

Lady Macbeth's Soliloquy, Act I. What Dramatic Atmosphere(S) Is/Are Created In Lady Macbeth's Soliloquy? What Does This Soliloquy Reflect About Lady Macbeth? How Does Lady Macbeth Contribute To The Tragedy Of Macbeth, The Play?

1932 words - 8 pages


Advanced Literature 2010
Response to Lady Macbeth's Soliloquy

In this soliloquy, Lady Macbeth is seen to plot Duncan's death, and it is implied that she would stop at nothing to assist her husband in acquiring the throne, and that she was willing to succumb to unscrupulous means and turn malevolent if it was what it took to succeed.

This soliloquy creates a tense atmosphere. At that point of time, Lady Macbeth is seen plotting to vanquish Duncan for her husband to gain access to the throne. She speaks, "The raven himself is hoarse that croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan under my battlements." This line connotes Lady Macbeth's intention to harm Duncan (as seen from "fatal entrance") - even murder him - in order to seize the crown. It sparks worry and anxiety in readers, for there is a sense of foreboding - Duncan's life was now in danger, being targeted by a vindictive Lady Macbeth who, in her soliloquy, evidently covets the crown and swore to be indomitable and inexorable in obtaining the crown. The audience becomes anxious of Duncan's predicament; he was about to perish yet remained unbeknownst to it.

This soliloquy also creates fear. Lady Macbeth solicited the removal of her human instinct and human nature to be kind, remorseful or compassionate in order to not hinder her schemes - "fill me […] of direst cruelty […] stop th' access and passage to remorse […] no compunctious visitings of nature shake my fell purpose nor keep peace between th' effect and it". It is also evident that she wished to turn completely inhuman (literally and figuratively) - "unsex me here […] make thick my blood […] come to my woman's breasts and take my milk for gall". She asks to be unsexed (removed of her gender as a female) so that the proverbial `soft spot' in her woman's nature does not hamper her endeavour to seize the crown for Macbeth; she asks for her blood to be thickened, to give her "courage" and audacity to carry out her deadly plans; she asks devils (as seen from "murdering ministers") to turn her breast milk (a sign of a caring, motherly figure and womanhood) into poison, denoting her intent to become heartless and unfeeling, thus accentuating the extent of depravity she is capable of. The audience, at this point, would be alarmed by her abnormal desire to do so, and it sparks fear. Lady Macbeth's desire to be a being - monster, in fact - incapable of feeling like a human is very much foreign to the audience.

Moreover, Lady Macbeth also wishes that her "keen knife see not the wound it makes", meaning that she yearns to kill without feeling pity, sympathy or remorse at her sins. Lady Macbeth wishes to turn into an abominable, detestable and monstrous person to perform evil deeds, and she asks not to feel regret or guilt while committing to her plans. In Line 11, she seeks and tries to garner the espousal and...

Find Another Essay On Lady Macbeth's soliloquy, Act I. What dramatic atmosphere(s) is/are created in Lady Macbeth's soliloquy? What does this soliloquy reflect about Lady Macbeth? How does Lady Macbeth contribute to the tragedy of Macbeth, the play?

Shakespeare's Macbeth - Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's Motivation

1161 words - 5 pages After reading this climactic portion of Shakespeare's enticing play, Macbeth, I am filled with a plethora of different remarks and thoughts about several of the character's inner feelings and ambitions. It is not clear to the reader what the characters are actually expressing or what exactly is driving them, but their feelings can be inferred from the surrounding text and the reader's basic understanding of all human nature. One of the

"Macbeth": Discuss the soliloquy in Act III, i. How does Shakespeare convey the change in Macbeth since the soliloquy in Act I, vii?

1377 words - 6 pages mind for the first time in the play through his first soliloquy. At this point, the audience is curious to find out how he responds to the prophecy of the witches, and the seductions of his wife. In this soliloquy, he is yet, "th'innocent flower" and moreover, he displays his judiciousness as a brave warrior by contemplating the consequences of murdering the King: something Lady Macbeth does not bother to do in her attempt to convert her husband

How does Shakespeare present lady Macbeth? In what

4130 words - 17 pages the 17th century when women weren?t even allowed to act on stage. However perhaps a more modern audience may see her character differently due to increasing equality and the role of women in the 21st century. I will be exploring how roles in society affect the audience?s response as well.The audience?s initial impressions of Lady Macbeth are from her first entrance where she is reading a letter from Macbeth. This he ?thought good to deliver? to

Lady Macbeth's Conscience in Shakespeares's Macbeth

575 words - 2 pages , seeming to have no conscience, takes total control in planning the plot against Duncan proving to be stronger, more ruthless, and ambitious than Macbeth. He is too honorable a man to do what he must to be king and this worries Lady Macbeth as she fears it may prevent him from murdering the king leaving her to commit the crime, “Yet I do fear thy nature, It is too full o’ the milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way,” (1.5.15-17). Assuming

