Shakespeare's Macbeth shows the descent into madness by its main character, Macbeth. As such, Macbeth, his actions, and his reactions to those actions are the focus of the play. However, Lady Macbeth is a very interesting character in her own right. The killing of King Duncan, and Macbeth's subsequent acts, also pull the queen down into the depth of madness.
When Lady Macbeth first hears of the prophecy of the weird sisters -- that Macbeth...
Shakespeare's Macbeth shows the descent into madness by its main character, Macbeth. As such, Macbeth, his actions, and his reactions to those actions are the focus of the play. However, Lady Macbeth is a very interesting character in her own right. The killing of King Duncan, and Macbeth's subsequent acts, also pull the queen down into the depth of madness.
When Lady Macbeth first hears of the prophecy of the weird sisters -- that Macbeth will be king -- she pushes her husband to take action rather than wait for events to unfold. She specifically desires that he kill Duncan to speed along the prophecy, going so far as to plan the murder and to both encourage and berate Macbeth toward carrying out their plan.
Her ambition, and the ruthlessness with which she drives Macbeth toward what she sees as his destiny, makes her more the aggressor than her husband, even though he carries out the actual murder. However, as time goes on and both of them have to live with the consequences of their actions, Macbeth becomes more bold and more ruthless whereas Lady Macbeth is haunted by the memory of their deeds and by those who died because of her plan and/or her husband's deeds.
Lady Macbeth stands in contrast to her husband in the end. Both have given in to their madness, but it has wrought different effects on them. For Macbeth, he becomes utterly ruthless and cruel as a result of his inhumanity. For Lady Macbeth, she becomes more human in the face of that same inhumanity, and she ultimately takes her own life out of guilt.
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