This particular essay is focusing on the role of Lady Macbeth, and to what extent she suits the title of a 'fiend-like queen'. This has been a past question before, but it focused on the play as whole, rather than just Act One; which is what my teacher wanted us to focus on in depth. This essay received a Band 6 grade, and the points to improve on included: focusing more on structure, and acknowledging context, such as 'audience reception' and the contemporary understanding of her character.
Lady Macbeth is presented as a ‘fiend-like’ villain in Act One. To what extent do you agree with this statement?
Within ‘Macbeth’, Shakespeare constructs one of the most powerful females in literature; Lady Macbeth. Throughout Act One, Macbeth’s wife exposes the gothic notions of transgression, the unnatural female and the supernatural, as the audience are shown her evil desires to be stripped of her maternal, feminine qualities by demons or evil spirits. Alternatively, Lady Macbeth could be viewed as a guilt-ridden victim, who under the surface possesses weak qualities of ‘human kindness’ as she admits that her adoration of her father prevented her from committing the deed herself. However, Lady Macbeth’s deceptive, persuasive and potentially witch-like manner must not be overlooked, as Shakespeare reminds the audience that her bloodthirsty hunger for power and prestige are more significant to her than her maternal, feminine duties - thus affirming that to a crucial extent, Lady Macbeth is distinctly presented as a ‘fiend-like’ villain in Act one of ‘Macbeth.’
To a crucial extent, Shakespeare strongly presents Lady Macbeth as a ‘fiend-like’ villain in Act One, Scene 5, as he exposes her unnatural feminine desires to transgress into a liminal, dehumanise state by the evil supernatural powers of the spirit world. In Lady Macbeth’s later soliloquy of Act One, Scene 5, she expresses her ruthless craving to be filled “from the crown to the toe, top-full of direst cruelty”, making “thick [her] blood” as she calls for the “spirits” to “unsex” her and fulfill these unnatural transgressive desires. Shakespeare presents to the audience that Lady Macbeth is completely aware of her dual, evil nature, she appears to show no attempt at suppressing this villainous psyche, but acknowledges her vicious and corrupt desires to be rid of all purity and conscience in her body. Notably, throughout the scene, Shakespeare appears to associate Lady Macbeth more dominantly with the three witches and the supernatural - with critics classing her as the ‘fourth witch’. For example, earlier in the scene, she exclaims her disgust and fear of Macbeth’s weak nature, expressing that “it is too full o’th’ milk of human kindness.” Shakespeare exposes to the audience here that the determination and strength to commit the assassination must come from her, presenting her as a ruthless villain corrupted by the potential for glory and royalty. However, it could alternatively be argued that Shakespeare is in fact strongly linking Lady Macbeth to the supernatural, as she appears to detach herself from humanity, as she snarls her disgust at the weak nature of humanity - as if she herself is not burden with these qualities. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth’s unnatural female desires for the spirits to “come to [her] woman’s breasts, and take [her] milk for gall” asserts this evil, villainous nature, as well as her links to the supernatural. This desire to be defeminised and dehumanized, not only presents Lady Macbeth’s villainous qualities of intelligence and manipulation; as she exposes her understanding of the limited power of the female in patriarchy, but also her transgressive desires to become like the supernatural - existing in the liminal state between humanity and the corruption of death. Thus, affirming that to a large extent, Lady Macbeth is distinctly presented as the ‘fiend-like’ villain in Act One, Scene 5 of ‘Macbeth’, as Shakespeare exposes her villainous, evil cravings to become of a dehumanised state in order to successfully steal the life of King Duncan to fulfill her personal ambitions of royalty and prestige.
To a crucial extent, it can be further argued that Lady Macbeth is portrayed as a ‘fiend-like’ villain in Act One, as Shakespeare asserts her dual nature in Act One, Scene 6 when she addresses Duncan with a false unwavering loyalty and kindness. Upon Lady Macbeth’s arrival in Act One, Scene 6, Duncan instantaneously describes her as an “honoured hostess” whom he shall “thank as love” for her “pains” and “troubles”. On the surface, the reader understands Duncan’s perceptions to be entirely misplaced, Lady Macbeth is unconditionally the contradictory to a kind, attentive hostess - with her true hidden intentions being murderous, unnatural and villainous. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth loyally responds that “all [their] service” shall “in every point [be] twice done, and then done double” throughout his stay, with her concluding that both her and her husband “rest [his] hermits”. Shakespeare’s establishment of peace, trust and loyalty within Lady Macbeth’s characterisation during this extract distances the reader entirely from her as a character, exposing her to be false, conniving and manipulative in her portrayal as an “honoured hostess” - thus causing them to view her as nothing but a ‘fiend-like’ villain. However, it can be alternatively argued that Lady Macbeth’s loyal and kind utterances to Duncan intentionally juxtaposes entirely with the earlier soliloquy of Act One, Scene 5, in order to affirm the gothic notion of disguise and the transgression between good and evil which Lady Macbeth so effortlessly transacts. Shakespeare asserts the dual nature to Lady Macbeth, exposing her earlier advice to Macbeth to “look like th’ innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t” to be unequivocally true to her own nature; as she adopts the temporary role of the “innocent flower” in public scenes, but later resorts back to being the “serpent” lurking underneath her false exterior. Therefore, highlighting that Shakespeare distinctly presents Lady Macbeth as a ‘fiend-like’ villain in Act One, Scene 6 of ‘Macbeth’, as he exposes that the female protagonist forms the true villain of Act One, as she possesses the ability to manipulate exterior perceptions of her using the gothic notions of disguise and the evil double.
