Lady Macbeth Coursework Essay

When Shakespeare was writing ‘Macbeth’, most people believed that the Sun went around the Earth and that magic and witchcraft existed. This made them very superstitious indeed. Religion was also a dominant factor at the time. All children were baptized, soon after they were born. This then enabled them to be taught the essentials of the Christian religion. Education at the time was only best for the rich. Shakespeare was one of the lucky ones; because of him being brought up in a very wealthy society he got the chance to be well educated. This then got him writing plays such as Twelfth Night, Hamlet and including Macbeth. He is now widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in English literature. In ‘Macbeth’, Lady Macbeth can be seen in many ways which can be related to Macbeth’s villainy. She can be seen as the protector/protected, manipulator, victim, Jacobean wife and also how she is in charge of the relationship with Macbeth. Manipulation is the process of bending another to your will and making them believe or do something that they normally wouldn’t do. Manipulation can be seen when both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth plot to kill their own King (King Duncan). â€Å"And live a coward in thine own esteem†, in this quotation we can see that Lady Macbeth is literally saying to Macbeth that he is only being a coward to himself if he was going to back away from the deed. Lady Macbeth uses such strong words so that Macbeth has a greater chance of not backing down to the regicide. From analysing the quote ‘live a coward in thine’ we can clearly see that the word ‘coward’ is emphasised with the word ‘thine’. The word ‘coward’ means someone who is afraid and someone with no bravery at all. This is important to me because it gives a great impact to the reader that Macbeth is being called a ‘coward’ by his own wife. This to me sounds like Lady Macbeth is acting in a very sly way to get her husband to do what she wants him to do. Another example of manipulation can be seen when Lady Macbeth is talking about the plot to kill the King with Macbeth. â€Å"These deeds must not be thought after these ways†¦so, it will make us mad†. Here we can see that Lady Macbeth is trying to bend the situation a bit so that it goes to her favour. In other words, telling Macbeth to not worry about what has happened. ‘It will make us mad’. In this quote the word ‘mad’ is important because it is being emphasised so that Macbeth is more alert about the murder. Mad is an adjective which is usually associated with people that are not acting in a normal way. To me this suggests that Lady Macbeth is saying that if you don’t forget about the deed, we are going to be in a normal state. We can also see Lady Macbeth in control of the relationship with Macbeth when she helps Macbeth with the murder of King Duncan, making the guards drunk, assuring that Macbeth doesn’t get caught in the process. â€Å"Only look up clear; to alter favour ever is to fear. Leave all the rest to me†. In this text we can literally see that Lady Macbeth is giving Macbeth the opportunity for her to do most of the covering up, this clearly indicates Lady Macbeth taking the role of being the ‘protector’ towards her husband. By the use of the command ‘Leave all the rest to me’ this to me emphasises that she is the dominant character at this specific part of the scene. The word ‘leave’ is a command that you would usually use after a word, in this occasion Lady Macbeth has used this at the start of the sentence which to me sounds more appealing for the reader too. Furthermore, she implicates to ‘the rest’ as referring to the King, the daggers and the stewards. This to me shows that she is telling Macbeth that she can take control of situations like these. The relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth does not always go in Lady Macbeth’s favour. In this case she is more of a ‘victim’. This can be seen at the end of the story when she is guilty of all the murders which that she has contributed to, this then leads her going ‘mad’. â€Å"The thane of Fife he had a wife, where is she now?† by examining this text, we can see that now Lady Macbeth is in a ‘half away/half dreaming’ state to hold herself for all the deeds that Macbeth has committed, this to me explains why she is asking such questions. ‘The thane of Fife he had a wife’, here by Lady Macbeth using the past tense ‘had’ it shows to me that a level of confusion has taken place. This is then emphasised when she adds on the question at the end of the sentence. Therefore, in the reader’s point of view, it shows us that she is behaving in a ‘mad’ sort of manor, which isn’t rea lly seen before. We can say that Lady Macbeth is the catalyst of the murder. Furthermore, she can be known as the protector and the protected. Macbeth is one character who tries best to protect Lady Macbeth. When Banquo was murdered, Macbeth kept Lady Macbeth in complete darkness. â€Å"Be innocent of the deed, dear chuck†, this quote suggests that Macbeth is trying to protect her and is shown as the ‘protected’. By the use of the words ‘be innocent’ it suggests to me that Lady Macbeth is forcing Macbeth to ‘be innocent’, this is because the command is used at the start of the sentence which usually indicates that the person is in control. The whole quote â€Å"Be innocent of the deed, dear chuck† infers that she wants him to forget about the murder, showing that she’s a protector. Lady Macbeth can also be seen as a protector when she responds to Macbeth’s actions. â€Å"Leave all the rest to me†. In this quote we can clearly see Lady Macbeth as the dominant character in their relationship and also as the protector towards her own husband. By looking at the text used and concentrating on the word â€Å"me†, we can see that Lady Macbeth could be using the word as in referring herself to the ‘manipulator’,’ protector’ or even the victim. Also by use of the words â€Å"the rest†, this could give the reader a thought that it can be referred to or mean the king, or his guards, the daggers or can simply mean different abstracts such as shame, guilt, and consequence. This to me shows a perfect demonstration on how Lady Macbeth is being a protector and manipulator towards Macbeth to get her own way. Lady Macbeth is not always seen as the catalyst. In this case it is shown when she takes the role of being a ‘victim’. â€Å"Unsex me here†. In this quote it shows that Lady Macbeth is asking for her feminine side to be taken away. This to me shows that she is making a change from the typical female stereo type (e.g. kind, vulnerable) to a more masculine character (e.g. leader, ‘macho man’). This change could have made her more manipulative towards Macbeth and in a leading role, but in the state she is in now she is seen more as the victim. Lady Macbeth can also be seen as ‘victim’ in the quote â€Å"sweeten this little hand†. Here we can see that what Shakespeare is trying to say that, because of how Lady Macbeth’s contribution to the regicide, she is trying to forgive herself for what she has done wrong. By the use of the words ‘sweeten’ and ‘little’, it clearly shows that she’s vulnerable and delicate. By the use of words like these it also infers Lady Macbeth’s sorrow and the role of her being a victim. Overall we can see that Lady Macbeth is the dominant character that contributes to Macbeth’s villainy in many ways. Killing a king in the was the worst crime you could possibly do in Shakespeare’s time.