Essay: Characteristics of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth

Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” presents us with a shocking look into the minds of some of the most despicable characters ever created, a brutal and often disturbing reminder of the very worst of human nature. Nonetheless, it manages to create a pair as loathsome as they are pitiable and it is my view that both Macbeth and his “partner of greatness” have traits that redeem them to an extent, although both’s reprehensible characteristics far outway their reputable ones. Macbeth’s tragic fall from grace, although rife with treachery and bloodshed, does not completely destroy his humanity. Similarly, his wife’s initial portrait as an opportunist of shocking depravity is not supported by her later disintegration to a state of dismal and guilt-wracked vulnerability. As is usually the case, things are not as simple as they may seem and I hope to reflect that in my response.
The many horrific acts that Macbeth commits and his slow descent into demented tyranny can all be traced back to a fatal flaw in his character, his insatiable, “vaulting ambition” and desire for power. The extent to which this hamartia affects Macbeth is made clear long before he is influenced by his wife and even longer before these thoughts are acted upon, in fact it can even be seen in his first interaction with the Witches. Their prophecies, filled with predictions of his ascent to the throne, stepping over Duncan in the process, seem to strike a chord with Macbeth and leave him in a daze of abject shock and horror. His companion Banquo soon notices this and interrogates him bluntly, “Why do you start and seem to fear/Things that do sound so fair?” In retrospect it is clear that his fear is caused by a feeling of guilt at this outward expression of his “black and deep desires”. Whilst not inherently evil in and of themselves, the ambitious thoughts which stir within Macbeth are fulfilled only through bloody treachery. His subsequent murder of Duncan, a virtuous and respected King, who even Macbeth admits “hath borne his faculties so meek”, shows an utterly reprehensible lack in his morality, and one that is motivated in large part by his own desire for greatness, not by the corrupting influence of his wife. Yet another of Macbeth’s immoral traits is his deceitful nature, particularly in the wake of Duncan’s murder. It is Macbeth who urges his wife to “hide what false heart doth know”, to disguise their true feelings behind a mask of sorrow showing his own capacity for treachery. His dishonesty seems to know no bounds and he puts on an almost impressive display of “false sorrow” to distance himself from the crime, exclaiming “Had I but died an hour before this chance/ I had lived a blessed time”, appearing distraught at the death he has caused. His capacity for treason and dishonesty proves once again that Macbeth is completely unrelenting when it comes to fulfilling his prophecy. For this reason I believe that Macbeth, like his wife, acts ruthlessly based on his own insatiable ambition and as such I do not consider him any less villainous than his female counterpart.
Even with his many nasty qualities now laid before us, I still believe that Macbeth has a variety of characteristics that somewhat redeem him. In fact, the play begins with a lengthy description of our “Brave Macbeth”, who is lauded for his valiant effort on the battlefield. In fact, in the beginning of the play it is Macbeth who is fighting against treachery, slaying the rebel Macdonwald in a stunningly brutal fashion, unseaming him “from the nave to the chops”. This courage is one of the only positive traits which remains with Macbeth to the bitter end. Even with the combined forces of England and Scotland pitted against him, Macbeth refuses outright to surrender, exclaiming “I’ll fight, till from my bones my flesh be hacked”. This indestructible will of the warrior is certainly something to be admired, even if it eventually becomes misdirected. Like his valiant nature, Macbeth’s undeniable love for his wife is a somewhat surprising and impressive side to his otherwise gruff character. The mutual trust that exists between them is seen in the first Act, where Macbeth immediately sends a letter to his “dearest