Additionally, to a large extent, it can be further argued that Lady Macbeth is certainly portrayed as a ‘fiend-like’ villain in Act One, as Shakespeare unmasks her violent, persuasive capabilities to manipulate her weaker counterpart - Macbeth - to fulfill his promise to murder the King. Lady Macbeth is portrayed by Shakespeare at her most corrupted, and evil in Act One, Scene 7 during her blisteringly violent outbursts to testify her strength of will, which completely eclipses that of her husband. She is well aware of the discrepancy between their respective resolves and understands that she will have to manipulate her husband into acting on the witches prophecy. For example, Lady Macbeth exclaims to her weaker natured husband that she “know[s] how tender ‘tis to love the babe that milks me” and even whilst “it was smiling in [her] face” she would “have plucked [her] nipple from his boneless gums, and dashed the brains out” to fulfill her promise to Macbeth. Lady Macbeth’s violent declaration that she would murder her own newborn infant to fulfill the prophecy of the witches, and her promise to Macbeth, exposes her manipulative traits to force Macbeth to act against his weak and human nature to remain faithful to his wife. Shakespeare’s use of lexis further affirms the inclusion of the gothic notions of transgression and the repressed evil psyche, as Lady Macbeth’s utterance begins with maternal, pure and innocent words such as ‘love, babe, smiling and tender’, but slowly distorts to become negative, violent and evil as she utilizes words such as ‘plucked, boneless, dashed and brains’. Thus, highlighting her ability to swiftly transgress between good and evil within her dual nature in a small matter of words, in order to manipulate Macbeth to agree to transact the deed of murder. Therefore, affirming that Lady Macbeth is certainly the ‘fiend-like’ villain in Act One, Scene 7 as Shakespeare asserts her dual nature and manipulative abilities to corrupt the “human kindness” her husband desperately clings to in her presence.
However, to a moderate extent, it must be noted that Shakespeare does not portray Lady Macbeth as the ‘fiend-like’ villain consistently throughout the earlier stages of the play, as he subtly reveals to the audience her more victimised, weak qualities underneath the obvious evil, villainous traits she possesses. Later in ‘Macbeth’, Shakespeare reveals to the audience a sudden moment of weakness in Lady Macbeth’s characterisation, exclaiming her justification for why she herself - the more powerful and capable of the two protagonists - could not commit the deed of murder on her own account. Throughout, Shakespeare constructs Lady Macbeth as a dominant, corrupted and evil natured character, who consistently fights to persuade her husband that murder will fulfill all of their personal ambitions for prestige and glory. Thus, causing the reader to question why the female-villain does not commit the murder herself, she evidently possesses the unwavering evil and emotional control to commit the deed, but always appears to rely on Macbeth in the conclusion of her utterances and soliloquies. However, Shakespeare promptly addresses the queries of the reader, as he exposes Lady Macbeth’s truly weaker nature at heart, as she states; “had [Duncan] not resembled my father as he slept, I had done’t.” Thus, allowing the reader to understand that Lady Macbeth is not wholly a ‘fiend-like’ villain; although she appears to have been possessed by the supernatural and granted her desires to be dehumanised, she in fact still holds elements of the ‘milk of human kindness’ at heart. Lady Macbeth’s utterance stating that she refrained from murdering the King simply because she resembled the appearance of her father, exposes to the reader that she evidently felt a sense of guilt and betrayal towards her family bonds and relationships - the guilt she so strictly prevents Macbeth from acknowledging strongly affected her evil nature. Thus, asserting that Lady Macbeth falls victim to the human condition, despite evil and supernatural qualities providing her strength and “direst cruelty”, in the face of murder she cannot commit the deed - her feminine traits of kindness and compassion overpower the evil and villainous she so eagerly craves. Therefore, conflicting the debate to a small extent that Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as the ‘fiend-like’ villain throughout Act One of ‘Macbeth’, as he accentuates to the audience that the maternal, feminine qualities of his protagonist still remain intact, despite her pleas with the spirit world to be “unsex[ed]” and filled with “direst cruelty”.
To conclude, to a crucial extent, Shakespeare does portray Lady Macbeth as a ‘fiend-like’ villain in Act One of ‘Macbeth’, as he accentuates her strong associations to the gothic notions of transgression between good and evil, the dual nature of the human psyche and the unnatural female craving the dehumanisation through supernatural power. Shakespeare exposes through the female-villain of Lady Macbeth that women can be as ambitious and cruel as the males of the play, yet social constraints deny them the means to pursue these ambitions of their own - thus explaining Lady Macbeth’s desires to be removed of her female gender role. From the moment of her arrival in the play, she is consumed with murderous intention, plotting the death of Duncan with intricacy even before the audience witness her and Macbeth’s first encounter. Lady Macbeth villainously manipulates her husband with remarkable effectiveness, overriding all his objections; when he hesitates to murder, she repeatedly questions his manhood until he feels that he must commit murder to prove himself.
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