In Act 1, Scene 5, Shakespeare begins the rise of masculinity within Lady Macbeth when she receives a letter from Macbeth, “unsex me here.” From this quote a common theme is recognised between masculinity and femininity. Lady Macbeth craves so much power that she will take drastic measures to achieve her ultimate goal. “Unsex” shows that Lady Macbeth wants to be masculine because women would not get any power in the time that Shakespeare was writing Macbeth. In addition, “here” emphasises the urgency that Lady Macbeth does not want to be feminine. When Lady Macbeth receives the letter from Macbeth, the atmosphere to a very ambitious and power-mad mood, “metaphysical aid doth seen to have thee crowned withal.” In this quote the audience can see that Lady Macbeth is pushing all femininity and morals away from her and replacing it with masculine and violent thoughts. Furthermore, it emphasises that Lady Macbeth is not masculine enough to commit the murder. This is seen as strange in Shakespeare’s time because women would not be seen to have such violent thoughts.
In Act 1, Scene 5, the audience watches Lady Macbeth question what being a man means. Lady Macbeth continuously shocks the audience throughout the play, “Leave all the rest to me.” From the reaction of the audience it is clearly recognised that Lady Macbeths is creating tension because of her dialogue and actions. In addition, “me” emphasises the complete control that Lady Macbeth holds over Macbeth.
Lady Macbeth constantly flickers from masculinity to femininity throughout Act 1, Scene 5; this is shown through the quotes “worthy Cawdor” and “Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t.” Firstly, we can see from the quote “worthy Cawdor” the audience consider that Lady Macbeth is showing her feminine emotions because she is praising Macbeth for his promotion. However, the second quote jeopardises this by displaying her violent and masculine side. This is shown because Lady Macbeth is commanding Macbeth to look innocent but be “the serpent”. Furthermore, Shakespeare uses references to the gunpowder plot when Lady Macbeth mentions the “flower” and the “serpent”. This alarms the audience because Shakespeare refers back to the events of the gunpowder plot.
From Lady Macbeth’s actions, the audience is prepared for the deterioration of Lady Macbeth’s sanity, “Come to my women’s breast, and take my milk for gall.” The quote illustrates to the audience that Lady Macbeth’s sanity is slowly declining because she is going insane over power and control. The phrase “my women’s” emphasises that Lady Macbeth believes that her breasts are not part of her because she say’s “women’s”. In addition, the use of the word “gall” emphasises the dirty and disgusting thoughts that Lady Macbeth shows. This would scare the audience of Shakespeare’s time because this vile imagery would not be displayed by a woman.
In Act 2, Scene 2, Lady Macbeth helps Macbeth in the murder of King Duncan. Lady Macbeth is shown to have great power, “hath made me bold.” The audience recognises that Lady Macbeth has come to power. Use of the personal pronoun “me” emphasises the amount of power and control Lady Macbeth has. This would jolt the audience of Shakespeare’s time because women would not have power or control for the reason that the society in Shakespeare’s time was a patriarchal society. This is when men took full responsibility and women would not have any control over the situation.
Shakespeare creates tension throughout this extract, “Whether they live or die.” From this cliff hanger, the audience senses a feeling of tension because someone’s life hangs in the balance. The phrase “live or die” promotes a key theme of heaven and hell which is conveyed throughout the play. In addition, it evokes irony and symbolises another key theme of masculinity and femininity, which is closely related to heaven and hell. Furthermore, the quote comes from Lady Macbeth which shows that she is so ambitious to become Queen that she will take other people’s lives. This was seen to be unnatural in Shakespeare’s time and would outline to the audience that Lady Macbeth shows no remorse and no feelings. The audience would be surprised because the time in which they lived was very religious and to not feel remorse would be sinful.
Symbolic language is used in the extract, “fire”. This quote symbolises many things, for example “fire” can symbolise hell. This is ironic because women would not refer to hell in Shakespeare’s time or they will be deemed unnatural or strange. In addition, “fire” can also symbolise death. This further alarms the audience because women would never discuss death as Lady Macbeth does.