love” to inform her of his meeting with the Witches. The strong, loving relationship which Macbeth has with his wife also allows us to see Lady Macbeth’s perspective on his character. Contrary to what his later actions would indicate, she believes he is “Too full o’ th’ milk of human-kindness”, too morally good to ever commit the heinous crimes required to ascend to the throne. This may imply that, while certainly influenced by his own internal ambition, Macbeth may never have acted upon it had he not been persuaded by his wife. This too makes us feel pity for the man, whose dastardly actions may not be entirely the fault of his own. Although the strong bond of love and trust between the two begins to break down in later scenes, Macbeth’s utterly desolate outlook on life following his wife’s death, exclaiming that life is “a tale / Told by an idiot”, shows that she remains an important part of his life and this devotion must be credited to him. A final quality that makes us feel empathy for Macbeth is his conscience, which despite being deeply scarred, never truly dies. We see this particularly before and in the aftermath of Macbeth’s murder of King Duncan, as he is immediately filled with a terrible regret and paralysing guilt. The apparition of a bloody dagger, a “False creation/ proceeding from the heat oppressed brain” shows that his psyche is tormented with sorrow and shame even before the crime is committed. Once carried out, the deed only haunts Macbeth further and he rapidly begins to lament it, hoping that the thunderous knocking at the castle gates would rouse Duncan from his eternal slumber, “Wake Duncan with thy knocking! I would thou couldst!” His immediate sense of regret shows a glimmer of humanity that remains buried deep beneath Macbeth’s facade of brutality. The apparition of Banquo following his assassination is a physical manifestation of Macbeth’s guilt, showing that although he has sworn to continue his reign of tyranny, his guilt and therefore his conscience remain intact and haunts him to his last breath.
Like her husband, Lady Macbeth leaves a lot to be desired in relation to her morality, and I would certainly agree with the characterization of her original portrayal as ruthless, ruled by ambition, not for herself, but for her husband. This is made plain from our first encounter with Lady Macbeth, in which she muses about what she perceives as her husband’s many shortcomings, which she believes she must help him overcome. In the eyes of Lady Macbeth, ambition is merely a catalyst for the destruction of others for personal gain. She claims that Macbeth is “not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it”. She fears that his morals are too strong to allow him to act on his desires and so resolves to do whatever is necessary to coerce him into carrying out the bloody usurpation, to “pour my spirits in thine ear”. Her methods of persuasion show once again her ferocious determination as she resorts to petty name-calling, drawing on traditional gender roles to insult his sense of masculinity. On more than one occasion she questions his bravery, goading him into believing that only through Duncan’s murder can he convince her of his courage, “When you durst do it, then you were a man”. Considering the cultural context of the play, at this time to question one’s manhood is to question their worth, and Lady Macbeth is well aware of that. Her harsh, insidious strategies show a fundamental nastiness which is awakened by her unrelenting desire to ascend to the throne by her husband’s side. But her ambition, however cruel, is made infinitely worse by her appeal to evil. An important distinction can be made here between characters such as Banquo and Lady Macbeth. Whilst Banquo too feels the stirring of desire within him, he immediately turns to the forces of good, the “merciful powers”, to beg for assistance in overcoming these dark thoughts. On the contrary, Lady Macbeth actually asks for malevolent spirits “that tend on mortal thoughts” to wrench any human emotions from her breast and instead fill her “from the crown to the toe top full of direst cruelty”. This seemingly absurd desire to be unfeeling and heartlessly cruel seems to show a deeply-rooted evil within Lady Macbeth which appears to ignore all morality.
