Lady Macbeth's Ambition Essay
*“Lady Macbeth’s ambition, like that of her husband, leads her to an unnatural, paranormal realm of witchcraft, insomnia and madness. But unlike Macbeth she cannot deal with the evil she has unleashed.” Discuss*
Shakespeare’s final play, Macbeth, tells us a story of a couple’s deadly ambition which corrupt, and ultimately, fix them in a world of evil. Lady Macbeth’s ambition, though, cannot be measured to Macbeth’s, because the way their ambition manifest themselves are completely different. The idea of men and women roles in the play also had a heavy part in the actions of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth; they portrayed the roles and were made to act like so. However, both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth cannot deal with evil; they together succumb themselves …show more content…
She definitely had the “illness” (Act 1, Scene 5), unlike Macbeth, to act on her ambition – she had no doubts, misgivings or scruples. Lady Macbeth may equal with Macbeth’s ambition, but she is more ruthless and determined than him. “Come, thick night… that my keen knife see not the wound it makes” (Act 1, Scene 5). Lady Macbeth’s biggest flaw, perhaps, was just the simple fact that she was a woman. Although she had tried to rid her of her feminine attributes “Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty” (Act 1, Scene 5) there are sections throughout the play that we can see the “woman” side of her come back – which foreshadows that it’ll backfire on her much harder than …show more content…
“Nought’s bad, all’s spent, Where our desire is got without content: ‘T is safer to be than which we destroy, Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy” (Act 3, Scene 2). Lady Macbeth can’t handle the guilt, so she tries to hide it from everyone but it inevitably swallows her soul. It is only when she is sleeping or when she is subconscious where her inside terrors flow out, “Out, damned spot! Out, I say! ...who would have thought the old man to have so much blood on him?” (Act 5, Scene 1) Her state of nervous exhaustion, her sleepwalking and then her suicide all link to the realm of evil which she had put herself
Shakespeare’s final play, Macbeth, tells us a story of a couple’s deadly ambition which corrupt, and ultimately, fix them in a world of evil. Lady Macbeth’s ambition, though, cannot be measured to Macbeth’s, because the way their ambition manifest themselves are completely different. The idea of men and women roles in the play also had a heavy part in the actions of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth; they portrayed the roles and were made to act like so. However, both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth cannot deal with evil; they together succumb themselves …show more content…
She definitely had the “illness” (Act 1, Scene 5), unlike Macbeth, to act on her ambition – she had no doubts, misgivings or scruples. Lady Macbeth may equal with Macbeth’s ambition, but she is more ruthless and determined than him. “Come, thick night… that my keen knife see not the wound it makes” (Act 1, Scene 5). Lady Macbeth’s biggest flaw, perhaps, was just the simple fact that she was a woman. Although she had tried to rid her of her feminine attributes “Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty” (Act 1, Scene 5) there are sections throughout the play that we can see the “woman” side of her come back – which foreshadows that it’ll backfire on her much harder than …show more content…
“Nought’s bad, all’s spent, Where our desire is got without content: ‘T is safer to be than which we destroy, Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy” (Act 3, Scene 2). Lady Macbeth can’t handle the guilt, so she tries to hide it from everyone but it inevitably swallows her soul. It is only when she is sleeping or when she is subconscious where her inside terrors flow out, “Out, damned spot! Out, I say! ...who would have thought the old man to have so much blood on him?” (Act 5, Scene 1) Her state of nervous exhaustion, her sleepwalking and then her suicide all link to the realm of evil which she had put herself