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How Does Shakespeare Show a Change in Lady Macbeth Throughout The Play

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Published: Jun 14, 2024

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The erosion of lady macbeth's sanity, the consequences of unchecked ambition, bibliography.

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Shakespear’s “Macbeth”: Main Character Change Analysis Essay

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Introduction

Macbeth was written by William Shakespeare in the year 1606, an era that was marked by the English Renaissance. This character and story have been recreated effectively by Christopher Morrow and Sidney Lamb in their textbook titled Cliff’s Complete Macbeth.

Macbeth is essentially the story of a character who lives his life in a state of confusion to the degree that the only constant in his life changes. This tragic hero shows the constant change in his relationships, interactions, and above all, his level of mortality. This essay deals with the character changes in Macbeth as demonstrated in Cliff’s Complete Macbeth.

As far as relationships are concerned, Macbeth’s once-close ally Duncan is reduced to the pawn in his game of furthering his and his wife’s ambitions. In this book of witches and prophecies, Macbeth’s wife is the greatest evil who is constantly motivating him to do wrong and act according to the prophecies of the witches. She takes out twisted meanings of the prophecies so as to suit their own interests and thus poisons the mind of Macbeth to a great extent. It is imperative to mention here that Macbeth’s wife acts as a strong catalyst in the change of the character (Morrow et al, 2000; pp.1-29).

Yet, Macbeth changes a second time upon committing the act of murder. Having been convinced by the clever words of his wife, lady Macbeth, he plunges headlong into the act of preparing to kill and finally murdering Duncan with the strong conviction that he is doing the right thing. However, as is human nature, once he has committed the crime, he realizes that he has made a grave mistake as he immediately remembers the close relationship and spirit of brotherhood he shared with Duncan. He realizes that he has broken someone’s trust and that the person in question cannot come back to forgive him for this act (Morrow et al, 2000; pp.30-63).

Upon committing such a great folly, Macbeth becomes a man who lives in constant fear. He lives under the impression that everyone close to him suspects him. This attitude change is extended towards Banquo, who was once a close friend of Macbeth. Things, however, change after the murder of Duncan when Macbeth lives under the fear that Banquo will one day turn around and reveal to the whole world that Macbeth is a wrongdoer and a murderer. This fear comes from the sense of the irrational line of thought that a person follows upon committing a crime and realizing that it has all been a mistake. This fear takes the shape of relief once he sees Banquo’s murder as well (Morrow et al, 2000; pp. 64-89).

Macbeth’s character also changes as far as his wife is concerned. Having started out with pure passion and love, their relationship falls into despair following a series of murders that leave Macbeth fearful more than anyone else. The prime factor for his motivation, he begins to blame her somewhere in his subconscious mind for the state he is in. As far as the witches are concerned too, Macbeth’s attitude changes from faith to complete distrust (Morrow et al, 2000; pp.90-149)

Having started out as a nobleman, Macbeth’s intentions and way of living change throughout the story. His character follows the path of living life well and heartily until fear comes to replace it with despair and gloom.

Morrow, Christopher; Lamb, Sidney; Shakespeare, William (2000). Cliff’s Complete Macbeth. Cliff’s Notes. 3 rd Rev Edition.

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IvyPanda. (2021, August 27). Shakespear's "Macbeth": Main Character Change Analysis. https://ivypanda.com/essays/shakespears-macbeth-main-character-change-analysis/

"Shakespear's "Macbeth": Main Character Change Analysis." IvyPanda , 27 Aug. 2021, ivypanda.com/essays/shakespears-macbeth-main-character-change-analysis/.

IvyPanda . (2021) 'Shakespear's "Macbeth": Main Character Change Analysis'. 27 August.

IvyPanda . 2021. "Shakespear's "Macbeth": Main Character Change Analysis." August 27, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/shakespears-macbeth-main-character-change-analysis/.

1. IvyPanda . "Shakespear's "Macbeth": Main Character Change Analysis." August 27, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/shakespears-macbeth-main-character-change-analysis/.

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IvyPanda . "Shakespear's "Macbeth": Main Character Change Analysis." August 27, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/shakespears-macbeth-main-character-change-analysis/.

Shakespeare: Model Answers ( AQA GCSE English Literature )

Revision note.

