O Lady Macbeth Spurs Macbeth example essay topic

The differences between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are profound. Initially one is under the impression of the two being in harmony with each other and that their marriage is almost ideal. However, as the play develops one soon gleans the true differences in character and attitude of the two partners. Initially Macbeth is frightened and unsure while Lady Macbeth projects an image of self-assurance, poise and confidence. In the end, Lady Macbeth is reduced to a guilt-ridden, confused and hallucinating individual who has proven that her initial mettle was a facade that would soon crumble when she has to face the consequences, of her actions, while Macbeth is tortured in a different way he seems to thrive on the murders he commits. o When Macbeth meets the witches and writes to Lady Macbeth their minds are very much in accord with each other. o Macbeth is as yet uncertain of the witches prophecy though it is evident that his ambitious nature has already spurred him on to think of the possibility of usurping Duncan's power. o Lady Macbeth resolves to help her husband '... pour spirits in thine ear' because she thought that he lacked the courage to carry through with the deed 'his nature... so full of the milk of human kindness' o She is extremely in touch with what Macbeth is envisaging for himself "I feel now the future in the instant" and she also becomes motivated to aid Macbeth in whatever way is necessary. o In planning the murder of Duncan their intimacy heightens. "What cannot you and I perform upon the unguarded Malcom" o Her seemingly ruthless nature is exposed when she talks about her wish to be unsexed. o Lady Macbeth spurs Macbeth on and ridicules his manhood in order for him to become determined enough to carry out the murder. o When the actual murder of King Duncan is committed Lady Macbeth is still portrayed as the stronger of the two and she ridicules Macbeth's lack of bravery when he talks of the "multitudinous seas incarnadine" as she says that "a little water shall clear us of this deed". o It is only after Macbeth unnecessarily kills the guards that Lady Macbeth begins to feel isolated and the reality of the killings begin to dawn on her. o This isolation grows as is evident when Lady Macbeth queries "How now my lord!

Why do you keep alone?" The couple are also having sleepless nights. This is accompanied by less and less communication as Macbeth shuts Lady Macbeth out and as Macbeth allows his bloodthirstiness to take over and preside over all sense. "Blood will have blood" encapsulates his new cruelty. o At the banquet despite Lady Macbeth's efforts to rescue Macbeth from his obvious mistakes, it is evident that the two are no longer as they used to be. In a way their partnership has come to an end as Macbeth submits himself to the forces of evil, his ambitiousness and ignorance of the consequences. o The isolation of Lady Macbeth drives her mad she cannot bear the guilt and torment that she is undergoing. She cannot sleep and her weakness, in comparison to Macbeth, is obvious. Macbeth stands strong but his guilt is channelled into something akin to paranoia as he continues killing. o Lady Macbeth dies but Macbeth does not grieve as is expected of a husband and although his fatalistic soliloquy conveys his belief that life is meaningless this just emphasises one of Shakespeare's themes in the play and is not directly as a result of Lady Macbeth's death.

He has lost all true love for her and her death is merely regarded as an inconvenience, his reaction is sympathetic but hardly one of mourning and this epitomizes the distance, created by the isolation that lay between them in the latter part of the play. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are largely influenced by their actions. One of the central themes of the play that is fundamental in the deterioration of the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is that of the isolation and meaninglessness that will eventually result from selfishness and cruelty for your own ends. Both of their characters had extreme depth to them and their transformation was evident in both the psychological (insanity, hallucinations and so forth) and physical (loss of sleep) effects that their actions had on them.

The play also manages to capture the essence of how the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth each contributed to the segregation from one another.