Preview

Lady Macbeth Control Analysis

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1690 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Lady Macbeth Control Analysis
How is one able to control his or her emotions when the surrounding environment is influencing one personally? Lady Macbeth finds the answer to this simple; impossible. Lady Macbeth continues to be controlled by others subconsciously whether it is through her own control, other actions or pure guilt. The actions of characters and events that occur in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth affect the life and mental wellness of Lady Macbeth directly and cause her to digress from dominant to voyeur, and then finally to victim, causing the play to be more enticing.
To start, Lady Macbeth is a dominant, deceiving and determined woman. For example, Lady Macbeth’s dominance and control are shown when she and Macbeth are discussing the plan for King Duncan’s
…show more content…
The deception Lady Macbeth shows while talking to Duncan is successful when Duncan falls for it with no suspicion. This is proved when Duncan says, “Give me your hand;/ Conduct me to mine host: we love him highly/ and shall continue our graces towards him./ By your leave hostess.” Duncan allowing Lady Macbeth to hold his hand indicates that he has a trust in her and does not have a doubt upon the person he see Lady Macbeth as and has no idea about the motives of his host and hostess. Lady Macbeth is able to use her deceptive abilities after the murder of Duncan is committed. Lady Macbeth says, “[Her] hands are of [his] colour, but [she] shame[s] to wear a heart so white.” (2.2.62-68). This quotation means that Lady Macbeth still bares the innocence she had before the deed to the eye of others, hence, having a heart so white. This proven to be true because everyone looks at Lady Macbeth as innocent and pure, as if she could do no harm, but the truth is the total opposite. Also, Lady Macbeth’s determination shows through when she calls upon the dark spirits to give her the courage and strength of a male figure and to relieve her of …show more content…
To start, Lady Macbeth begins to sleep walk and admits her affiliation in Duncan’s murder. Proof of Lady Macbeth’s sleep walking is proved when the Gentlewoman (a spectator of the situation) says, “Ay, but their senses are shut.” (5.1.23). She says this after the doctor (the second spectator of the situation) mentions that Lady Macbeth has her eyes open. The Gentlewoman’s line lets the audience know she is indeed sleep walking for her eyes may be open but there sense is disabled. Also in this scene Lady Macbeth’s self control is shown to have weakened further, when she speaks of Duncan’s murder. Lady Macbeth says, “Out, dammed spot! Out, I say! One, two. Why then ‘tis/ time to do’t. Hell is murky, Fie, my lord, fie, a soldier,/ and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when/ none can call our power to account? Yet who would/ have thought the man to have had so much blood/ in him?” (5.1.31-36) and also when she says, “The Thane of Fife had a wife. Where is she now? What,/ will these hands ne’re be clean?” (5.1.38-39). These quotes both prove that she knew and was involved in the murders of Duncan and Macduff’s family and shows that these events are the reason for her stress, guilt and sleep walking, hence being dominated/ being victim to these emotions. Next, Lady Macbeth is being dominated by her feelings of guilt when

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Lady Macbeth enters the play in Act 1, scene 5 were she is perceived as a powerful, controlling and an independent women. She is ruthless and tries to make sure Macbeth becomes king by planning the deed, and also getting her own hands dirty. While Macbeth feels guilty about the blood on his hands, she says, "My hands are of your colour, but I shame / To wear a heart so white,” (2.2.64-65). However, Lady Macbeth makes a complete 180 turns in Act 5 when guilt and repentance come to haunt her. She is sleepwalking and muttering about the horrible act of killing Duncan. The paranoid…

    • 941 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    1. Identify the common roles in a human resource project. Then, analyze these roles to typical human resource functions.…

    • 924 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Shakespeare’s masterpiece of a play, ‘Macbeth’, carefully depicts that Macbeth’s character was not ruined by fate but rather by damaging errors in his personality. Macbeth’s dangerous quality of ambition brings about his downfall as well as his treachery against his king, his tyranny and also his imaginativeness that eventually lures him into the murder. Although Shakespeare suggests that Macbeth’s decisions were greatly influenced by other characters in his text, it was Macbeth that ultimately decided to listen to these influences due to the many faults in his character.…