• Model Answers

Below, you will find a full-mark, Level 6 model answer for a Shakespeare essay. The commentary below each section of the essay illustrates how and why it would be awarded Level 6. Despite the fact it is an answer to a Macbeth question, the commentary below is relevant to any Shakespeare question.

As the commentary is arranged by assessment objective, a student-friendly mark scheme has been included here:

Model Answer Breakdown

The commentary for the below model answer as arranged by assessment objective: each paragraph has a commentary for a different assessment objective, as follows:

• The introduction includes commentary on all the AOs
• Paragraph 1 includes commentary on AO1 (answering the question and selecting references)
• Paragraph 2 includes commentary on AO2 (analysing the writer’s methods)
• Paragraph 3 includes commentary on AO3 (exploring context)
• The conclusion includes commentary on all the AOs

The model answer answers the following question:

Level 6, Full-Mark Answer

Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as a female character who changes dramatically over the course of the play: she changes from a ruthless, remorseless woman who is able to manipulate her husband, to one that is sidelined by Macbeth and, ultimately, totally consumed by guilt. Shakespeare is perhaps suggesting that unchecked ambition and hubris, particularly for women, have fatal consequences.

Commentary:

• The introduction is in the form of a thesis statement
• It includes a central argument based on my own opinions
• "Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as a female character who changes dramatically over the course of the play"
• "she changes from a ruthless, remorseless woman who is able to manipulate her husband, to one that is sidelined by Macbeth and, ultimately, totally consumed by guilt."
• It acknowledges Shakespeare as an author making deliberate choices and conveying a message:
•   "Shakespeare is perhaps suggesting that ..."
• It includes modal language to show a conceptualised approach

Lady Macbeth’s strength – and ability to command and manipulate those around her – dramatically diminishes from the first time the audience sees her, in Act I, Scene V, to the last time, here in Act V, Scene I. The first time she is presented to the audience, Lady Macbeth is presented as a very untypical woman: far from being a dutiful and subservient wife, she is shown to be plotting on Macbeth’s behalf, speaks of him disparagingly (she worries he is too kind to carry out her plan), and is presented as having power over both Macbeth and her surroundings. This dominance can be seen in her use of imperatives, both when she is directing Macbeth to disguise his true intentions to Duncan (and be a “serpent underneath”), and later, more forcefully, when she orders Macbeth to “give” her the daggers. This shows that Lady Macbeth has almost assumed the dominant position in their relationship, and taken on the typically ‘male’ characteristics of authority and strength (whereas Macbeth’s “kindness” can here be seen as a sign of weakness). However, there is an irony in Shakespeare’s use of imperatives later in the play: in Act V, Scene I, Lady Macbeth is shown to have lost her power to command those things around her and her use of imperatives (“Out, damned spot! Out, I say”) speaks more of abject desperation than her authority. She has lost the power to command her husband, her surroundings and even her own mind. Shakespeare could be suggesting that the unusual power dynamic presented at the beginning of the play is unnatural, and that, as a woman, Lady Macbeth would never be able to maintain this type of authority without succumbing to madness.

• The paragraph begins with a topic sentence
• Topic sentence directly addresses the question (the “change” the character undergoes)
• Topic sentence has a narrower focus than the thesis statement
• The whole paragraph is related to the topic sentence
• The paragraph includes at least one reference to the extract
• The paragraph includes multiple references to the rest of the play
• All references are linked to the question and support the argument of my topic sentence

Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as a character whose self-control and authority over her own mind evaporates by Act V. We see this in the repetitious and fragmented language Shakespeare has her use in this scene. The repetition of several words and phrases (“to bed”; “come”; “O”) shows a character who is not in control of her own thought processes and has lost agency over her own mind. Shakespeare emphasises this by using contrasting verse forms for Lady Macbeth as the play progresses. Initially, she uses the order and authority of blank verse, which reflects her own power and control. However, in this scene, Lady Macbeth does not use the regular or ordered language of blank verse, but rather the disordered form of prose. This reflects both her loss of status and power (prose is often used by commoners in Shakespeare’s plays), but also her own mental illness. Indeed, the description of her having a “disease” in this scene is ironic, since earlier in the play she describes Macbeth as “brainsickly” and “infirm”: it is now she who is the weaker of the two. Perhaps Shakespeare uses this role reversal once again to suggest that women assuming positions of dominance is unnatural and may lead to mental decline.