Lady Macbeth's Strategy in William Shakespeare's Play Macbeth

1613 words - 6 pages Lady Macbeth's Strategy in William Shakespeare's Play Macbeth In the seventh scene of act one Macbeth has left the banquet, and expresses his doubts about murdering Duncan in a monologue. Lady Macbeth comes in, and argues with Macbeth, until she manages to 'convince' him, that he has to murder Duncan. To do that Lady Macbeth uses mainly two arguments. 'Letting 'I dare not? wait upon ?I would? like the poor cat i? the adage? (lines 43

The Deterioration of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's Relationship

1225 words - 5 pages powerful is now nothing more than a scared villain and although Lady Macbeth knew this about Macbeth, he doesn't seem to realise it about her.The major scene in which the changes in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's relationship is shown is in Act 5 where he is told of Lady Macbeth's death. This scene shows just what the relationship has resulted to and the grief that he feels. The quote 'she should have died hereafter' tells us that Macbeth is grieving

Macbeth: Who's to Blame? Cause, Effect, and Culpability. Was Macbeth really responsible for the murders committed? What is Lady Macbeth's role in the murders?

966 words - 4 pages , Lady Macbeth, and Macbeth himself.At the beginning of the play, Macbeth meets the witches. The three witches have a very important role in what Macbeth does. The witches hail Macbeth, and tell Macbeth that they have the power to tell him the future. The witches tell Macbeth that he will soon become king. First Witch: All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of Glamis! Second Witch: All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, thane of Cawdor! Third Witch

Analysis of Lady Macbeth's Speech in Shakespeare's Macbeth

730 words - 3 pages and are loved and Lady Macbeth is the total opposite therefore I think Shakespeare chose his words well. Another large feature of the soliloquy is Imperative verbs. There are many of these used in her speech but I am going to look at ‘Unsex me here’. This is a very dramatic line within the soliloquy and it seems that she is telling the spirits to do whatever it takes to make her into a man, it seems like she is forcing them to do it as she sound

Lady Macbeth

1012 words - 5 pages merciless against anyone who is in the way of the king. Because Macbeth is unsure about murdering Duncan, Lady Macbeth does everything possible to convince Macbeth to carry out their plans. Lady Macbeth's desires rely on Macbeth's murders.In order to accomplish her dreams, Lady Macbeth manipulates and convinces Macbeth to do things that he is against. But because of her intense ambition to be queen, nothing can prevent her from achieving this goal.

Lady Macbeth

3170 words - 13 pages Orson Welles. He created a highly compressed version of the tragedy. Lady Macbeth fatally stabs Duncan prior to Macbeths attack on the king. This implies that her role is stronger than Macbeth. Finally Macbeth is witness to Lady Macbeth’s sleep walking and madness scene. This has a negative effect on Lady Macbeth’s role because at that moment she is inferior to Macbeth. In conclusion I want to state that Lady Macbeth’s role in the play is

Lady Macbeth

1630 words - 7 pages Macbeth is beginning to crumble. Despite her own depression Lady Macbeth tries to reach out to her husband by asking him why he has been keeping to himself. She says the phrase "sorriest fancies" (3.2.9), meaning that he is dwelling on depressing thoughts. This shows Lady Macbeth attempting to keep her and her husband united, talking to him about how they are coping with what they had done. He starts talking about the danger to his throne

Similar Essays

Lady Macbeth Soliloquy Oral Essay

776 words - 3 pages Monologue: MacbethLady Macbeth: Sleep dear Macbeth for you need your rest, I do not know what the lords will think of us if you do not get well soon. What I am to think if you do not overcome these demons tormenting your soul, it is as if you are fighting a battle between good and evil that only you can see. I can't help but worrying about your declining mental state and just wish to support you through this, it pains me to see you in such a way

'fiend Like Queen'. How True Is This Description Of Lady Macbeth And What Does Lady Macbeth Add To Shakespeare's Play?

2983 words - 12 pages Malcolm describes Macbeth and his wife as 'this dead butcher and his fiend-like queen'. How true is this description of Lady Macbeth and what does the character of Lady Macbeth add to Shakespeare's play?Shakespeare originally wrote 'Macbeth', for the existing king James I. The play was based on James I's relations as Shakespeare thought that this would please the king who would allow the theatre to remain open. Shakespeare comprised the play of

"Macbeth": Lady Macbeth's Character Essay

881 words - 4 pages must be done; he visualises the consequence. There is a vast difference between Macduff's "O gentle Lady 'Tis not for you to hear what I can speak the repetition in a woman's ear would murder as it fell." ACT II, Sc.ii and Malcolm's assessment of her as a "fiend-like queen" (Act IV, Sc.vii). So we must examine the text. To Macbeth, in his letter to her, she is his "dearest partner of greatness", an indication of love and trust. We see her as she


967 words - 4 pages insanity is through God: "More needs she the divine than the physician" (V.i.78). Lady Macbeth's guilt and paranoia haunts her into imagining irremovable blood on her hands, a trance so powerful that only the morality she ignored which got her to this point can cure her.In Act V scene I of Macbeth, Shakespeare demonstrates that goals unchecked by morals corrupt and lead to destruction, as evidenced by Lady Macbeth's mental breakdown. Although