Lady Macbeth Is Far More Evil Than the Witches Essay

In the play, “Macbeth”, the character that stands out the most is Lady Macbeth. Her role in this story is significant, she is an evil, ruthless, and ambitious person. She is responsible for the murders that her husband commits because she was bloodthirsty for the crown. In fact, she then becomes more eager to get the crown than Macbeth himself and soon realizes that once you commit one violent act, there is almost no way of ever turning back. An analysis of Lady Macbeth reveals that she is a powerful character who adds complexity and depth to a play about murder, madness, and revenge.

     In Shakespeare’s classic tragedy of Macbeth the main character Macbeth is driven from his status as a well respected warrior and lord of not one, but two Scottish regions to a dishonest, unloyal murderer. Macbeth gets caught in a web of lies and vile acts of murder in which he brings about his own demise. His criminal actions lead up to his tragic ending of life. ‘ They have tied me to a stake; I cannot fly, But bearlike I must fight the course.’ His great ambition and gullibility of the witches predictions are two of the biggest factors of his downfall;however, Lady Macbeth was probably the biggest influence in the whole tragedy.

Neither of these scenes give many positive points for Lady Macbeth´s character, it does indeed seem that she is just incredibly evil. wwda daw esdadas ayda daba nda kcda dauk;

If Macbeth truly did not want to commit evil, he could have refused his lady’s arrangements. Instead, Macbeth accepts the plans and goes further by asking Lady Macbeth to “mock the time with fairest show”. Macbeth understood that killing Duncan was an immoral act but still persevered and therefore the one ultimately to blame for his death.

The witches manipulate Macbeth into becoming a murdering, power-hungry evil being, by telling him, “someday you’ll be king.” “I'll drain him dry as hay. Sleep shall neither night nor day Hang upon his penthouse lid. He shall live a man forbid. Weary sev'n nights, nine times nine, Shall he dwindle, peak, and pine.” (I,i) The witches use the two other prophecies to get in the mind of Macbeth. They say that Macbeth will be Thane of Cawdor, and Banquo will be the father of future generations of kings. Though his bark cannot be lost, Yet it shall be tempest-tossed.They give Macbeth a false sense of security with the visions they perceive. These influential women are the ones that instill the idea of murdering the king. Macbeth lets greed get the best of him. The witches sway Macbeth into killing Duncan for the throne. “Fair is foul, and foul is fair.” (I,i) The Witches intend to turn Macbeth from his good ways, into something evil. As the only character that understands their cruelty, the witches want Macbeth dead. The witches give Macbeth the temptation to kill the king by telling him their prophecies. In the end,

Lady Macbeth? The driving force behind Macbeth’s downfall? Certainly not. Macbeth was completely and solely responsible for all the acts of great evil which were to lead to his downfall, and to even suggest the blame can be shifted on his wife is ludicrous.

When Shakespeare puts all of Macbeth's trust and faith into the witches it laters ends in catastrophic results. Shakespeare uses imagery to express the great amount of trust that Macbeth has in the witches: “I conjure you, by that which you profess/ Howe’er you come to know it answer me:/ Though you untie the winds and let them fight/ against the churches; though the yesty waves/...answer me/ To what I ask you”(4.1). At this moment Shakespeare makes it clear that fate is inevitable and the only thing for Macbeth to do is prepare for what's to come. When the three witches return Macbeth demands to know everything. Shakespeare places this scene after many murders have already taken place and Macbeth is still willing to listen and trsut in anything they say. When Shakespeare uses these descriptive phrases it provides the reader with an image of the amount of power that witches were seen to have in this time period. When Macbeth claims that he doesn't care if the witches unleash violent winds or send sailors to their deaths Shakespeare is revealing that Macbeth is becoming submissive to the witches which leads to the control they have over his thought and

In conclusion, Lady Macbeth’s ruthless drive is what makes her liable for causing the most evil in Macbeth. Her persuasive insults attribute Macbeth to commit a series of murders that leads to his downfall. Despite the fact that Macbeth is the one commits these actions, it is Lady Macbeth who motivates him. The witches are less evil, because they only place the idea

Although Lady Macbeth is still stronger and more ambitious than Macbeth the killing of Duncan is the point where the gap starts to narrow. She calls Macbeth a coward when he tries to back out of the plan and is the driving force that causes Macbeth to kill Duncan. She also shows strength when Macbeth returns from the murder and she tells him "These deeds must not be thought after these ways. So, it will make us mad". But when she has to go kill the guards she starts to lose some of her composure. Upon return to their room Lady Macbeth is just as shook up as Macbeth. This shows how Lady Macbeth is mostly talk and starts to weaken when the murders begin and the pressure sets in.

But the witches who could supposedly foretell the future, add temptation, and influence Macbeth. They had told Macbeth that he would be King he became impatient and tried to hurry it as quickly as he could. But they cannot control his destiny. Macbeth creates his own misery when he is driven by his own sense of guilt. This causes him to become insecure as to the reasons for his actions, which in turn causes him to commit more murders. The witches offer great enticement, but it is in the end, each individual’s decision to fall for the temptation, or to be strong enough to resist their captivation. The three Witches are only responsible for the introduction of these ideas and for further forming ideas in Macbeth head, but they are not responsible for his actions throughout the play.

Lady Macbeth is seen as evil, and there is lots of evidence for this. At points she also has a similar evil tone to the witches. This is seen when she says “Hie the hither,” this also shows her use an imperative. This is when she gives a command which no Jacobean wife would do, as it was their place to follow orders, not give them. The use of the imperative also shows how she is taking change. This is amazingly unusual for the time. The time that she sounds more evil than this is when it is her monologue after she has read the letter from Macbeth. When she says, “That I may pour my spirits in thine ear and chastise with the

Macbeth had the dagger in his hand ready to kill the King but he just could not do it until the King started waking up, it was then he knew he had no choice. He regrets his actions afterwards, "But where fore could not I pronounce 'Amen'? / I had most need of blessing, and 'Amen' / Stuck in my throat" which is proof that he never was willing to kill the King but Lady Macbeth assures him “a little water will wash away their guilt”. Macbeth having killed the King eventually kills several others to cover his tracks. This proves Lady Macbeth transformed her husband by saying things such as “Are you a man?” She made him feel at fault so things could be done her way. If it weren’t for Lady Macbeth, Macbeth would have never have killed anyone. This story of Lady

Lady Macbeth at this point has a stronger inner conviction and uses very powerful antilife phrases in an effort to persuade the evil spirits to make Macbeth kill Duncan.

Lady Macbeth is essentially an evil woman. She condones the death of innocent people and even wishes she were a man so she could commit murder herself. The idea to murder King Duncan was thought of by no other than Lady Macbeth,

  “At the heart of William Shakespeare's Macbeth is an examination of the nature of evil and it's many faces and facets”(Cathell 119). The principal evil characters in the play, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, are both evil, but the manifestation of evil is different in each.