Untitled Essay Research Paper By Garth BensonThe

Untitled Essay, Research Paper By: Garth Benson The Guilt of Lady Macbeth “To metamorphose ones character through years of experience and age is salutary. To deteriorate ones character through a short period of fast decisions and unsure actions is perilous.” Lady Macbeth gives truth to this theory. The impulsive mistakes and power-hungry tactics littered the journey Lady Macbeth paves throughout this play is ultimately her dramatic flaw. She feels overwhelmed by all that is happening, both physically and mentally, and decides to end her own life. The Tragedy of Macbeth, by William Shakespeare illustrates two seemingly ordinary nobles whose lives intertwine in a whirlwind of power, corruption, and the supernatural resulting in their descents. They both, so wrapped up in

this greedy world, failed to consider the consequences of their actions and more realistically Macbeth started to succumb to the belief of deeds that he is about to perform is the right thing to do, “I dare do all that may become a man. Who dares do more is none.”(Shakespeare, Macbeth 291). Lady Macbeth in particular loses sight of rationality from the play’s beginning to end. She creates an image of ruthlessness and believes she can handle the intrusion of unearthly evil in her mind and soul. She presents a seemingly stable foundation of control in which she clutches with an iron fist. As Macbeth becomes less dependent on his wife, she loses more control. She loses control of her husband, but mostly, of herself, proving her vacillating truth. Lady Macbeth’s character

gradually disintegrates through a false portrayal of unyielding strength, an unsteady control of her husband and shifting involvement with supernatural powers. Throughout the duration of play Lady Macbeth’s truly decrepit and vulnerable nature is revealed. Lady Macbeth has been the iron fist and authority icon for Macbeth, yet deep down, she never carried such traits to begin with. This duality in Lady Macbeth’s character plays a huge role in planting the seed for Macbeth’s downfall and eventual demise. At the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth is introduced as a dominant, controlling, heartless wife with an obsessive ambition to achieve kingship for her husband. Her weak, sheltered, unsure and unstable condition is only revealed at the end of the play. However, the

audience begins to see hints of this hidden nature by the manner in which Macbeth addresses her. Contrary to her supposed ruthless nature, her husband regards her as a pure being. He attempts to shield her from foreign agencies by saying, “Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck,” (319). It is only in private that Lady Macbeth shows her weaknesses. As oppo! sed to her seemingly violent persona, Lady Macbeth is horrified by blood, and during her sleepwalking soliloquy refers to her hand as if suggesting a delicate stature by uttering this: “All the perfumes / of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.” (353). Although Lady Macbeth is unstable and vulnerable, she uses dramatic analogies to persuade her openly fragile husband to follow through with the first murder: 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. (291). Her shocking and persuasive effect on Macbeth convinces him that he is settled. By hearing a woman who seems to be fearless of his anxieties, he is soothed. But even here we begin to catch a greater glimpse of Lady Macbeth’s very unstable mind. By using such a graphic description, she reflects her straining desperation for Macbeth’s commitment. She knows that Macbeth is a strong person, and she must seem stronger to convince him to go along with her. She now has to wear a ‘mask’ of this determined and cold character, creating more