• The analysis provides evidence for the points in the topic sentence (all evidence relates to Lady Macbeth’s mental state)
• Whole-text analysis of Shakespeare’s methods, not just focused on the extract
• Not just analysis of Shakespeare’s language, but also of form
• The analysis includes other wider choices made by Shakespeare: 
• Characterisation
• All analysis is explained fully in terms of the question and my own argument
• The analysis explained in terms of Shakespeare’s overall message

Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as a character who loses her resolve over the mortal sin of regicide as the play progresses. Initially, Lady Macbeth is presented as a character who believes that both she and her husband will be able to evade the typical consequences of committing a crime – the murder of a king – that would have been seen as truly heinous. Not only is it a crime punishable by death, but the religious consequences would be dire: eternal punishment in Hell. Shakespeare presents her as acknowledging the seriousness of the crime in Act I, Scene V where she references Heaven and Hell prior to the murder of Duncan, but she believes, arrogantly, that she is strong enough to evade capture, as well as cloak herself from feelings of guilt and remorse. Her hubris is also shown later in the play, after the regicide has been committed, when she tells Macbeth that “a little water clears us of this deed”, implying that it will be straightforward to escape the psychological impact of committing a mortal sin. However, by Act V, Scene I Lady Macbeth is shown to have completely lost her resolve, and is haunted by those psychological impacts: she sees blood, which symbolically represents guilt, on her hands, which she cannot wash off. Indeed, later she states that Duncan had “so much blood in him”, an admission that a little water could never have cleansed the guilt from her conscience (“what’s done cannot be undone”). This irony is highlighted again by Shakespeare when Lady Macbeth states that “all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand”, the hyperbole emphasising the enormity of her crime. Shakespeare could be suggesting that no one can escape the psychological and theological consequences of regicide. Indeed, the Doctor states that he has never seen anyone in Lady Macbeth’s state die “holily”, echoing Lady Macbeth’s own earlier reference to Hell.

• Does not include any irrelevant historical or biographical facts
• All context is linked to the topic sentence (“loses resolve over the mortal sin of regicide”) and the argument as a whole
• All context is integrated into analysis of Shakespeare’s methods
• Understanding contextual ideas and perspectives provides additional insight into my main argument
• Context is sometimes implied, rather than explicit. This still shows sophisticated awareness of ideas (here about religion and Hell)

In conclusion, Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as a female character who changes from a character who assumes dominance over her husband and her surroundings, to a woman who loses all agency. Moreover, initially, Shakespeare presents her as a character who seemingly has the mental fortitude to deal with the mortal sin of regicide with a clear conscience, but this mental strength also evaporates. Shakespeare could be issuing a warning to those people who believe they can escape the psychological and theological consequences of sin, especially if they are women who assume an atypical and unnatural position of power.

• The conclusion uses keywords from the question
• The conclusion links to the thesis
• The conclusion sums up more detailed arguments outlined in the topic sentences of all paragraphs
• It also gives a fuller understanding of Shakespeare’s intentions, based on ideas explored in the essay

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Author: Nick

Nick is a graduate of the University of Cambridge and King’s College London. He started his career in journalism and publishing, working as an editor on a political magazine and a number of books, before training as an English teacher. After nearly 10 years working in London schools, where he held leadership positions in English departments and within a Sixth Form, he moved on to become an examiner and education consultant. With more than a decade of experience as a tutor, Nick specialises in English, but has also taught Politics, Classical Civilisation and Religious Studies.

Macbeth – A* / L9 Full Mark Example Essay

This is an A* / L9 full mark example essay on Macbeth completed by a 15-year-old student in timed conditions (50 mins writing, 10 mins planning).

It contained a few minor spelling and grammatical errors – but the quality of analysis overall was very high so this didn’t affect the grade. It is extremely good on form and structure, and perhaps could do with more language analysis of poetic and grammatical devices; as the quality of thought and interpretation is so high this again did not impede the overall mark. 

