say, "amen."
All this happens because Lady Macbeth ignores the rules of humanity and organised society, pursuing her own ruthless motives. However, repeatedly Lady Macbeth gives the appearance of being in control but she was unable to kill the king herself, claiming he looked too much like her father, not much later she advises her husband: -
"These deed must not be thought,
After these ways: so, it will make us mad."
Both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth's character is different in this scene. At the start of the scene Lady Macbeth is nervous and doesn't ant to do the murder, but Macbeth is confident and does the murder. After the murder Macbeth is scared and is in a trance of what he has done. Lady Macbeth has calmed down and regained her self-composure.
The greater part of the play is devoted to this part. He is king. We see Macbeth in action, others comment on his reign of terror. Macbeth is king but he wants to be safe king where he has nothing to fear and he fears Banquo a lot because he is the only one that has seen and heard the witches tell Macbeth the prophecies: -
"To be thus is nothing,
But to be safely thus: our fears in Banquo
Stick deep, and in his royal nature
Reigns that which would be feared."
Macbeth's tells the murderers that they were treated badly by Banquo and this is the time to kill him, but Macbeth doesn't want to get involved in the murder. He wants the murderers to get the blame. The murderers do whatever they are commanded: -
"We shall my lord,
Perform what you command us,
Though our lives."
This is a sign that being King Macbeth means getting so much respect. In comparison from the moment he is crowned king. Macbeth executes a reign of terror that has already started with the killing of Duncan, together with his wife he is ruthless in pursuing his own selfish aims. He organises the death of those whom he sees as rivals and those who are a threat to his safety. These show Macbeth's tyranning developing, as he is alone when planning Banquo's murder.
It is noticeable that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are equal partners in the killing of Duncan but that after Macbeth becomes king he excludes from his plans. When she asks about his plans for Banquo he replies: -
"Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck,
Till thou applaud the deed."
Macbeth involves a third murderer because he wants the murder done complete with no mistakes and nobody to find. The murderers kill Banquo but his son Fleance escapes. When Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo in the next scene he is amazed. This is another sign of the witch's evilness. No one sees the ghost except Macbeth. Lady Macbeth says: -
"Are you a man?"
Macbeth says: -
"Yes and a bold one, that dares to
Look at what might
Scare the devil."
This reaches a climax in this Banquet scene, again its Lady Macbeth who steps in to save the situation but she hasn't got the same control over him. There are decided strains in the relationship Macbeth says: -
"Why, so, being gone,
I am a man again- pray you sit still."
Lady Macbeth says: -
"You have displaced the mirth, broke the good meeting
With most admired disorder."
The ghost disappears and returns again, this happens because he's the only one who has committed the bad deeds. In this scene we see Macbeth desperately trying to keep up appearances when in public, we are also aware of the difficulty he has staying in control. We share in his indecision and anguish when he is faced with killing the king. His much admired kinsman, monarch and guest. Macbeth is obsessed with guilt. He cannot sleep. He has difficulty making decisions and he mistrusts all those around him. His conscience reminds him of the deed he has committed. Yet Macbeth is always bothered by his conscience.
Shakespeare seems to imply that once we are committed to following a path of evil, it is very difficult to breakaway. Macbeth chooses never to consider the alternative once he has made the decision to put into action the witches predictions he follows the path he has chosen with a bloody determination. He says: -
"I am in blood steepp'd so far,
That, should I wade no more
Returning were as tedious as go o'er."
In this part of the play Lady Macbeth is very calm. She starts being left out which leads to her demise.
When Lennox is talking to a lord, Lennox gets suspicious that Macbeth killed Duncan and Banquo. Also (very strange) things have happened: -
"Things have been strangely borne
The gracious Duncan
Was pitied of Macbeth: marry he was dead."
Lennox also calls him a tyrant because since he has been king the country has changed: -
"And for missing the tyrant's feast,
Macduff is in disgrace."
He says the country is suffering from him being king. This shows Macbeth has links with evil.
The witches challenge the forces of virtue and order in the universe. By having sold their souls to the devil they are able to challenge moral order. They apparitions in order to perform the devil's work: -
"Say it thou'dst hear it from our mouths,
Or from our masters."
The purpose of the witches is to kindle the evil ambition they know Macbeth will find hard to resist. They betray the thane by deceiving him into believing the truth of their prophecies drawing him into their world of evil: by gaining the trust and confidence of Macbeth, they are able to bring about the political and social disorder. The very state of Scotland and its people are at risk as Macbeth moves deeper into evil. They provide the false coverage by appealing to the worst in the man.
The apparitions tell Macbeth warnings: -
"Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware
Macduff!"
Macbeth thanks the apparition for the warning. The second apparition tells him: -
"Nobody born of woman shall harm Macbeth"
Macbeth says, "then live Macduff what need I fear of thee."
The third apparition says: -
"Macbeth shall never be vanquished be until
Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill
Shall come against him."
He says that Birnam wood will never advance against him to the high hill of Dunsinane. Macbeth is angry after seeing the eight kings going past him created by the witches: -
"Filthy hags!
Why do you show me this?"
He doesn't like the witches and he no longer needs them. He wants to kill Macduff's family. He is entirely evil.
Lady Macbeth appears in act five again isolated, broken and a mentally disturbed woman, no longer the, " partner in greatness" we saw earlier in the play. She is obsessed by what she has done, a woman driven to madness and eventual self destruction by her guilt and despair, yet still unwilling to accept reality and her own weakness. There is a marked frailty and vulnerability about her final appearance in the play. We saw a woman out of control: -
"Out, dammed spot! Out, I say! - One, two, why then."
"A soldier and afeared? -What need
We fear who know
It, when none can call our power to account."
Lady Macbeth also hallucinates; she sees blood on her hands and can't wash it off. This means that she is feeling guilt now unlike before.
Macbeth's fighting courage is the same at the start of the play and at the end of the play. He wants to fight whatever happens but he also feels like dying: -
"I have liv'd long enough: my way of life
Is fall'n into the sere, the yellow leaf."
We also feel remorseful: -
"Old age
As honour, love, obedience, troops of friend."
He is dulled and jaded and wants to fight. He is in sensitive of anything and will carry in fighting until he dies.
The relationship between husband and wife is clearly becoming strained. They both move into their own worlds. They become distant and removed from one another. When the news finally comes that Lady Macbeth has died, Macbeth replies strangely, "she could have died here after." He feels nothing even when wife dies
Yet, in spite of all the guilt and remorse, Macbeth is unable to confess and give up his position, living in a world of his own. His last days are spent as a worn out and tired man who realises the uselessness of his ambition and bloody deeds. There is world-weariness about his speech after he has received the news of his wife's death and inevitably of an attack on his castle. Life itself seems to have lost all meaning: -
"Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time."
There is an aspect of Macbeth that we tent to forget in al the horror and fear with which we are faced. The above lines show another side of Macbeth: that of a man with a great deal of sensitivity and imagination.
The point has been made repeatedly that Macbeth is first potrayed as a great man. We also watch his decline into evil as a result of his ambition, encouraged all the way by his wife. We are impressed at the end of the play that he chooses to fight instead of just giving in. The evil deeds committed by Macbeth far outweigh any true feelings if sympathy we might have for the man. So at the end of the play Malcolm speaks of Macbeth as a, "dead butcher."
Yet we are moved to pity Lady Macbeth at the end of the play or is she also too far steeped in blood for us to feel compassion? But Macbeth the traitor, tyrant and murderer deserves to be punished by death. We cannot help but feel a sense of loss that comes with the destruction of a great man.
Sazid Nanlawala
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