Macbeth is a tragedy play written by William Shakespeare in 1606. The play Macbeth is about a man called Macbeth receiving a prophecy from three witches stating that he will be the King of Scotland. Macbeth will do anything and kill anyone in the way of him rising to power. The relationship between Macbeth and his wife changes throughout the play and their roles/personality switch. The key themes that are explored in the play are power, ambition and greed. The relationship and key themes from the play will furthermore be explored.
The relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth throughout the start of the play was strong. After Macbeth receiving the prophecy from three witches stating he will be the King of Scotland, Macbeth was willing to patiently wait for faith to take its course, but Lady Macbeth was ruthless had an idea to rise to the throne faster. Macbeth was unsure about the whole plan until Lady Macbeth forced him into action “Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be … yet I do I fear thy nature, it is too full o’th’milk of human kindness.” (1,5,14-15). In the aftermath of killing Duncan, Lady Macbeth believed Macbeth was getting cold feet and his guilt was overtaking him. Lady Macbeth criticises Macbeth, “My hands are your colour, but I shame to wear a heart so white.” (2,2,67-68), stating how she would be ashamed if her heart was as pale and weak as his. The colour of white has been portrayed to represent innocence in Macbeth. Lady Macbeth attained a position of a higher power in the relationship and was stronger minded when it came to what was needed to be done to achieve rising to the throne. Macbeth was seen as a brave, strong leader to others, but when present with Lady Macbeth, he was cowardly and weaker out of the two. The key themes present were guilt and power.
Macbeth’s ambition was overtaking his emotions and judgement and changed as a person. In the middle of the play, following Duncan’s murder, Macbeth’s guilt was fading, and he as enjoying the power he had. Banquo became suspicious of Macbeth, “Thou hast it now, King, Cawdor, Glamis all … thou played’st most foully for’t.” (3,1,1-3) and Macbeth feared Banquo and saw him as a threat. He ordered two murders to kill Banquo to be assured that the secret of Duncan will remain. Lady Macbeth noticed Macbeth becoming distant, “How now, my lord why do you keep alone?” (3,2,8) She approached Macbeth and noticed he was acting secretive and was not telling her something. Lady Macbeth’s guilt was starting to grow about Duncan’s death whereas Macbeth’s guilt has faded. Ambition was beginning to overtake Macbeth and the relationship between the two was becoming more distant.
Lady Macbeth’s remorse and guilt were not noticed until towards the end of the play when Lady Macbeth could not rid her guilt of all the murders, and she began to sleepwalk. A gentlewoman first notices Lady Macbeth’s new habit of sleepwalking and calls a doctor to check on her. The doctor and gentlewoman hide while Lady Macbeth was at a mirror stating, “Here’s the smell of blood still: all the perfume of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand” and that the guilt will never fade. (5,1,44-45). This representation of blood was referring to the blood of all the murders committed by Macbeth and herself and no perfume will ever rid the smell of the blood left on her hands. The guilt gradually overtook Lady Macbeth leading her to kill herself. When Macbeth was informed with the upsetting news of his wife dying, he had no compassion “She should have died hereafter; There would have been a time for such word” (5,5,17-18), Macbeth was not fazed that his wife died. He became ruthless and nothing could stop him while Lady Macbeth’s guilt became too much for her to handle. Ambition and power are the key themes that have been explored throughout.
Macbeth would stop at nothing to rise to power and come to the throne and live out the witch’s prophecy. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s relationship changed throughout the play. Macbeth started out as a weak, cowardly man who was controlled by his strong-minded wife who wanted the same power as a man. At the end of the play that changed, and Lady Macbeth’s guilt led to killing herself. Macbeth was not fazed by the death of his own and his greed and ambition continued to grow. Their personalities changed throughout the play and they swapped roles. This put a strain on their relationship, and they distanced from each other. The key themes Shakespeare demonstrated throughout Macbeth was power, ambition and greed.