Lady Macbeth Analysis

The characters in Shakespeare’s are strongly developed by the use of soliloquies. Through them, introspection of the characters is revealed. Lady Macbeth, in particular, is very dynamic, and her nature grows throughout the play. Her changes are often highlighted through her soliloquies, thus giving the audience a clear idea of her development. When Macbeth told his wife of the witches’ prophecy, Lady Macbeth wanted nothing else but to make it true.

She asked the spirits to “Unsex me here, and fill me, from the crown to the toe, top full of direst cruelty! ” (Act 1, Scene 5) She asks for the power to convince and control her husband’s mind with her ambition to become the queen. In this soliloquy, Lady Macbeth reveals to the audience her evil nature; however, this trait is hidden from the characters around her as the minute Macbeth enters and her soliloquy finishes, she softens into a loving wife, calling Macbeth “My dearest love,” and comforting him of Duncan’s visit.

Right before the scene ends, she tells him that “To alter favor ever is to fear. Leave all the rest to me. ” This should send Macbeth a signal of her blooming nature. Lady Macbeth enters the courtyard of the castle after drugging the king’s guards with alcohol and says to herself that “what has quench’d them hath given me fire. ” (Act 2, Scene 2) She is bold and ferocious, and she drunk not only on the alcohol, but her greed and her evil desires fuel her.

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Her soliloquy shows the audience the climax of her growth. She confidently admits to herself who she is and is happy about what she’s done. After meeting with Macbeth and seeing his weakness, she calls Macbeth “Infirm of purpose” and takes matters into her own hands to complete the deed. Lady Macbeth’s growth is revealed to both the audience and to her husband in this soliloquy. The last of Lady Macbeth’s soliloquies is during her sleep walk.

She is admitting her crime, and trying to wash blood off her hands. She believes that ‘’all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand,” (Act 1, Scene 1) obviously crumbling under the guilt. Her fear is also torturing her, through her unresolved reassurance to herself that “Banquo’s buried. He cannot come out on ‘s grave. ” There are no traces of her evil nature left, and her soliloquy reveals her weakness, and her regret as she admits to herself that “what is done cannot be undone. Lady Macbeth is portrayed as the fierce minded wife of Macbeth, unlike most women of her time. She is strong willed, however, not stronger than her guilty conscience, as she is eventually crushed and killed by her own evil nature. Shakespeare shows the development of Lady Macbeth through three soliloquies placed in the beginning, the middle, and the end of the play to give the audience a very clear understanding of both the dynamics of the character and also the plot of the play.

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