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MACBETH EXAMPLE ESSAY:

Macbeth’s ambition for status and power grows throughout the play. Shakespeare uses Macbeth as an embodiment of greed and asks the audience to question their own actions through the use of his wrongful deeds.

In the extract, Macbeth is demonstrated to possess some ambition but with overriding morals, when writing to his wife about the prophecies, Lady Macbeth uses metaphors to describe his kind hearted nature: “yet I do fear thy nature, / It is too full o’th’milk of human kindness”. Here, Shakespeare presents Macbeth as a more gentle natured being who is loyal to his king and country. However, the very act of writing the letter demonstrates his inklings of desire, and ambition to take the throne. Perhaps, Shakespeare is aiming to ask the audience about their own thoughts, and whether they would be willing to commit heinous deeds for power and control. 

Furthermore, the extract presents Macbeth’s indecisive tone when thinking of the murder – he doesn’t want to kill Duncan but knows it’s the only way to the throne. Lady Macbeth says she might need to interfere in order to persuade him; his ambition isn’t strong enough yet: “That I may pour my spirits in  thine ear / And chastise with the valour of my tongue”. Here, Shakespeare portrays Lady Macbeth as a manipulative character, conveying she will seduce him in order to “sway “ his mind into killing Duncan. The very need for her persuasion insinuates Macbeth is still weighing up the consequences in his head, his ambition equal with his morality. It would be shocking for the audience to see a female character act in this authoritative way. Lady Macbeth not only holds control of her husband in a patriarchal society but the stage too, speaking in iambic pentameter to portray her status: “To catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great”. It is interesting that Shakespeare uses Lady Macbeth in this way; she has more ambition for power than her husband at this part of play. 

As the play progresses, in Act 3, Macbeth’s ambition has grown and now kills with ease. He sends three murders to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance, as the witches predicted that he may have heirs to the throne which could end his reign. Macbeth is suspicious in this act, hiding his true intentions from his dearest companion and his wife: “I wish your horses swift and sure on foot” and “and make our faces vizards to our hearts”. There, we see, as an audience, Macbeth’s longing to remain King much stronger than his initial attitudes towards the throne He was toying with the idea of killing for the throne and now he is killing those that could interfere with his rule without a second thought. It is interesting that Shakespeare presents him this way, as though he is ignoring his morals or that they have been “numbed” by his ambition. Similarly to his wife in the first act, Macbeth also speaks in pentameter to illustrate his increase in power and dominance. 

In Act 4, his ambition and dependence on power has grown even more. When speaking with the witches about the three apparitions, he uses imperatives to portray his newly adopted controlling nature: “I conjure you” and “answer me”. Here, the use of his aggressive demanding demonstrates his reliance on the throne and his need for security. By the Witches showing him the apparitions and predicting his future, he gains a sense of superiority, believing he is safe and protected from everything. Shakespeare also lengthens Macbeth’s speech in front of the Witches in comparison to Act 1 to show his power and ambition has given him confidence, confidence to speak up to the “filthy nags” and expresses his desires. Although it would be easy to infer Macbeth’s greed and ambition has grown from his power-hungry nature, a more compassionate reading of Macbeth demonstrates the pressure he feels as a Jacobean man and soldier. Perhaps he feels he has to constantly strive for more to impress those around him or instead he may want to be king to feel more worthy and possibly less insecure. 

It would be unusual to see a Jacobean citizen approaching an “embodiment” of the supernatural as forming alliance with them was forbidden and frowned upon. Perhaps Shakespeare uses Macbeth to defy these stereotypical views to show that there is a supernatural, a more dark side in us all and it is up to our own decisions whereas we act on these impulses to do what is morally incorrect. 

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How does the Relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth change throughout the Play?

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How does Lady Macbeth Change During The Course Of The Play ‘Macbeth’

Lady Macbeth’s character changes a lot during the course of the play. The character at the beginning is so different to the one presented in her final scene would not even be recognised as the same person. The play accurately depicts the progression of Lady Macbeth from a dominating, confident, ruthless killer, to a weak, mentally unstable, dying woman.

