Macbeth Essay: Essential Phrases

Lady Macbeth:

• Lady Macbeth is a far cry from the screaming harridan of the first two acts.
• She fails to foresee the strength of her own conscience, leading to her downfall.
• Lady Macbeth is presented as an ambitious, malevolent force from her very introduction.
• She accepts that Macbeth is an essentially good man with a conscience, but she is willing to destroy this part of him to achieve her own ambitions.
• Lady Macbeth is human but strives to overcome a woman's supposed physical and emotional weaknesses.
• She encourages Macbeth to pursue a course of action from which there is no return.
• Her cool, practical approach to the murder is unsettling and highlights her determination.
• Despite her earlier claims of being able to murder her own child, she is not without heart.
• The first sign of physical weakness marks the beginning of Lady Macbeth's demise; she never regains her forceful, domineering presence.
• By the end of the play, Lady Macbeth is the picture of vulnerability and fragility.

• Shakespeare charts her transformation from the vilified queen to a troubled soul who embodies the price of guilt.
• Inspired by her ambitious nature, she attempts to turn her back on humanity but underestimates the power of her conscience, ultimately becoming a vulnerable, pathetic figure wracked with guilt.
• Lady Macbeth remains cool, calm, and collected in the face of great adversity, but this facade eventually crumbles.

---

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's Relationship:

• Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are united by their ambition, serving as partners in crime.
• Their bond is evident in how quickly Macbeth communicates the strange events to Lady Macbeth, suggesting the fulfilment of a shared dream.
• While Macbeth is immediately tortured by apprehension and guilt, Lady Macbeth shows no such qualms at first.
• As Macbeth moves beyond guilt into an amoral and frightful dimension, Lady Macbeth finds herself excluded from his inner turmoil.
• The evil they embrace ultimately destroys them both, leaving them isolated, alone, and despised by the end.
• Lady Macbeth is the mastermind behind the murder of Duncan, planning it with military precision.
• The moment they dedicate themselves to Duncan's murder, their relationship begins to fail.

• Macbeth commits himself to a path of destruction, isolating himself from his wife as their paths diverge.
• The widening chasm in their relationship occurs because they travel different paths—Macbeth focuses on his survival on the throne, while Lady Macbeth is consumed by her guilt.

---