Compare And Contrast Macbeth And Power Hungry

Often regarded as one of Shakespeare’s most riveting and suspenseful plays, Macbeth depicts the entrancing tale of murder, betrayal, and blind ambition all the while captivating viewers with unparalleled poetic imagery. Throughout the play, Shakespeare eloquently portrays each of the characters, using the plot as a vehicle to reveal distinct traits about each one. Although the main characters of Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth, are both depicted as violent and power-hungry, they are distinguished because while Macbeth is often more cautious and easily persuaded by his wife, Lady Macbeth is shown to be more resolute and influential than her husband. Shakespeare depicts both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as violent and power-hungry through the
While Macbeth is more skeptical and cautious, his wife tends to be more confident. Macbeth, for instance, is not assured in his abilities to kill the King. Although he wants to gain the authority associated with the throne, he cannot imagine killing a faithful and esteemed king who had just crowned him the Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth says to his wife, “We will proceed no further in this business. /He hath honored me of late, and I have bought/Golden opinions from all sorts of people, /Which would be worn now in their newest gloss, /Not cast aside so soon” (Shakespeare 1.7.32-35). Macbeth is confused whether him becoming king is good, for he cannot picture himself murdering the King. He expresses that since the King had just honored him, he cannot bear the idea of assassinating him. Lady Macbeth on the other hand, is very resolute on the matter of Duncan’s murder. She plans to do everything in her power to make sure that Macbeth kills King Duncan, saying “That I may pour my spirits in thine ear/And chastise with the valor of my tongue/All that impedes thee from the golden round, /Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem/To have thee crowned withal” (Shakespeare 1.5.16-20). Lady Macbeth desperately wants her husband to become King, but she knows that he is often skeptical and does not complete his goals. In this soliloquy, she reveals
Macbeth was not keen on killing his loyal king, up until Lady Macbeth persuaded him to do it. After a long standoff with his wife, Macbeth finally proclaims, “I am settled, and bend up/Each corporal agent to this terrible feat. /Away, and mock the time with fairest show. /False face must hide what the false heart doth know” (Shakespeare 1.7.79-83). Macbeth expresses that he is settled on killing the king and will go through with the plan established by Lady Macbeth. Although he was initially against the idea, for there were a lot of risks, his wife was able to convince him, thus demonstrating how easily persuaded Macbeth can be. Lady Macbeth, on the contrary, is quite influential. She uses strong rhetoric to convince Macbeth that he must become king, questioning his masculinity, and explaining the various benefits of becoming king. Lady Macbeth states, “What beast was ’t, then, /That made you break this enterprise to me? /When you durst do it, then you were a man;/And to be more than what you were, you would/Be so much more the man. Nor time nor place/Did then adhere, and yet you would make both. /They have made themselves, and that their fitness now/ Does unmake you” (Shakespeare 1.7.47-55). Lady Macbeth calls Macbeth a coward which makes him reassess his initial decision of not killing the King.