Emotions and Actions in Shakespeare's "Macbeth" (Essay Example)

In William Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, he illustrates the effects of emotions and the destruction of self character, within his characters of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. Opening with three witches telling a prophecy, Shakespeare sets the scene of the tragic hero’s story in an ominous setting. Macbeth follows a Scottish thane, Macbeth, and his wife, Lady Macbeth, on their power hungry drive to kill the king, Duncan, and the consequences that follow their actions. When introduced, Lady Macbeth is portrayed as jealous, calculated, and merciless. Whereas Macbeth is recorded to be loyal and brave, quite the opposite of his wife. As shown by being the mastermind behind the murder and Macbeth’s evident guilt the readers are orginally led to believed Lady Macbeth as the matriculated tyrant. However, through the drama, the role of the bloodthirsty and willing shuffle leaving the other character as a paranoid detachment. 

Actions and emotions leave the two characters of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth to switch paths. In the beginning, Lady Macbeth’s cunning and determined personality is thought to be her strength, for she is not afraid to get what she wants and will do anything. She even goes as far as calling upon spirits to strip her of her femininity and humanity, making her more manly (Shakespeare, Mac. 1.5. 47-50). Lady Macbeth wants power, and believes that Macbeth might not be able to perform therefore she must step in. While discussing his nonexistent cruel streak, she demonstrates his lack of authority and ambition. Portrayed in her soliloquy, “What thou art promised. Yet I do fear thy nature; / It is full o’ th’ milk of human kindness” (1.6).  Lady Macbeth believes that she is incapable of regret and will be queen with little trouble of her conscience. 

However, before the murder of Duncan a shift of roles is found through Lady Macbeth’s heistantion. Lady Macbeth’s crafty façade is temporarily shattered by the idea that Duncan resembles her father. She states, “He could not miss ’em. Had he not resembled / My father as he slept, I had done’t” (2.2. 16-7).  Duncan’s similarity to Lady Macbeth’s father is enough for just an instance to temporarily separate her from reality and her power thirst. Although the hesitation is not enough for her and Macbeth to leave the king alive, her mind and conscience is shifted for the worst. Lady Macbeth’s scheme backfires on her and she loses her sanity, while Macbeth transforms into a power-crazed beast. 

Toward the end of the play, Lady Macbeth cannot help but feel accountable for Macbeth’s conduct as the deaths rise. Feeling inferior to Macbeth through being excluded with his schemes she starts to crack even more under the pressure. Lady Macbeth goes from having assurance in their plans of achieving power to acquiring suspicion and doubtfulness. She loses the confidence she once had when encouraging Macbeth to kill for the crown. She begins to endure sleepwalking episodes that are incurable by a doctor as her guilt continues to grow. Her guilt grows to the point where she frantically tries to wash her hands clean of the blood in her sleep. “Out, damned spot, out, I say!” (5.1.37). Her guilt ultimately leads her to taking her life. 

In contrast, Macbeth starts as a loyal and grand nobleman to the King. However, his role begins to shift with the realization of the prophecy by the witches. Macbeth is told he would be king. “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!” (1.3.51). After hearing this fortune of greatness, Macbeth becomes more ambitious for his spot on the throne. Prior to hearing these prophecies, Macbeth did not feel the pressure of abstaining power. 

However he is still extremely hesitant to act on this and is consumed by self- doubt, “ This even-handed justice/ Commends th’ ingredience of our poisoned chalice/ To our own lips” (1.7. 10-12).  The line highlights the consequences of Duncan’s murder, as he considers the karma that may arise from the actions. Furthermore, Macbeth is concerned that justice will be done, and that he will meet the same end as Duncan. Macbeth is torn between guilt and remorse as he considers his part in the scheme. Originally Macbeth cannot imagine acting on this feeling, his new found ambition and pride from Lady Macbeth calling him unmanly Macbeth allows himself  to listen to her scheme to gain power. This results in him gaining an overwhelming desire for power causing him to lose sight of his moral boundaries. 

Macbeth becomes numb and paranoid , after murdering Duncan in cold blood, he starts to kill everyone he suspects is the slightest suspicious of him due to his madness. In addition, Macbeth becomes adamant about retaining his reign and he plots the assassination of Banquo without consulting his wife. He believed she would be tainted if she knew his plan stating, “ I cannot taint with fear” (5.3) No one is spared from Macbeth’s wrath. He murders Duncan, Banquo, and his entire family as well as a large number of others. He demonstrates that he is no longer frightened despite his previous cowardice in assassinating his king. This leads to him reaching a point of no returning and being slain by Macduff ending his region of terror. 

By the end of Macbeth, the roles are reversed between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. In the beginning Lady Macbeth is the dominating member in the relationship. She plots Duncan’s assassination and uses Macbeth to carry it out. However, as the drama progresses Lady Macbeth has transformed her husband into a crazed killer, and Macbeth has succumbed to her ways. Macbeth embarks on a murderous rampage, oblivious to the his wife’s guilt growing deadly. Overcome with guilt and shame the once unremorseful calculator has shifted to a paranoid detachment of herself, and the loyal brave Thane has become a bloodthirsty tyrant. Consumed by greed the two characters of Macbeth fall, driven mad by their faults and demons lead to their demise. Shakespeare illustrates the destruction of self through the characters Macbeth and Lady Macbeth and enables readers to understand that with corruption comes destruction.