Lady Macbeth Roles Self-Ambition In William Shakespeare's Macbeth

Improved Essays
Register to read the introduction… 'when you durst do it, then you were a man. /And to be more than what you were, you would/Be so much more the man.'

This convinces Macbeth to commit regicide, because being one of the bravest men in Scotland, he could not stand being called a coward. He has to prove to his wife that he still is big and masculine. Although Macbeth has the final say in whether or not to go ahead with the initial killing, he loves his wife and wants to make her happy. Lady Macbeth is the dominating person in their relationship. It seems that she can get him to do anything as long as she does it in the right way, like playing on his confidence. However, as the play progresses, and Duncan is killed, Macbeth seems to become the dominating partner.

Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have ambition; Lady Macbeth's ambition drives her to manipulate Macbeth into the most heinous crime of regicide. Most of the crimes committed by Macbeth were planned out beforehand, i.e. the murders of Duncan, Banquo and Macduff's
…show more content…
What need we fear? Who knows it when none can call our power to account?'

This sleepwalking and guilt therefore stops her from having any affect on Macbeth; he is now in control of what happens, unlike earlier on in the play.

The witches' prophecies are another main source of fear for Macbeth, after all this is where he has learned everything from. With each new vision, Macbeth falls deeper and deeper into an evil spiral. This started from the witches' first prediction of Macbeth being king, which made Macbeth kill to become king. This was followed by the prediction that Banquo's children would become kings, this scared Macbeth. Later when he went back to see the witches he gained some more knowledge, 'Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! beware Macduff; Beware the thane of Fife.'. Now that Macbeth has heard this, he believes that he must kill Macduff, however he learns that Macduff has fled to England, so he decides to kill Macduff's family. Macbeth is told he cannot be killed by any man born of woman. This gives him the confidence that no matter what the English do he will not be defeated. In addition he

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Laugh at the power of other men, because nobody born from a woman will ever harm Macbeth. Be brave like the lion and proud. Don’t even worry about who hates you, who resents you, and who conspires against you. Macbeth will never be defeated until Birnam Wood marches to fight you at Dunsinane Hill” (Macbeth, Act 4; scene 1). The witches convince Macbeth to believe that he is immortal because he will think he can do anything without consequences.…

    • 975 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Theme Of Honor In Macbeth

    • 1059 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Macbeth chooses to honor his manhood over his loyalty to the king and his country. He is willing to do anything to prove to his wife that he is a man, even if it means the well-being of the kingdom is…

    • 1059 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the play Shakespeare brings Macbeth and Lady Macbeth together through their ambition. However, throughout the play they are brought apart by their personality. Lady Macbeth manipulates her husband and afterwards Macbeth regrets killing Duncan, but is told by Lady Macbeth to not think about such things. During the play, Lady Macbeth is highlighted as ambitious.…

    • 1021 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    ``Beware MacDuff, Beware the Thane of Fife``. MacBeth becomes so obsessed with the idea that MacDuff will become a threat to him that he reacts in a way that guarantees he would become the threat he was working to prevent. MacBeth`s attack on the MacDuff family is done out of spite since MacDuff was out of his reach at the English court. This action leads to MacBeth creating the enemy he was trying to prevent. He gives MacDuff all the tools he needs to defeat MacBeth; a man who hates Macbeth, who is compelled to seek revenge, and who happens to be able to kill MacBeth as he was likely the only enemy MacBeth faced not born naturally of a woman ``I have no words: my voice is my sword, thou bloodier villain`` A line showing the hatred MacDuff felt for Macbeth. MacBeth's struggle with his certainty against the fate of the prophecy ensuring the prophecy came true leading to his own…

    • 785 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Lady Macbeth Quotes

    • 518 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Because of her loyalty to Macbeth, she has done what Macbeth afraid to do. “Give me the aggers. The sleeping and the dead are but as pictures. ‘Tis the eye of childhood that fears a painted devil. If he do bleed, I’ll gild the faces of the grooms withal, For it must seem their gulit.”…

