Macbeth Character Analysis

Introduction:

            Our first big project was a character analysis on the book Macbeth. Each student had to pick a main character and map out how they changed over the course of the book. In this project the student had to create a thesis and link it throughout the project to support it.

Macbeth Character Analysis:

Lady Macbeth:

Thesis: Lady Macbeth is a controlling housewife and would go to any length to get what she wanted, but by the end of the play, she suffered from remorse and guilt.

Act 1:

 In Act 1 Scene 5 of Macbeth, Macbeth just came home from war and seeing witches. He gives Lady Macbeth the news of the promotion he just received to the Thane of Cawdor. He also tells Lady Macbeth about what the witches said, and she begins to hatch a plan to kill King Duncan. Lady Macbeth says to Macbeth “Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it” (1.5.64-65). Lady Macbeth wants Macbeth to look innocent but be evil and have a secret darkness underneath his innocence. She is thinking that if Macbeth is sweet and innocent, he will gain the King’s trust and maybe he can get the title of king easier. Then she can be queen faster. This reveals that Lady Macbeth is a sneaky woman and can convince somebody to do something that really benefits her, and not the person she is convincing.

Later in the same scene, Lady Macbeth is still telling Macbeth her plan in progress, but she is not telling him all the details yet. Lady Macbeth doesn’t want Macbeth to worry about anything. Lady Macbeth says to Macbeth “Leave the rest to me” (1.5.72). She is saying that Macbeth doesn’t have to worry, and that she will plan and take care of everything. She wants to be in control of everything, and she wants to plan and be the mastermind. This shows that she is a controlling housewife that always has to be in charge of everything all the time.

In act 1 scene 7, King Duncan and the other thanes are at Macbeth’s house having dinner. Macbeth just finished his first soliloquy and doesn’t want to go through with killing Duncan, but Lady Macbeth Is trying to convince him to go through with the plan. She is convincing him by insulting him and using harsh insults. Lady Macbeth says to Macbeth,  ”I would, as it were smiling in my face, have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out.” (1.7.56-58). She is saying to Macbeth that she would do the most horrible thing to the one she loved and gave birth to if she promised him she would. She is trying awfully hard to make him want to kill the king. She tries everything till he finally cracks. This shows that she is definitely controlling housewife that will go to any length to convince someone to do something, or to get what she wanted.

Act 2:

            Macbeth has just killed Duncan. Lady Macbeth realizes that Macbeth still has the daggers when he was supposed to plant them on the passed out guards. So she takes the daggers and does it herself. Lady Macbeth says to Macbeth, “Give me the daggers.” (2.2.56). She is frustrated with Macbeth for not following the plan. She panics and takes the daggers and finishes the job herself. This shows That Lady Macbeth is a do it herself kind of woman and is a controlling housewife. This also shows that everything must go according to her plan, which shows that she is a controlling housewife/woman.

Lady Macbeth Just took the daggers from Macbeth and planted them on the guards and smeared blood all over their faces. So she has blood all over her hands just like Macbeth. Lady Macbeth says to Macbeth, “My hands are of your color, but I shame to wear a heart so white.”(2.2.67-68). She is saying that she has finished the rest of the plan and now she has blood all over her hands just like his, but she hates that she has a pure soul and ruined it. This shows That Lady Macbeth is a do it herself kind of woman and is a controlling housewife. This also shows that everything must go according to her plan, which shows that she is a controlling housewife/woman also.

Macduff just found King Duncan’s dead body and called everyone to wake up. Lady Macbeth is acting like she has no idea what is going on, when she finds out that Duncan is dead she acts like she is sad and can’t believe it and pretends to faint because of the “shock”. Lady Macbeth says to the men who are on stage, “Help me hence, ho.” 2.316. She is saying to the men “O my gosh, what a shock. Someone please help me”. She is faking it so no one will be suspicious of her and Macbeth This reveals that she is will do anything to get what she wanted such as pretending she knows nothing of what happened to protect herself and Macbeth.

Act 3:

Macbeth is king and Lady Macbeth is queen. Macbeth just hired 3 murderers to kill Banquo and Fleance. Macbeth is hosting a banquet for the Thanes and Lady Macbeth is getting ready for it. Lady Macbeth says to servant, “Where our desire is got without content.” (3.2.6). This shows that she is slowly feeling guilty about how she got to be queen. She says she is not happy even though this is what she wanted, but it’s not enough.

 

Macbeth is seeing Banquo’s ghost at the banquet and he is going crazy, Lady Macbeth is trying to protect Macbeth by telling all the thanes to leave so she can find out what is going on so she can help him. Lady Macbeth says to the Thanes, “At once, goodnight. Stand not upon the order of your going, but go at once.”(3.4.119-121). She is saying for them to leave the banquet at once and to not worry about the manners of the way they leave. She wants them to leave at once because her husband is going crazy and she wants to protect him and see what is going on with him. Macbeth might be going crazy about him having so much guilt of him killing Duncan. This shows that she is willing to end a big banquet to protect their big secret.

Act 5:

Lady Macbeth is sleep walking and the Doctor is telling Macbeth what is going on with her before a big battle between Macbeth, Malcolm, Macduff and Seward’s army. She is talking about what happened to Duncan in her sleep. Doctor says to Macbeth, “Not so sick, my lord, as she is troubled with thick-coming fancies that keep her from her rest.” (5.3.39-41). The doctor is saying that Lady Macbeth is not sick just extremely guilty so she sleep walks at night and talks of what she shouldn’t. Macbeth is dreadfully worried about his wife, but he has bigger things to worry about like the battle he is about to go into. This shows that Lady Macbeth is going crazy from the remorse and the guilt of killing King Duncan. She is most definitely suffering from remorse and guilt.

Macduff has just killed Macbeth and Malcolm is making his acceptance speech for becoming king and Lady Macbeth is dead as well. Malcolm says in his acceptance speech, “Of his dead butcher and his fiendlike queen, who, as ‘tis thought, by self and violent hands took off her life.” (5.8.69-71). He is saying that Lady Macbeth killed herself because of her guilt; she couldn’t live with herself so she committed suicide. Lady Macbeth felt so terrible about killing King Duncan that she killed herself. This shows that she suffered from remorse and guilt, and she knew she couldn’t make it right. She couldn’t live with herself so she killed herself.

In conclusion Lady Macbeth was a controlling housewife that will do anything to get what she wanted, but by the end of the play, she suffered from remorse and guilt. She convinced her husband to kill the King just so she could be queen. But when she became queen she was unhappy and was slowly going insane with the guilt of having to do with the death of Duncan, so she killed herself. In the end Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are both dead and Malcolm resumes his rightful place as king.