The first scene she appears in shows Lady Macbeth reading a letter from Macbeth regarding his encounter with the witches after they predicted he would become King. This scene illustrates the immensely strong bond between her and her husband, in the way that she doesn’t doubt him for a moment. As soon as she finishes reading the letter, she immediately starts formulating and doesn’t question how or why or when he is to become king:

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“Glamis thou art and Cawdor and shall be

What thou art promised”

This scene can also be said to display impatience in her character. She accuses Macbeth of being:

“Too full o’th’milk of human kindness

To catch the nearest way”

…instantly deciding that murder is the quickest (and therefore preferable) method to ensuring this prediction is made flesh. Rather than accepting that Macbeth would not be willing to go to these lengths whatever the reward, she continues toying with this idea, planning how it could be done despite this.

Just to prove how much this would mean to Lady Macbeth, she states that since Macbeth suggested it in the first place, she would rather:

“while [our child] was smiling in my face, have pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out”

than allow Macbeth to back out now. This once again shows her shrewdness, as she’s obviously deliberately using very violent imagery as a shock tactic to guilt Macbeth in to submission. She knows that if they are going to murder Duncan they have to do it tonight, so she’s using every method she can think of to persuade him before it’s too late and the prospect of power becomes seemingly unreachable.

The audience since her first soliloquy has established that she has more ambition, and craves more domination than a woman (particularly at that time) is thought rightly to have. The notions that she has conjured up do not seem to be likely of a particularly feminine personality. She shows very little compassion or worry.

Lady Macbeth has powerfully changed Macbeth, using his moral weaknesses exposed by his ambition, to change his mind. Macbeth has let his wife’s iron will destroy his conscience and his somewhat ‘sophisticated’ moral sense. The audience are nevertheless left with sub-conscience doubts about Lady Macbeth’s appearance of unshakeable strength.

There is an obvious change once the actual murder takes place, however. Once she returns from drugging the guards with alcohol she says:

‘That which hat made them drunk, hath made me bold

What hath quench’d them, hath given me fire…’

…which shows a lapse in her confidence. Although this may seem like a obscure reference, I believe that up until her last scenes Lady Macbeth puts on a convincing front to cover up any weaknesses. She seemed enormously self-assured when trying to persuade Macbeth, but now considers alcohol as a way to gain the ‘boldness’ she feigned earlier.

Despite how much she obviously wants Macbeth to be king and the lengths she went to convince him he wanted it too, she refuses to kill Duncan herself. Previously, Lady Macbeth had said:

“Leave all the rest to me”

…so she had maybe intended to do the deed herself, but once faced with the actual opportunity to do so, she looses her nerve and says that:

“Had he not resembled

My father as he slept, I had done’t”

This shows a very different attitude to the one she was hoping to adopt earlier on in the play. This is clearly not her being ‘unsexed’ as she is still showing compassion and sentimentality and must still have a conscience if it matters how much the victim looks like someone close to her. It seems surprising that the same woman who had previously stated that she would be willing to kill her own child than go back on her word, would be less willing to take the life of someone who merely resembles a family member, for which she would gain the reward of being Queen.

This action can show one of two things: she either honestly planned to let Macbeth ‘leave it to her’ or this is another exhibit of her scheming ways in the view that Macbeth most likely feel it’s too late to abandon the plot now and would probably be reluctant, due to Lady Macbeth’s constant persuasion, to allow power to slip away now after it was so nearly in his grasp. There is more evidence to suggest that she was building up a fa�ade to Macbeth to convince him that every deed she is ‘willing’ to undertake is completely necessary to their livelihood but is nothing worth being apprehensive about.

Not only did she contradict this by walking into the room in which Duncan was sleeping and walking straight back out again, but she is also obviously very nervous herself. A bird, which should be the least of her worries, startles her and the dialogue between the couple consists of very short broken-up sentences suggesting anxiety, and it is evident that they are both not listening to each other, practically talking to themselves. Lady Macbeth continues to suppress her unease with the situation and attempts to recover from the lapse of equanimity earlier, showing that she feels it’s important that Macbeth sees her as calm and collected in the hope that he will follow suit. She knows that she is the influential one in the relationship and so believes it is almost her duty to stay sane for Macbeth’s sake. She remains ever meticulous and tells Macbeth to wash his hands of blood and says:

“A little water will clear us of this deed,

See how easy it is then!”