The climax of Lady Macbeth’s evil is undoubtedly her role in the murder of King Duncan, following which is a slow, gradual decline into madness, accompanied not by increasing bloodthirst as with Macbeth, but with a quieter, yet nonetheless all consuming guilt. She immediately realises that the horrific crime they have committed must be forgotten entirely if they ever wish to live peacefully. She urges Macbeth to ignore his feelings of guilt, explaining that “These deeds must not be thought/ After these ways, so, it will make us mad”. This powerful piece of ironic foreshadowing is something of a death warrant for Lady Macbeth, sealing her fate and dooming her to a drawn-out and painful downfall. She claims that their feelings of overwhelming guilt will soon pass, that “a little water clears us of this deed” however, it seems unlikely that even she believes this, especially considering her earlier comments about the power of such regret. The conflict between her emotions and her attempt at feigning remorselessness can be seen particularly in Act 2, Scene 3. With the discovery of Duncan’s corpse, Macbeth makes a spur of the moment decision to murder the two chamberlains, masquerading as a devoted and loyal subject of Duncan overwhelmed by rage. When questioned about this, Macbeth launches into a dramatic description of Duncan’s lifeless body. Before he can go any further, Lady Macbeth faints suddenly. While many claim that this is an attempt to distract attention from Macbeth’s incriminating speech, I believe it is entirely possible, and perhaps even likely, that this is a real response to the extremely stressful situation. While previously she had been able to meticulously plan every detail of the crime, now the horrific deeds appear to be spiralling out of control and she may finally begin to realise the magnitude and consequences of their actions “things bad begun make strong themselves by ill”. As Macbeth’s reign continues, her feelings of helplessness grow as she is often unaware of his horrific plans, such as the murder of Banquo, before which he urges her to “be innocent of the knowledge”. As their once trusting bond disintegrates Lady Macbeth does likewise. Whilst originally Macbeth’s actions were motivated by her, now he acts as a free agent, appearing to grow daily both in distrust and in his capacity for evil. It appears that to Lady Macbeth the murder of Duncan is a means to an end but she now laments privately that she has found nothing but grief despite finally achieving her goals, as she explains “Nought’s had, all’s spent, when our desire is got without content” As the brutality continues to build she begins to feel isolated and powerless, decreasing in stature as shown by her total absence from Act 4. Instead of enjoying a triumphant career as queen, as a truly evil character might, she is destroyed by guilt, unable to live her life and reduced to nothing more than a shell of her former self.
Lady Macbeth’s all-consuming regret comes to the fore in Act Five, Scene One, where her inner turmoil is bared for all to see. Her guilt and paranoia give way to a fit of sleepwalking, witnessed by a court physician and one of her ladies-in-waiting. Carrying a lit candle, we learn that “she has light by her continually”. This is a stark juxtaposition to earlier imagery which appeared to shroud Lady Macbeth in darkness, showing a real development in her character and highlighting her withdrawal from the forces of evil. Her sleepwalking is accompanied by a delusional belief that her hands are stained with blood. An unambiguous reference to her own unforgivable crimes, she appears fixated entirely on cleansing herself of sin, and exclaims “Out damned spot!” in desperation. In a jumbled and almost incoherent string of exclamations she recalls the many bloody deeds committed by both Macbeth and herself. She appears particularly focused on the murder of Duncan, wondering incredulously “Who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?” The references to blood, and particularly the blood of the slain King, draws parallels to earlier scenes where Lady Macbeth insisted on the impermanence of their guilt. Only now does she finally admit the weight of their actions and the long-term consequences they will have. She echoes the words of Macbeth following his murder of Duncan in claiming that “all the perfumes of / Arabia will not sweeten this little hand”. Undeniably, Lady Macbeth has changed entirely and bares almost no resemblance to her earlier portrayal. Whether or not we believe her crimes to be forgivable, it is clear that she has begun to atone for them, and this is the most important step on the path to redemption in my opinion. We learn of Lady Macbeth’s death soon after her final scene, apparently committed “by self and violent hands”. Her suicide shows a woman who is truly broken, no longer able to live with her terrible guilt. There is a stark contrast here between the manners in which Lady Macbeth and her husband meet their demise, while Lady Macbeth takes her own life, Macbeth refuses outright to “play the Roman fool”. In many ways this shows a role reversal between the two, with Lady Macbeth, once appearing cold and unfeeling, now allowing her emotions to control her and the originally hesitant and honourable Macbeth now portrayed as a stoic and ruthless tyrant.
In this way I believe that it is an unfair assessment to present Lady Macbeth as simply a merciless opportunist. While she may begin this way, she shows her true colours in later scenes and appears truly repentant. Similarly, Macbeth, although possessing many positive traits that help to redeem him, is more than capable of wickedness and, unlike his wife, appears to grow daily in his capacity for wrongdoing.