The Laboratory by Robert Browning & Macbeth (Act 1)

The Laboratory by Robert Browning & Macbeth (Act 1)

Similarities
Both texts are loosely based on real life events. The characters in both texts are anticipating a murder that they will commit. They both lust for something and are extremely excited about the prospect. “may pour my spirits into thine ear” and “unsex me” ~ Lady Macbeth will do anything to become queen even if she says free me from all my femininity so I can become a murderer.
“wild” ~ cannot control her excitement and cannot wait for her victim to suffer and die.
She feels so strongly about this, she says you can take all my femininity away from me so I can actually be strong enough to commit murder as she doubts Macbeth’s malevolence. (evilness) Lady Macbeth wants to be royalty and the narrator wants her lover back. “look like th’innocent flower, be the serpent under’t” ~ Look nice on the outside yet evil on the inside.
“laugh, laugh at me” and “I am here” ~ she wants her revenge for being looked down upon by her lover.
Both characters aren’t happy to begin with at what they have to help them murder. Lady Macbeth thinks that Macbeth is too nice to even think about killing Duncan and the narrator isn’t happy with the way the poison is turning out, comparing her lover’s girlfriend to her. They both don’t seem to doubt the validity of the things that they are committing. Lady Macbeth jumps to the conclusion immediately that the things Macbeth said in his letter were correct and the narrator doesn’t think twice about not killing her lover’s girlfriend.
“is too full o’th’milk of human kindness” and “I fear thy nature” ~ Lady Macbeth is unsure whether Macbeth will be too kind to kill the king. “colour’s too grim!” and “no minion like me!” ~ she is questioning whether her victim will fall for the poison or not.
Overall in Act 1 Lady Macbeth isn’t uncertain about knowing that the only solution of becoming King and Queen would be to kill Duncan. She is determined and eager to be crowned monarchs. The narrator feels strongly about killing her lover also she emphasises the word poison to show her enthusiasm.
“take my milk for gall” ~ Lady Macbeth will almost do anything to become more masculine so that she has all the courage and bravery to murder.
“poison, to poison her” ~ Browning deliberately accentuates the word poison to underline it’s significance towards the narrator.

The Laboratory by Robert Browning & Macbeth (Act 1)

Contrasts
There is some contrast between Lady Macbeth and the narrator in the poem as Lady Macbeth and Macbeth don’t have a reason apart from ambition to kill someone, whereas the narrator’s lover has had several affairs, of which she mentions and so she wants to murder every one of them.
“vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself and falls on th’other” ~ Macbeth thinks that there is only ambition for killing the king.
“a coward in thine own esteem” ~ yet Lady Macbeth persuades him to do it by making him feel feminine instead of masculine
“Pauline should have just thirty minutes to live” and “to light a pastille and Elise” ~ here she mentions other women who she is planning to kill.
Lady Macbeth’s relationship with Macbeth is different of that in the poems. When Lady Macbeth first sees Macbeth she greets him kindly and lovingly. They did disagree about killing Duncan but they came to an agreement about it. Clearly the narrator truly loves her boyfriend as she is prepared to kill somebody to get to him again.
“my dearest partner of greatness” ~ Lady Macbeth addresses her husband with glee seeing as she has a plan to kill the king and doesn’t think that he’s bad enough to do it.
“she ensnared him” ~ it wasn’t her lover’s fault but the other girl’s instead implying that she still loves him.
Lady Macbeth and Macbeth actually know the person that they are killing very well; and he is perceived as friendly and caring which contrasts with Lady Macbeth wanting to murder him. The narrator knows little and is not friendly to the person she wants to murder which contrasts with Macbeth.
“honoured hostess” and “give me your hand” ~ this shows that Duncan is kind and considerate towards Lady Macbeth even though she is planning to murder him (dramatic irony)
“she’s not little” ~ the narrator describes her victim very little in the poem. She wants to kill her as she ‘ensnared’ her lover as she’s not a good person; in contrast with Macbeth.
The narrator is killing the victim in a less direct way than Macbeth plunging a dagger into Duncan which is what they’re planning to do in Act 7. The poem’s way of killing is much more inconspicuous than that of Macbeth.
“used their very daggers” ~ they are thinking of killing Duncan and framing the guards by using their daggers when they’re drunk.
“moisten, mash, grind” ~ she is watching the process of creating the poison to kill her victim.
In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth is sure that her plan will succeed even though Macbeth isn’t. In the poem at first the narrator is doubtful; but by the end she says that it will certainly work.
“we fail?” ~ she is being sarcastic in response to Macbeth who isn’t sure about the whole idea. She was convinced her plan would work and assured Macbeth that it would too.
“why not soft like the phial’s” and “let death be felt” ~ to start the narrator is unsure whether she’ll fall for it, but towards the end evidently she thinks the opposite.