    • 518 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    (I. VII. 142-145). In this quote, Macbeth unpacks his true feelings. He explains that just the thought of committing this foul act of killing his own king disgusts him. He states that his ability to act would be clouded by the burden he would have put on his head.…

    • 1541 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Lady Macbeth herself was the main reason Macbeth pursues the fulfillment of the witches’ prophecies. Lady Macbeth uses her sexuality and words to manipulate Macbeth throughout the murder of Duncan by telling him, "When you durst do it, then you were a man / And to be more than what you were, you would / Be so much more a man”(Shakespeare1.7.51-53). She continually questions her…

    • 816 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Macbeth thinks of himself as a brave and courageous man after fighting so valiantly for the king. Macbeth starts to think of this when planning King Duncan’s murder, and it causes him to develop a little bit of enmity about the murder. Instead of trying to build up his confidence when he really needs it, Lady Macbeth manipulates him by questioning whether he is a real man or not. For example, in an article by Lily B. Campbell, she writes about how Lady Macbeth challenges the masculinity of Macbeth. Campbell states “rather he was then a man, and to be more would be to be more than man”(Campbell 129).…

    • 1169 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In her madness on her quest, Lady Macbeth is willing to take the risk of losing everything and she believes they will get away with it if Macbeth does exactly as she orders. After the murder she continues to persuade Macbeth by telling him “These deeds must not be thought after these ways: so, it will make us mad”, suggesting that if they don’t think about the murder then they can pretend it never…

    • 775 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The witches were not completely honest with Macbeth. This made him feel over confident with the information he receives. At first Macbeth did not believe the witches, but when the first and second prophecy came true he slowly starts to trust them. When Macbeth starts to think that him becoming king might be true, his faithfulness towards the current king starts to deteriorate. His minds, then starts to fill with negative thoughts of assassinating the king, and crowning himself.…

    • 1471 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Lady Macbeth is very manipulative and ambitious. Her evil is articulated in words and in her cunning strategies. Macbeth had decided not to execute King Duncan and told her not to continue with the deed, instead of ending the plans she replied with a ‘motivational speech’ which then changed Macbeth’s mind. In the speech, Lady Macbeth verbally attacks Macbeth by testing his masculinity and also linking it back to personal attacks such as when she say she would smash her own son's brain then back out of this deed. Macbeth was more motivated to kill King Duncan after she said, “What beast was ’t, then, That made you break this enterprise to me?…

    • 1226 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    This causes Macbeth to trust in the prophecies too much and they ultimately fail him, leading to his death. The witches not only give a false sense of security, but also deceive Macbeth throughout the…

    • 1185 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Thus, the character Macduff voices Shakespeare’s true opinion as he obtains revenge on Macbeth while upholding chivalrous qualities. Prior to murdering King Duncan, Macbeth believes that manhood consists of a person who experiences success as well as accomplishments. After Lady Macbeth questions his masculinity, Macbeth replies, “I dare do all that may become a man; Who dares do more is none” (1.7.46-47). Macbeth will do…

    • 1178 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Women In Macbeth

    • 1500 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Macbeth calls her “my dearest partner of greatness”. This shows how he views Lady Macbeth to be of an equal to himself. Therefore, as it was not common at the time it shows Lady Macbeth’s importance and stature. Moreover, Macbeth sends Lady Macbeth a letter telling her about the prophecy, which suggests that Macbeth values his wife's views and thoughts, which add to Lady Macbeth’s dominance and significance. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth is able to convince her husband to commit regicide.…

    • 1500 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Mysteries of Manhood Coming of age is something that all of humanity has complete, whether every individual makes this happen is up in the air. In the book,The First Part Last, Angela Johnson describes a young teenage boy named Bobby and how he had to change his life completely in order to fit the description of being a man, and this is shown through symbolism. Being a man is not about how much weight you put on a bar and squat or bench it or how someone never backs down from a challenge. Bobby accomplishes being a man in different ways and by the end of the novel, he fulfills the respectable requirements of becoming a man.…

    • 928 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays

Related Topics