Lady Macbeth remains composed during the rest of this scene, and is ensuring nothing seems out of the ordinary. She realises that if Macbeth answered the knocking at the door in his normal attire at this time in the morning it would seem suspicious and so tells him to get changed. This shows that even under the pressure Lady Macbeth is thinking of every possible clue that could be held against them.

In the scene set the morning after the murder, it is debateable if the character of Lady Macbeth has drastically changed or not as once again, it can be read two ways. She could faint because of the shock of Macbeth’s vivid descriptions, the murder itself or the following murders of the guards (She had only prepared for Duncan’s murder and was not expecting anyone else to be killed) are proving too much stress for her to take, or she’s remaining entirely in control and is merely trying to distract the attention away from her husband in case he starts to crack under the weight of suspicion upon him. Just before she faints she says:

“Help me hence, ho!”

…which to me suggests it’s the latter, as this would divert the congregations attention effectively if delivered in a theatrical way, whereas realistically she probably would have not thought to make it so known that she was about to faint.

Lady Macbeth is understandably fearful that homicide now is becoming way too easy for Macbeth. In my opinion she’s starting to feel guilt but not entirely about the murder itself, more for warping Macbeth. She is aware that he now finds it necessary to kill everyone in his way, and it was her allegation of being a coward that sparked this attitude as a way to prove his masculinity:

“When you durst do it, then you are a man”

The next few scenes mark the beginning of the deterioration of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s relationship. In the first scene that Lady Macbeth appears in, they seem -as previously mentioned- to understand each other perfectly and not doubt each other’s judgment. Now, however, he fails to consult her or even inform her on his actions which puts a great strain on their relationship as neither of them are used to the role they are taking on. Lady Macbeth is slowly becoming the weaker of the two. Now it is Macbeth who is scheming, and his failure to discuss any of his plans with her. The breakdown in communication between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is illustrated in Act Three Scene Two where Lady Macbeth feels that it is required for her to ask permission to speak to her own husband. She says to a servant:

‘Say to the king, I would attend his leisure

For a few words.’

This formality would not be unusual heard from anyone else due his rise to the throne, but from his wife, this impersonal use of ‘the king’ rather than ‘my husband’ or his name suggests a mutual feeling of detachment. In Lady Macbeth’s four line soliloquy, she says:

‘Nought’s had, all’s spent,

Where our desire is got without content’

Here she is saying that nothing is gained, everything is lost when what they had wished for was brought without happiness, leaving her without the loving relationship demonstrated in the first half of the play and without any hope of it returning.

The Banquet scene is the first scene in which we see Macbeth and Lady Macbeth together as a couple in the public eye. There is obviously going to be another side shown of Lady Macbeth, the one she wants her people to see. There were certain expectations a Queen was meant to live up to and so it would be in her interest to conform to these as much as possible. Lady Macbeth sees their public image as imperative and she expresses this to Macbeth telling him to:

“Sleek o’er your rugged looks, be bright and jovial

Among your guests tonight.”

She also wants to make certain nothing seems dubious about the death of Banquo.

Lady Macbeth is trying not to let the details of her failing marriage be known to the congregation, as this may show weakness and although they don’t converse throughout the scene except to reprimand each other, they ensure this is done in private. The passion has left their relationship and leaves it on a totally formal basis. Lady Macbeth refers to her husband as “My Royal Lord” whereas much more colloquial terms would be expected from a wife in normal circumstances.

When Macbeth starts to see the apparition of Banquo, this worries Lady Macbeth. It is a possibility that his guilt-ridden mumblings will cause the guests to doubt him. If it doesn’t arouse suspicion surrounding the murder of Banquo, it may instigate people questioning his suitability as King. When he first begins speaking to the ghost, she almost immediately comes up with the excuse that it is a frequent occurrence, and that the guests should take no notice of him.

She tries to cover this episode up and pass it off as “momentary fit”. This mirrors some of the qualities seen in Lady Macbeth in the murder scene, where even under pressure she manages to do everything in her power to avoid the suspicion, for example realising that Macbeth should change his clothes before answering the door. She tries to use the same techniques of persuasion she put in to practice successfully previously in the play, but as the situation has changed, so has Macbeth. She has no influence over him anymore and whereas before he strived to prove his masculinity once she challenged it, in this scene he responds to the question “Are you a man?” with:

“Ay, and a bold one”

This frustrates Lady Macbeth, as this is not the way he should be reciprocating. She continues to try to use this technique, but it becomes apparent that it’s not accomplishing anything and in desperation, she requests the guests leave before Macbeth makes even more of a spectacle of himself.

