Lady Macbeth

Seite 1

Lady Macbeth's cruel and ruthless

Lady Macbeth is Macbeth's wife

She's an important character as she influences Macbeth, especially at the start of the play

She's ambitious and doesn't mind committing terrible crimes to get what she wants

Lady Macbeth changes over the course of the play

At the beginning, she's dominant and confident - persuades Macbeth that killing Duncan is the best thing to do

Lady Macbeth is...

Cruel: "And fill me from the crown to the toe topfull/Of direst cruelty"

Cunning: "look like th'innocent flower/But be the serpent under't"

Disturbed: "she is troubled with thick coming fancies"

Once Macbeth has committed murder, Lady Macbeth is slowly driven mad by guilt

Macbeth distances himself from her and she dies because of what they have done

Seite 2

She is very ambitious

Lady Macbeth is just as ambitious as Macbeth

When she gets his letter, she immediately assumes that they need to kill Duncan

She's more ruthless than her husband

She thinks that no ordinary woman would plan this murder

That's why she appeals to the spirit world to "unsex" her and fill her with "direst cruelty"

Lady Macbeth knows her husband's weak spots

She uses his ambition and fear of being seen as a coward to manipulate him into killing Duncan

Writer's Techniques - Symbolism

Lady Macbeth links masculinity to strength and violence, but Shakespeare shows that women can be just as ruthless and cold-hearted as men

Theme - Good and Evil

Lady Macbeth says that Macbeth is "too full o'th'milk of human kindness"

She thinks that his goodness makes him a "coward" and stops him from achieving his ambitions

Seite 3

She's clever and quick-witted

Lady Macbeth is the one who comes up with the cunning plot to drug Duncan's servants and frame them for murder

Shows that she's clever as well as cruel and heartless

When Duncan's murder is discovered, Lady Macbeth faints

This could be a pretence, which cleverly draws attention from the unconvincing speech that Macbeth's making

Lady Macbeth also covers up Macbeth's strange behaviour when he thinks that he sees Banquo's ghost - she's in control of the situation

Theme - Reality and Appearances

If Lady Macbeth pretends to faint, she's taking advantage of the way women were viewed at the time

She's using the stereotype of a weak woman overcome by shock to hide reality of her cruel, cold-hearted nature

Seite 4

Shakespeare uses Lady Macbeth to explore gender and power

Women were traditionally seen as kinder and weaker than men, but Shakespeare uses Lady Macbeth to show that this isn't always true

She says she would kill her own baby if she'd sworn to do it

Shakespeare contrasts her with Lady Macduff, who's a caring mother

Lady Macbeth does have a softer side

She says that she couldn't kill Duncan herself because he reminded her of her father

Shows that she's not as cold-hearted as she appears

Theme - Ambition

Macbeth is set in a violent, male-dominated society, so Lady Macbeth can only achieve her ambitions through Macbeth

Writer's Techniques - Symbolism

Lady Macbeth thinks women are made weak by their maternal instincts

She tells the spirits to "Come to my women's breasts / And take my milk for gall"

She wants to lose her femininity

Lady Macbeth's power lies in manipulating people

Shows that non-violent "female" traits are just as powerful as violent "male" ones

Seite 5

She goes mad with guilt and kills herself

At first, it's Macbeth who struggles with his guilty conscience

By the end, Lady Macbeth is driven mad by guilt

She sleepwalks

The doctor calls this a "great perturbation in nature" because her mind is so disturbed that it's affected her ability to sleep soundly

In her sleep, she keeps washing her hands in the hope that she can wash away her feelings of guilt just as easily as the blood after Duncan's murder: "Out, damned spot!"

Guilt and isolation affect Lady Macbeth so much that she kills herself (one interpretation)

She can't live with what she's done

Language

Way Lady Macbeth speaks reflects her state of mind

At the beginning, she speaks confidently in verse

By the end, her speech is made of mad ramblings and repetitions - "Come, come, come, come, give me your hand"

Shows that she's lost all self-control

Writer's Techniques - Symbolism

Sleepwalking was thought to be unnatural in Shakespeare's time

Sleep is the "Balm of hurt minds"

So the fact that Lady Macbeth can't sleep peacefully emphasises her madness

Seite 6

Macbeths' marriage is intense

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's relationship changes

At the beginning, their marriage seems loving and passionate - Macbeth calls Lady Macbeth "my dearest partner of greatness"

As the play develops, it becomes clear that Lady Macbeth dominates Macbeth

She manipulates him into killing Duncan and covers up his strange behaviour when he sees Banquo's ghost

As Macbeth reveals less about his plans to his wife, Lady Macbeth becomes increasingly anxious and alone

Even though she's domineering at the beginning, she can't cope without her husband