    • 88 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Lady Macbeth's Crimes

    • 310 Words
    • 2 Pages

    First of all, Lady Macbeth instigates and incentives Macbeth to commit murder Duncan to achieve their ambition. Lady Macbeth, the only one female in Macbeth. She is a prime woman that always ask her…

    • 310 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    French Guiana Final Report

    • 1843 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Burton, Richard D.E. and Fred Reno, “French and West Indian: Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana Today”, Macmillan, 1995, Print…

    • 1843 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    49-50). Macbeth displays his guilty by saying that “I am afraid to think of what I have done” (II. 2. 55). This puts a new view on their relationship by demonstrating she doesn’t really care that much for what he does and how he feels as long as she gets her way. She’s very self centered and says ironically that the murder wasn’t a big deal and that he should brush it off, or wash his hands like it never happened; although, she was the one who could not carry through with the plan because she was reminded of her dad when she saw Duncan. Yet, she insist that the job would have been very easy to complete and that she would be ashamed to be as guilty as he is. This is exhibited through her stating: “My hands are of your colour; but I shame/ To wear a heart so white” (II. 2. 68-69). After the murder of King Duncan, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s relationship is greatly affected by Lady Macbeth's selfishness and the relationship becomes controlling on Lady Macbeth's…

    • 343 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A signal was sent off in her mind after Macbeth sent her a letter informing his wife about prophesies that was spoken into his life and that now he was Thane of Cawdor. She begins to make a plan of her own way to help these prophecies become reality. “That which cries, “Thus thou must do,” if thou dost fear to do, than wishest should be undone.” (Act 1, Scene 5) She came up with the idea of killing Duncan in order for Macbeth to become king. When she heard that Duncan was coming to stay with them, it gave her more of a reason to kill him that very night. The thought of power became a psychological problem for both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. For Lady Macbeth to smile in the face of Duncan Knowing what she will be doing later on that night. When Macbeth finds out that Duncan has asked for him her begins to second guess about killing him. Lady Macbeth then questions Macbeth’s manhood by calling him a coward. “Which thou esteem’st the ornament of life, And live a coward in thine own esteem.” (Act 1, Scene 7) From the looks of things Lady Macbeth is using social pressure to make sure her husband doesn’t back out from killing Duncan. This shows physical evidence of a mental problem. Lady Macbeth thinks that this is the best thing to do for them to make the prophecy fall into place but this is only a way of her trying to get her and her husband to the top. In today's society the mental disorder that Lady Macbeth is showing is…

    • 1093 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Her guilt was so great, that while she was sleep walking, she began to re-enact the murder of King Duncan. Lady Macbeth was actually scared of being caught as well as regretful to what she had done. One night while sleepwalking she begins saying:…

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    As the main motivator to Macbeth’s actions, Lady Macbeth is a character whose ambition and greed lead her and her husband to their inevitable fate of death. Lady Macbeth’s relentlessness, as well as her longing for power generate an emotion of pain and suffering. After hearing the prophecies of her husband, Lady Macbeth is intent on making her husband King of Scotland, as she will not let anything get in her way; even if she needs to resort to murder. After Macbeth’s murder of King Duncan, she is fearful that his loyalty and consciousness will overcome their “priorities”; however, as the play progresses, we are able to see that ironically, it is her that slowly becomes insane for she is being consumed by guilt and fear. This is distinctly apparent as Lady Macbeth sleepwalks and perpetually attempts to wash the blood aka the guilt of killing King Duncan, off her hands. In this quote from Act 5 Scene 1, Lady Macbeth states, “Out, damned spot! Out, I say!—One, two. Why, then, ’tis time to do ’t. Hell is murky!— … —What, will these hands ne'er be clean?—No more o' that, my lord, no more o' that…,” we can perceive that she is near lunacy as she can no longer comprehend her actions and what she can do to eradicate the constant sense of guilt.…

    • 259 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth by William Shakespeare illustrates throughout the course of the novel how the dominance in a relationship can change. Lady Macbeth is an ambitious character who initially portrays the role of a leading spouse over Macbeth but as the play progresses we witness an incredible shift in the orientation of power. The beginning involves an uncertain Macbeth who struggles to come in terms with the prophecy of the three witches. Macbeths indecisive nature proves to be an opportunity for the success Lady Macbeths objective. Originally both characters indicate their hopes and dreams for glory but it is Lady Macbeth who dominates and leads the ambiguous Macbeth into his drastic yet prophesized future. Macbeths chaotic rule begins a chain of decisions made without the influence of Lady Macbeth which ultimately destroys her power in the relationship.…