This scene is the final scene in the play where Lady Macbeth displays her quick witted nature, with the possible reasons for this becoming apparent in the next scene. As always, she delivers her excuses perfectly timed and without any sign of hesitation. She manages to completely rationalize Macbeth’s inner turmoil to their guests. This once again emphasises this side of her character, and leaves the audience convinced beyond reasonable doubt that despite the recent adaptations in her role she is nonetheless still the sharper of the two.

Almost to contradict this statement, Lady Macbeth goes in completely the opposite direction in her final scene. Although her wavering sanity has been subtly suggested throughout the last few scenes she appears in, it is only made concrete now, such as her overly nervous gesticulations shown in Act Two Scene Three and her confession later one to regretting the murder, which is unexpected for someone who had planned it so thoroughly.

Although after the murder she was assuring Macbeth that as soon as they wash their hands of the blood they are free of the guilt, ironically this is the subject of her hallucinations. She is sleepwalking in this scene and delivers one of the most famous lines of the play:

“Out, damned spot! Out, I say!”

…referring to the blood that was so easily washed off in the murder scene. What is not so effortlessly removed is the guilt and the dawning realisation of what she has done. her mind has rekindled the association with the blood on her hands, and this has made itself apparent in her fitful sleep.Lady Macbeth has finally been crushed under the weight of her own suppressed remorse. This proves that she does indeed have a conscience, contrary to her cold, unfeeling exterior.

There many reasons why Shakespeare could have chosen to make Lady Macbeth change so dramatically through the play. One possibility is that he is simply mirroring the attitude towards women at the time, which was they are not emotionally or physically capable of anything remotely strenuous or stressful. Lady Macbeth having to ask to be ‘unsexed’ to be able to carry out the murder could support this idea, along with her being reduced to what we see of her nearer the end after she carried out actions that were associated with men. This could be perceived as a kind of punishment for denying her femininity. Although this is a possibility I think that from what we see of women in other Shakespeare plays such as Twelfth Night his attitude seems to be very advanced for the time, and he does pretty much present the two sexes as equal throughout his work, and so I feel that he probably isn’t trying to convey a negative attitude to Lady Macbeth because of her gender.

Another suggestion is that he is trying to illustrate how emotions can be vulnerability in the way that the murder was a success until Lady Macbeth started to cave under the guilt and allowed her more emotional side to take control. Personally however, I feel that it’s simply exemplifying how everything has consequences and has the ability to escape your control. I think this because Lady Macbeth was an extremely important part in the beginning of the play but wasn’t even on stage for her death, which is unusual because without her the murder of Duncan would have probably not happened at all and so the whole plot is dependant on her character.

One way to explain this is that Lady Macbeth ‘created a monster’ so to speak, and although their relationship was matriarchal (which was very unusual for the time), Macbeth started to break away from her and she began to lose control of him; for example, the murder of Banquo. She presents an outwardly stable foundation of control in which she grasps. As Macbeth becomes less dependent on his wife, she loses more control. She loses control of her husband, but mostly, of herself, proving her unstable truth. She no longer matters to Macbeth and it becomes impossible for her to finish what she started. The consequence of Lady Macbeth’s insistence to make Macbeth more ambitious and to take the life of the King was that it made him feel he had to prove his bravery even more and ended up seeing murder as the only way to achieve what he wanted and he slowly but surely became a slave to his own ambition.

Ironically, both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth died because of the very things they saw as the most important, whether directly or indirectly. In conclusion, the ultimate reason in my opinion that Shakespeare chooses to allow Lady Macbeth’s character to change so considerably, leading to her seemingly inconsequential death, is to demonstrate that although some people may be easily influenced, it is impossible to control someone. Lady Macbeth tried to control Macbeth for her own means to become Queen, but made it so he got to a point where no-one mattered, and once she couldn’t make him prove his love for her anymore, she was left with nothing but her guilty conscience to contend with, which became the death of her.

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