Lady Macbeth

“Such I account thy love. Art thou afeard

To be the same in thine own act and valour

As thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have that Which thou esteem'st the ornament of life, And live a coward in thine own esteem,

Letting 'I dare not' wait upon 'I would,'

Like the poor cat i' the adage?” (1.2.43-49.)

Quote 1

While Macbeth is having doubts and concerns on killing Duncan. Lady Macbeth is calling him a coward. She adds guilt onto his weakness and says that this is a reflection of the love he has given her as well. She is manipulating him to murder Duncan by making hurtful remarks torwards him. Lady Macbeth could have been responsible for Macbeth’s death because she seemed to overpower him and would make him weaker with her words. She made him seem small and fragile and began to control him.

“You wait on natures mischief. Come, thick night, and pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell,That my knife see not the wound it makes, Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark to cry “Hold, Hold” (1.5.33).

Quote 2

Lady Macbeth had manipulated Macbeth into killing Duncan. She manipulated him into killing him by how the heavens won't see his deeds because the clouds will cover. This is Lady Macbeth saying how she will cover up the deeds for Macbeth so he will not get in trouble and so then they both get what they want, which is to run Scotland.

“Does unmake you. I have given suck, and know how tender ‘tis to love the babe that milks me. I would, while it was smiling in my face, have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you have done to this.” (1.7.62-67).

Quote 3

In this scene Lady Macbeth is trying to convince Macbeth of trying to go through with killing Duncan (the king Scotland). Macbeth is having second thoughts about this deed and how it will affect his mental and moral health. Lady Macbeth explains that she knows the love for a baby but if she was told to pluck the nipple out of its mouth and bash its head in she would do it and follow through with an order like Macbeth needs to do with following through with the murder plan. Lady Macbeth could have been responsible for Macbeth's death because she is very manipulative and could have easily gotten into Macbeth's death and that could have easily lead to his death.

“My hands are of your color, but I shame/To wear a heart so white/At the south entry. Retire we to our chamber./A little water clears us of this deed./How easy is it, then!”(2.2.82-86).

Quote 4

Here, Lady Macbeth is telling Macbeth that she is as guilty as he is, yet she still remains calm and unbothered by the fact that Macbeth had just murdered King Duncan. She continues to simplify the cleaning process, persuading Macbeth into thinking murder isn’t as wrong as it is. She is ruining Macbeth’s values which leads to him justifying all his later murders. Lady Macbeth ultimately opens Macbeth up to a world of evil, that eventually leads to Macduff taking Macbeth’s life in return for those Macbeth had ended himself.

“Of this dead butcher and his fiendlike / queen, / Who, as ’tis thought, by self and violent hands / Took off her life”(5.8.82-84).

Quote 5

It is assumed that Lady Macbeth kills herself from guilt. Lady Macbeth corrupted her husband by forcing him to become a ruthless leader and kill anyone that stands in his way. This changes Macbeth so much that in the end he does it by himself and with no help from Lady macbeth. By the end of the play Lady macbeth and Macbeth have switched places, Macbeth died brave and ruthless while Lady Macbeth died guilty and paranoid.