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Guilty about killing duncan and turning Macbeth into a killer. So she chooses to kill herself. Before this when she was sleepwalking in the beginning of Act 5 she confessed her crime and guilt to a doctor and a Gentlewoman by accident . “Out, damned spot! Out, I say!—One, two. Why, then, ’tis time to do ’t. Hell is murky!—Fie, my lord, fie! A soldier, and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account?( V.i.36-39). In this quote when Lady Macbeth is sleepwalking she is panicking because she can’t wash Duncan's blood off of her hands, and she can’t stop feeling guilty about what she has done. She forced macbeth to kill Duncan, this is why she chooses to kill herself. This proves why lady Macbeth feels guilty for turning Macbeth into a killer and helping kill Duncan.…

    • 614 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Role Of Evil In Macbeth

    • 1004 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In the play we see that Macbeth’s mental health starts to deteriorate during the second act after he kills the king. Macbeth himself even states that sleep no longer restores his wary mind as seen in act two scene two when he says “Still it cried, 'Sleep no more!' to all the house: 'Glamis hath murder'd sleep, and therefore Cawdor Shall steep no more, Macbeth shall sleep no more!” We see Macbeth suffer the consequences of his malicious deeds. All the murders, planned murders conspiracies towards murder start to haunt him filling his mind with anxiety, paranoia, and hallucinations. All of these symptoms happen after Macbeth had already killed King Duncan making it clear that He was of sane mind while he committed his evil deeds. In terms of being able to maintain their sanity Macbeth shows much more strength than his wife. Wee see this in the first scene of act five where Lady Macbeth establishes one of her most infamous scenes. “Out, damned spot! out, I say! One; two: why, then, 'tis time to do't. Hell is murky! Fie, my lord, fie! a soldier, and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account? Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood In him?” IN this scene we see Lady macbeth's mind surrender to guilt brought about by her involvement in the King’s…

    • 1004 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Macbeth, William Shakespeare uses a combination of manipulation, egotism, and betrayal to reveal how Macbeth is a victim of his own free will.…

    • 762 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Corruption In Macbeth

    • 676 Words
    • 3 Pages

    As a result, her desire for power allows her to be stronger, more remorseless, and more driven than Macbeth. In fact, she is fully aware of this when she declares that Macbeth is "art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it.” This is why Lady Macbeth acts not only as Macbeth's confidant, but his also his controller. Consumed by her desire to become Queen, Lady Macbeth herself plots the murder of Duncan and when Macbeth questions the idea of regicide, she manipulates him with her powerful soliloquies. This is done by condemning her husband’s biggest insecurity; his manhood. She states that Macbeth would be “so much more the man” if he were to follow through with the plan. Lady Macbeth even points out that she herself would even kill her own baby as a means to reach her goals. This drives Macbeth to the point where he is “settled and bend-up” to prove himself. Her condescending inspiration is the first to trigger a change in his morals and attitude. However, as Macbeth’s own ambition starts to flourish and facilitate an obsessive and power hungry killing spree, Lady Macbeth’s character changes as well. She becomes helpless and is reduced to a weak figure that sleepwalks and is constantly trying to wash nonexistent blood from her hands. This is because she is so overwhelmed by the guilt of her treachery that a…

    • 676 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Insanity In Macbeth

    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages

    She also had nightmares. The doctor and gentlewoman watched as Lady Macbeth was sleepwalking, although she was sleeping, she had a candle, and her eyes were open. She seemed disoriented and walked around a bit before she said “Yet here's a spot.” “Out damned spot” (Shakespeare 163). This shows that lady Macbeth cannot stand the mental consequences of her actions and evil deeds. Blood haunts her dreams, she can’t rid the vision that her hands are still covered in blood that one horrible night. She feels guilty and trapped even though she tries to protect Macbeth from going insane, she can't do it for herself. This causes her feelings to become all bottled up and seep into her subconscious which controls her in the form of…

    • 724 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics