Macbeth: Lady Macbeth's Character.

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Macbeth: Lady Macbeth's Character 

Lady Macbeth is a fierce and argumentative figure. She is seen as simple and realistic whereas Macbeth seen as complicated and imaginative. She can see what must be done; he takes the consequences. We can definitely notice a change in her character throughout the play. At the beginning in Act 1 scene 5, she is seen as Domineering, Ambitious, calculative, cunning and cool. As the play moves on, after the death of Duncan and the noticeable change in Macbeth’s character, these qualities seem to deteriorate. She breaks down under the sin of murder and is propelled into a life of sadness and discomfort as she is seduced by the evil within her.

She is seen by some readers as a woman of strong will, who is ambitious for herself and who is bright enough to recognise her husband’s strengths and weaknesses, but ruthless enough to exploit them. They see her in her commitment to evil and, in her realisation that the Crown has not brought her the happiness she had expected, and finally, as one who breaks down nuder the strain. Other readers see her as a woman ambitious for her husband who she loves. She recognises the good in him, and feels that, without her, he will never hold the Crown. She allies herself with the powers of darkness for his sake, but she breaks down under the strain of the murder of Duncan and the change in her husband.

If I had to cast Lady Macbeth in a play I would cast her as a person with a sweet and gentle face which could change at a moments notice to become overpowering, strong and dominating. Maybe the use of masks in the play would emphasise the different faces to her personality that she displays.

In the earlier part of the play she is very cunning and calculating, but to other characters in the play she seems sweet and innocent.  Here is a list of characteristics she possesses with examples and my view;

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        Ambitious- Lady Macbeth seems very ambitious at the start of the play, she at once assumes that the things mentioned in Macbeth’s letter are to become reality (Act 1 Scene 5) “Glamis thou art, and Cawdor;” and then implies that they WILL become “And shalt be what thou art promised”. I feel that it is her dream for her husband that causes her to overcast reality and humanity when considering her plan.

        Dominant- I feel that Lady Macbeth is definitely dominant over Macbeth. The first time that she speaks to him in the play, and when persuading him in Act ...

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