When Macbeth first enters, Lady Macbeth shows how proud she is for him, “My Husband.” The quote clearly shows that Lady Macbeth is ecstatic about Macbeth murdering King Duncan. However, the personal pronoun “my” conveys the sense that Lady Macbeth has a lust for control. Later on in this extract the audience can see that Lady Macbeth mocks Macbeth for showing his remorse for the crime, “A foolish thought, to say a sorry sight.” From this quote, the audience recognises that Lady Macbeth is ridiculing Macbeth for his regret. This shows that Lady Macbeth’s and Macbeth’s relationship is failing at this point in the play; in addition, the key theme of masculinity and femininity is symbolised. This jeopardises the time in which Shakespeare was writing Macbeth because women were not seen to be controlling and they certainly would not mock their husband’s.
Lady Macbeth has a prominent role in the murder of King Duncan, “I have drugg’d their possets.” This quote portrays to the audience that Lady Macbeth has played a key role in the murder because she has already sabotaged the guards that protect King Duncan. This is unusual in Shakespeare’s time because sabotage and murder would have usually been carried out by men. This would even still shock a modern day audience because in today’s society women would still not plan a murder or an assassination of a King or Queen.
In Act 5, Scene 1, Lady Macbeth sleepwalks and shows her darkest fears to the audience. Prior to Lady Macbeth’s entrance to Act 5, Scene 1, the audience is prepared for Lady Macbeth’s sanity to spiral out of control, “Since his majesty went into the field, I have seen her rise fro her bed, throw her night-gown upon her, unlock her closet, take forth paper, fold it, write upon’t, read it, afterwards seal it, and again return to bed; all this while in a most fast deep.” The audience can see from quote that Lady Macbeth’s sanity has deteriorated. By sleepwalking, Lady Macbeth further emphasises her loss of normality and displays her disturbed mind. The theme of sleep is continuously conveyed along the play; in Act 2, Scene 2, Macbeth says “Macbeth does murder sleep”, this quote provokes a sense of irony because Macbeth thinks that he will loose a lot of sleep but in fact it is Lady Macbeth that is not able to sleep properly. Shakespeare uses symbolic language to show sleep epitomizes innocence; Lady Macbeth cannot sleep, therefore Shakespeare is implying that Lady Macbeth is not innocent.
Lady Macbeth’s lack of control is affecting her speech, “Out, damned spot! Out, I say!--One: two: why, then, ‘tis time to do’t.--Hell is murky!--Fie, my lord, fie! A soldier, and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account?--Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him.” The punctuation and incoherent use of words in this quote show that Lady Macbeth’s sanity has depreciated because her power has gone astray. Random gibberish like “One: two: why, then” emphasises the loss of sanity. By referring to “blood”, Lady Macbeth accentuates her guiltiness and disturbed mind.
Lady Macbeth’s has a guilty conscience, “Enter Lady Macbeth with a taper.” By entering with a taper or a candle, Lady Macbeth’s shows the audience she has a guilt complex. Shakespeare uses the taper to represent heaven; this is because Lady Macbeth feels so guilty that she thinks the ghosts of her victims will get their revenge back on her in the dark.
The Doctor is confused because he has not got an understanding of psychological problems, “What is it she does now?” This quote illustrates the spectators that the Doctor is very ignorant and has no educational backing to support his views on Lady Macbeth’s mental state. Later on in the scene the doctor believes “This disease is beyond my practice”, this further shows his deficiency in psychological disorders. This links to the heaven and hell theme because the audience of Shakespeare’s time considers the unknown to be related with the devil.
As the play comes to an end, the audience realises that Lady Macbeth’s has developed dramatically throughout the play of “Macbeth”. First of all, the viewer’s see Lady Macbeth’s rise in masculinity when she receives the letter form Macbeth, but as the play
moves on, the audience can spot Lady Macbeth’s sanity slowly deteriorating. Then as the play reaches the closing stages the audience distinguishes Lady Macbeth has a disturbed mind and then finally Lady Macbeth commits suicide. The audience’s response to the events that unfold as the play goes on is continuously shock; this is because women of Shakespeare’s time would be docile rather than commanding.