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Essay: Exploring Lady Macbeth’s Impact on the Action in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth

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  • Published: 23 March 2023*
  • Last Modified: 22 July 2024
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  • Words: 1,046 (approx)
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  • Tags: Macbeth essays

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The action in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth pivots with the death of Duncan. Without the persuasion and manipulation by Lady Macbeth, Macbeth would not have gone through with the action to murder his king, Banquo or Macduff’s family. Throughout the play, Macbeth is very susceptible to suggestion from his wife, who holds the power within this relationship, meaning that whatever she says, would be carried out by her husband. Lady Macbeth is the reason for the plays very existence. Without her pressuring Macbeth and making the action of killing acceptable, the very play wouldn’t have existed, this can be seen when the Macbeth’s meet up to discuss if they’re going to kill Duncan as well as the fact that she makes killing acceptable within the mind of Macbeth, thus, being the reason for the plays existence.

Before Macbeth goes to meet with Lady Macbeth, he already decides that he will let fate handle his kingship without interfering. However, when he meets with his wife, she was already certain on killing Duncan, had she not manipulated him, Duncan would still be alive. After the scene where Macbeth meets with the witches, he decides that he is going to wait to become king, without interfering. “If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me without my stir”, the use of personifying “chance” as a human entity that will give him his kingship, shows that Macbeth was willing not to do anything in his quest to become king and instead let fate handle it. He had this train of thought until he met up with his wife, who insisted that he kill Duncan by insulting his manhood. She was concerned that Macbeth may be too kind-hearted to do anything extreme in order to become king and her queen. When Lady Macbeth sees Macbeth in person, she is eager to discuss their plans but Macbeth isn’t so keen, he’s more anxious telling us, as the audience, that he doesn’t want to go through with it and would instead like to wait it out. This is when we see a glimpse of the manipulative side of Lady Macbeth, she leaves him with a piece of advice, in attempt to calm him down, “Look like th’ innocent flower, but be the serpent under ’t.” , she’s telling him to act like he’s innocent and appear like he always has, kind, brave and fair, but in actuality be cunning, cruel and ambitious in order to become king. If Lady Macbeth had never told him this, the chance of him wanting to kill Duncan and fulfil the prophecy would be close to none. The use of a simile, further emphasises this point. Consequently, if Lady Macbeth had let Macbeth wait it out, or fall into his doubts, then the death of Duncan wouldn’t have happened and the play would not have existed.

Lady Macbeth does all the talking and planning. Macbeth, however, is the one who carries out the action. She makes killing Duncan acceptable within Macbeth’s eyes and thus makes the rest of the killing in order to cover up the first sin and further fulfil the prophecy acceptable. Lady Macbeth was the mastermind behind the killing of Duncan by manipulating and moulding Macbeths mind until murder isn’t a sin anymore, she manipulates him by insulting his manhood so that Macbeth no longer feels anything to murder those who are in the way of him fulfilling the prophecy and becoming king. Instead, he feels like he is proving himself to his wife, that he is a man and should be seen like one in her eyes. Lady Macbeth immediately jumps on his doubt and begins to manipulate him by insulting his manhood, “When you durst do it, then you were a man.”, with the use of past tense in the word ‘were’, it tells Macbeth that when he dares to kill Duncan then he will be considered a man, in the past and the present. This works on Macbeth as he feels the need to prove to his wife that he is a man and he can kill Duncan for the sake of becoming King. This then moulds his thinking process into fulfilling prophecies and ensuring that those who threaten his reign are dealt with, that being Banquo and Fleance as well as Macduff’s Family. He begins to feel less regret as the play moves on because of his willingness to prove to Lady Macbeth that he can be a man. She also insults his courage as Macbeth decides not to kill Duncan to protect and keep his reputation, “live a coward in thine own esteem”, the use of an oxymoron in the negative connotation of ‘coward’ and the positive connotation of ‘esteem’, shows even though Macbeth has a noble title, he is still being called a coward due to his actions, this causes Macbeth to desire to prove to his wife that he is brave enough and then commits murder in order to prove to her that he is the man she wants him to be. Thus, resulting in the death of Duncan and the others who followed. Lady Macbeth was the reason for the pivoting action within the play Macbeth, if she had never pressured Macbeth to murder his King, murder would not have become a normality to Macbeth, therefore, the murders who followed would not have happened, meaning the play would not have existed.

In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is the point on which the action pivots within the play as well has the most interesting, complex and disturbed character that can be seen throughout the play, up until her death. She is the reason for the plays existence and had she not convinced Macbeth to move forward and kill Duncan, the play would not have existed, because Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are so close at the beginning of the play, she knew exactly how to manipulate him into committing murder. This can easily be perceived due to how Lady Macbeth manages to manipulate Macbeth into killing Duncan and then ensuring the rest of the play would be filled with the murders of other characters who stand in the way of Macbeth’s kingship.

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