Lady Macbeth Research Paper

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Caroline Neville Sonya Massengill English 12 CP 13 December 2014 Life Changes of Lady Macbeth Macbeth is a play written by William Shakespeare around the year of 1606. Macbeth’s play is about a husband and wife that will do anything in order to gain power of the kingdom. Macbeth kills King Duncan in order to become king, but not only did Macbeth just kill Duncan; he also had to kill many more people to keep others from finding out what he had done. His wife, Lady Macbeth, also helped him keep this a secret and encouraged his behavior. In this story, Lady Macbeth has gone from being very controlling and then losing control to being very remorseful of what has been done causing her to go insane. In the beginning of the story, Lady…show more content…
This is where you can start seeing a change in Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s relationship. The changes begin when the apparitions appear to Macbeth. The first apparition says, “Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware/ Macduff./ Beware the thane of Fife. Dismiss me. Enough.”(First Apparition 4.1.78-79) They reveal this prophecy to him: “for none of woman born/ Shall harm Macbeth.”(Second Apparition 4.1.88-89) The prophecy continues on to say that, “Macbeth shall never vanquished be until/ Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill/ Shall come against him.” (Third Apparition 4.1.103-105) With this being said, Macbeth feels empowered because he believes no one is able to kill him that was born of a woman. With this burst of confidence, Macbeth no longer needs Lady Macbeth to tell him how to handle things because he believes that he is unstoppable and that the others will no longer be able to take control of him.. By Macbeth being more confident in himself, it begins to change their relationship. While Macbeth starts to act upon his own thoughts, Lady Macbeth is being drawn into…show more content…
She begins to feel remorse for all she has caused Macbeth to do and all she has done herself. Her feelings cause her to have dreams that reflect back on the day where Macbeth had killed Duncan. Lady Macbeth’s dreams cause her to sleepwalk and sleep talk. The gentlewoman that lives with her contacted a doctor for help. She told him, “Since his majesty went into the field, I have/ seen her rise from her bed, throw her night-gown upon her,/ unlock her closet, take forth paper, fold it, write upon’t,/ read it, afterwards seal it, and again return to bed; yet all/ this while in a most fast sleep.” (Gentlewoman 5.1.3-7) The gentlewoman also describes how Lady Macbeth will continuously rub her hands together as if she were washing them. Lady Macbeth’s reaction to this spot in her sleep is rather disturbing. She then says, “Out, damned spot! out, I say! One-two--/ why, then,’tis time to do’t. Hell is murky. Fie, my lord, fie!/ A soldier, and afeard? What need we fear who knows it,/ when none can call our power to account? Yet who would/ have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him.”(Lady Macbeth 5.1.31-36) These dreams show that Lady Macbeth is becoming guilty of what has been done but she is not able to do anything about it now. In her dreams it is referring back to when Macbeth came home after he had killed Duncan and had the blood on his own hands. She states this: “To bed, to bed; there’s knocking at the

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