Scene 6 commences with the entrance of Duncan, who greets Lady Macbeth kindly, referring to her as an “honoured host”. Lady Macbeth follows with, “All our service in every point twice done, and then done double”. However, we – as an audience – are well aware that Lady Macbeth is not willing to serve Duncan but wishes for him dead instead. This reflects back on what was mentioned earlier of how they should act like the “th’ innocent flower” and due to the audience having knowledge that some characters are unaware of, dramatic irony is being shown.
A scene later – in Act 1 Scene 7 – Macbeth reconsiders his decision to go forward with the murder and confronts Lady Macbeth regarding this. However, doing so would crush Lady’s Macbeth’s dream of becoming queen: something she has so frequently longed to be. As a result, Lady Macbeth uses the art of persuasion, beginning by telling him of his “wimpy nature”: “When you durst do it, then you were a man” – which seems ironic, considering Macbeth’s heroics for his country. Despite this, Lady Macbeth goes on to use further persuasive and strong language in order to get Macbeth to go ahead with it. When trying to make out how ridiculous his decision on not murdering Duncan is, she says that she would, “Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums, and dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you have done to this”, implying what she would do to a baby if she was acting in the same way as Macbeth. The strong and vivid image being put into Macbeth certainly works; as, just lines later, he says, “If we should fail?” Not only does this reflect Lady Macbeth’s ambition and emotional strength; it is also an indication of how persuasive and clever she is.
In actual fact, it was just paragraphs prior to agreement that Macbeth was so persistent on not going ahead with it. In Macbeth’s soliloquy, he states, “Besides, this Duncan hath borne his faculties so meek...that his virtues will plead like angels”; a clear indication of how he no longer wishes for Duncan to be murdered. Yet, some paragraphs later, Macbeth – who was so reluctant on proceeding with the murder – seems fine in doing so, which is yet another indication of how much control Lady Macbeth has over the situation.
The next we see of her is in Act 2 Scene 2, whereby she is delivering a soliloquy after Duncan’s death. As it draws to a close, we see a different side to Lady Macbeth’s character. Up until now, we have perceived her as a character with no “good aspect” to her, so to speak. However, at the end of the soliloquy, she talks of how she would’ve committed the deed “had he not resembled (her) father as he slept”, giving us the impression that she isn’t all bad.
Yet again, though, it is the very sinister aspect to Lady Macbeth’s character that we more than often see. Just lines after revealing something positive regarding her character, she responds to Macbeth’s regrets by saying, “A foolish thought, to say a sorry sight”, which tells us that she feels no remorse in contributing to Duncan’s death. What’s more, it’s also evident that she is emotionally stronger as she comforts him throughout the scene.
In Act 2 Scene 3, Lady Macbeth is informed of Duncan’s death by Banquo and reacts by saying, “Woe, alas! What in our house?” Alongside the many other characteristics we have already explored prior to this, we also learn of how good she is at hiding information. In fact, later on in the scene, she goes as far as fainting in order to prove her innocence.
The first we see of Lady Macbeth’s deterioration is in Act 3 Scene 2, whereby she says, “’Tis safer to be that which we destroy than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy”. This quote clearly reflects the fact that Lady Macbeth is worried and somewhat unhappy (as she refers to the joy of the killings as “doubtful”) – different to how she was at the beginning. In a similar way, Macbeth is worried due to fear of being caught: “We have scorched the snake; not killed it”.
Act 3 Scene 4 is yet another scene that reveals a lot about Lady Macbeth’s character. Mid-way through the scene, Macbeth falls into a hallucination, causing him to witness the ghost of Banquo. Whilst doing so, he speaks of Banquo and everyone is left bemused as to what is happening. Lady Macbeth, meanwhile, realises he is losing the plot and covers him up by saying that he’s been acting in such a way “from his youth”.
And as the scene progresses, we see Lady Macbeth become increasingly angry. The first sign of this comes early on in the scene, whereby she rhetorically questions Macbeth’s gender, “Are you a man?” Later on, she also says to Macbeth, “O proper stuff!” and “Fie for shame”, both of which reflect her anger on the matter. Furthermore, and quite slyly, she refers to the guests as “good peers”, endeavouring to divert their attention from Macbeth – which shows how nervous she is at this point in time.
And then there’s the order in which attendants leave. In those times, it was conventional that the “higher” guests left first, followed by those lower down (as it was believed the ones higher up had more important matters to tend to). However, here, Lady Macbeth tells them to, “Stand not on the order of your going, but go at once”. Not only does this reveal her frustration; it also shows how worried she is about losing the throne.
Roughly a paragraph earlier, Macbeth says, “When now I think you can behold such sights”, after which Ross questions him: “What sights, my lord?” The fact that Macbeth is not in a right frame of mind may yield answer that will spoil all their efforts. And so Lady Macbeth is forced here into intervening and asking the guests to leave, so that nothing more can be said on the matter – yet another indication of how clever she is.
Finally, in Act 5 Scene 1, we see her sleepwalking in the presence of a doctor and a gentlewoman. Shakespeare, in my opinion, has done this cleverly and used both the doctor and gentlewoman as dramatic devices to reveal how Lady Macbeth has been acting. In this scene, it is obvious of how guilt has overcome her. Quotes such as “Out damned spot, out I say” and “all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this hand” give us the impression she is witnessing blood on her hands. More importantly though, she contradicts her earlier statement of how “a little water clears us of this deed” and this shows how she has changed from a woman in total control of the situation and her emotions to a woman crumbling in guilt.
Yet another indication of how Lady Macbeth has changed is through her language. At the beginning of the play, we saw how Lady Macbeth talked in verse (which was conventional for “high” characters). However, both at the middle and the end, we notice how she speaks prose (the conventional way for “low stature” characters). Examples of this include when she tells the Thanes to leave – “Stand not upon the order of your going. But go at once” – and when she talks of Lady Macduff: “The Thane of Fife had a wife; where is she now?” Her mental breakdown, it later appears, leads to her committing suicide.
In conclusion to this essay, I feel Lady Macbeth wasn’t all bad and possessed some redeeming qualities, which was evident from when she talks about her father in her soliloquy and when she feels some guilt and remorse towards the end. Regardless though, what we make of her is someone who is evil and evidence of that was provided immediately upon entering the novel. And while it may seem Lady Macbeth entirely responsible for the carnage that took place, it was Macbeth who – at first – made the suggestion in her absence.
Ultimately though, I feel Lady Macbeth made the decisive contribution that led to Duncan being murdered. In Macbeth’s soliloquy, we saw how Macbeth was so persistent in not going ahead with it. Yet, some 20 lines later, Macbeth finds himself agreeing to it: a murder that cost both himself and Lady Macbeth their lives...
