How does Lady Macbeth change throughout the play, "Macbeth"?
How does Lady Macbeth change throughout the Play? "Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be What thou art promised;" These are the powerful opening lines of Lady Macbeth - the most infamous and indomitable female character in all of Shakespeare's many works, who defies the position of order and gender of her time and used power and ambition to achieve her dreams. Her opening scene in I.v where she is reading the letter from her husband, which proclaims the witches' prophecy, and the following soliloquy are the first exposure to her character, as it allows us an insight into her most intimate thoughts and feelings. At the idea of her husband being possibly made King she jumps straight to the conclusion that he will be, "and shalt be what thou art promised". This is shocking to the audience as her superstition shows her underlying hunger for power by the fact she takes three deranged, women on a moor as the literal truth - any excuse for her to rise in authority. Shakespeare's use of the witches adds drama because at the time the play was written, during the reign of James I, witchcraft and heresy were deemed punishable by death and to "consult with any evil sprit" was illegal under the 1604 Witchcraft Act, so they would have seen it as a scandal that Lady Macbeth believed the witches. She seems even more ruthless by the fact that automatically she presumes that they will
How does Shakespeare create dramatic tension in act 2 scene 2 of Macbeth?
How does Shakespeare create dramatic tension in act 2 scene 2 of Macbeth? Act 2 Scene 2 of Macbeth is a decisive scene in the play as it creates dramatic tension, conflict and controversy. There are many themes in this play: tragedy, the supernatural, love, dishonesty, betrayal and greed. Macbeth murdered Duncan to prove his masculinity for his wife and also his hunger for more power. Lady Macbeth wanted Duncan dead because of her greed and the witches' prophecies influence her. At the beginning of the play Macbeth is brave, content and loyal in contrast to his dark and sinister persona he adapts later on in the play. Whilst the main theme of Macbeth is one of tragic loss (in terms of the death of the King and indeed the loss of Macbeth's mental state), greed also proves to be an influential factor in the downfall of both Macbeth and his wife. It, ultimately, changed their actions and cost them their lives. At the beginning of the scene, Lady Macbeth is feeling confident. She says " What hath quench'd them hath given me fire", this indicating that she is feeling so powerful and inspired that nothing can stand in her way. Despite feeling confident, she feels agitated and remarks "Hark! Peace!" which demonstrates that she is concerned someone has been alerted to the couple's plans and will discover their wretched methods; this sudden feeling of concern contrasts with her prior
Throughout the play Macbeth and Lady Macbeth together demonstrate how ambition can turn a loyal soldier into a bloodthirsty murderer
Throughout the play Macbeth and Lady Macbeth together demonstrate how ambition can turn a loyal soldier into a bloodthirsty murderer with his scheming and devious wife turning weak and disturbed as ambition slowly destroys her. Macbeth’s ambition to become king of Scotland turn’s him independent and ruthless. “The dead butcher and fiend-like queen”, is an accurate description as this is all they amount to. At the start of the play Macbeth is a loyal soldier returning from the civil war. The witches tell Macbeth that he will become Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland. The witch’s prophecies make Macbeth ambitious and tap into pre-existing ambition. Macbeth believes these prophecies as the first of his prophecies has been fulfilled. Afterwards the second prophecy is carried out. Immediately Macbeth thinks of murdering King Duncan so the third of his prophecies will be fulfilled even though he is horrified by the idea. Lady Macbeth’s greed makes her determined the third prophecy will come true. But believes Macbeth is not capable of murdering Duncan but will provoke him. When Lady Macbeth hears the news that that Duncan is coming to visit she believes it is the ideal opportunity to kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth calls on the spirits of darkness and evil to replace her nurturing and feminine qualities with remorseless cruelty. Macbeth is appalled of the
