Lady Macbeth Is More Ruthless Than Macbeth Essay, Research Paper

MACBETH ESSAY

In life everyone has goals that they hope to attain and there are many ways that one can achieve these goals. To achieve what you desire you can either wait for time to take its toll, or take matters into your own hands and do what you have to do in order to fulfill your desires. You can attain your goal as long as you have ambition. In Shakespeare s Macbeth, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth had the goal of Macbeth becoming king: to obtain this they took matters into hands and killed Duncan. In order for somebody to commit such a heinous act as murder the conspirators must be ruthless, and this is what Macbeth and Lady Macbeth were, ruthless. Lady Macbeth s is more ruthless than her spouse and her ruthlessness is what fueled Duncan s murder. However some may claim that this is not so and that Macbeth is more ruthless than his wife.

Present fears are less than horrible imaginings. My thought, whose murder is yet but fantastical, shakes so that my single state of man that function is smoldered I surmise and nothing is but what is not. Macbeth as you can see is thinking about the witches prophecy of him becoming king. Macbeth knows that Duncan must be killed if he wants to acquire the throne, and the thought of Duncan s murder is very disturbing to him. Macbeth desires to become king, but his ambition is halted when he thinks of the consequences that follow if he were to get his wish. However when Malcolm is chosen to become Prince of Cumberland Macbeth knew that if he did not take any actions then he wouldn t be king. The reader can see that the ruthlessness that lied in Macbeth is coming out when he says The Prince of Cumberland that is a step On which I must fall down or else o erleap, For in my way it lies. Despite the fact that Macbeth is a ruthless individual Lady Macbeth makes him look like a saint. After Lady Macbeth reads her husband s letter she sees an opportunity to become queen that she probably never thought about. Lady Macbeth s desire for her husband to become king is stronger than Macbeth s own desire for the throne. After Lady Macbeth learns that Duncan is going to visit Inverness she begins plotting to kill him even though her husband does show hesitation to kill Duncan. Macbeth wrote, Art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it that he does not want to commit an act of murder. Once again Lady Macbeth s ruthlessness is displayed when she asks, Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of dirtiest cruelty . Lady Macbeth calls upon the spirits to help her find the power to kill Duncan. When Macbeth arrives at Inverness it s not Macbeth that begins talking about the plot to murder Duncan, but instead it s his wife. Your hand, your tongue; look like th innocent flower, but be the serpent under t is what Lady Macbeth urges Macbeth to do so that he can commit the murder. Lady Macbeth knows that her husband is not so hard-hearted as her so she must manipulate him to be this way. As you can see Lady Macbeth is more ruthless than her husband and that the head conspirator is Macbeth s wife.

Perhaps the most significant events that displays that Lady Macbeth is more ruthless than her husband occurs in scene seven of act one. First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, Strong both against the deed; then, as his host, who should against his murdered shut the door, not bear the knife myself. Macbeth in this scene shows that he has a conscience and he does care about becoming king but does not want to have to kill for the throne. In Macbeth s soliloquy in this scene he judges all the pros and cons of murdering Duncan and for a second he decides not to kill, but after he tells his wife that We will proceed no further in this business she fools him into changing his decision. Lady Macbeth does not care what her husband s decision is; all she cares about is her self-interest. She scolds Macbeth on his decision and changes his mind by saying such phrases as What beast was t then that made you break this enterprise to me? Lady Macbeth lowers her husbands feeling of self-worth and says that he owes it to her to kill Duncan, which in effect makes him want to get rid of his king. Lady Macbeth tells him that he doesn t love her if he can t kill Duncan. Even after they both decide to commit this heinous act it s Lady Macbeth who conjures up and sets forth a plan that will help them attain their goal. This provides further support of the fact that though Macbeth is ruthless however his wife far exceeds him in this quality.

After the two conspirators murdered Duncan there is only one of them that feels any remorse. Macbeth is the only one that shows any remorse and he is disturbed by the fact that he killed Duncan. Still it cried Sleep no more! to all the house; Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor shall sleep no more, Macbeth shall sleep no more. Macbeth knows that his actions were not right and that he ll lose sleep over Duncan s murder however his wife does not show the same emotions. Who was it that thus cried? Why, worthy Thane, you do unbend your noble strength to think so brainsickly of things. Lady Macbeth does not comfort Macbeth or give reassurance that the actions he took were justified instead she criticizes her husband for being soft hearted. Lady Macbeth may not have stabbed Macbeth with the dagger but she might as well because she was the driving force behind Duncan s fate. How easy is it then! Your constancy hath left you unattended. Lady Macbeth in this quote clearly indicates a tone of satisfaction and she is ecstatic about the murder. Any sane person would not act in such a manner that she displays. Clearly one can see that Lady Macbeth is a ruthless person even more so than her husband.

Everyone has goals that they hope to achieve by the use of one method or another. In Shakespeare s Macbeth, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth s goal is to gain control of the throne through treachery. The couple planned to kill Duncan to achieve their objective. In order to do so they needed to have the quality of being ruthless which they did possess. However their aim would not have been achieved if it were not for the fact that Lady Macbeth is more ruthless than her husband. Macbeth is ruthless but his wife is far more barbarous than he is.

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