Who Is The Real Vilain In Macbeth

? Essay, Research Paper

Is Lady Macbeth the real villain of Macbeth? (500 words)

Page 1

I don’t believe that Lady Macbeth can be seen as the real villain because she is only part of the reason why Macbeth decided to kill Duncan and Co. If she hadn’t have promoted the idea of Macbeth being King he would never have killed Duncan. This is because Macbeth is a little soft, where’s Lady Macbeth is someone who wants to get in there and get the job done to better herself. Macbeth seemed to like the idea of being King until he found that there were more than just Duncan who would stand in the way of him being King. He learned when he thought about it carefully that he had to go through the whole process of taking full control which meant he had to eliminate all possible threats to his rule.

(Act three, scene one)

Macbeth: “There is none but he,

Whose being I do fear: and under him,

My genius is rebuk’d, as it is said

Mark Antony’s was by Caesar. He chid the sisters,

When first they put the name of King upon me,

And bad them speak to him. Then prophet-like,

They hailed him father to a line of kings.

Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown,

And put a barren sceptre in my gripe,

Thence to be wrench’d with an unlineal hand,

No son of mine succeeding: if’t be so,

For Banquo’s issue have I fil’d my mind,

For them, the gracious Duncan have I murther’d,,

Put rancour’s in the vessel of my peace,

Only for them, and mine eternal jewel

Given to the common Enemy of man,

To make them King’s, the seeds of Banquo Kings.

Rather than so, come fate into the list,

And champion me to th’ utterance.”

Macbeth tells us that the crown is useless, empty and void because the title of King will not last long and will be taken away to be given to Fleance, Banquo’s son. Macbeth decides that both Banquo and Fleance have to die in a bid to protect his power. This is why he hired and/or ordered murderer’s to kill Banquo and Fleance. However, Fleance escaped unharmed. Then to dispose of them, to be more secure, he sent a third murderer to murder the first and second murderers. Macbeth must have had a deep down feeling of doing anything to become King or he wouldn’t have murdered Duncan by himself or find someone else to murder Banquo and Fleance. This is yet another reason why Lady Macbeth isn’t the real villain as it seems like she was just a catalyst.

Lady Macbeth is certainly a male mind in a female body. This view is supported throughout the play of Macbeth. Perhaps she is even angry that she cannot get the job done, (she probably could) as this would be a bypass around talking Macbeth into performing unlawful and amoral actions. She manages to persuade Macbeth into murdering Duncan by insulting Macbeth’s manhood. (Act one, scene seven)

Lady Macbeth: “When you durst do it, then you were a man:

And to be more than what you were, you would

Be so much more the man. Nor time, nor place

Did then adhere, and yet you would make both:

They have made themselves, and that their fitness now

Does unmake you.”

This speech consists of Lady Macbeth questioning whether Macbeth is a man or not, in front of his face. The aim of this is to make Macbeth stand up to her and show he is a man by murdering King Duncan.

Lady Macbeth is quite good at preparing a murder as shown when she explained the plan of how King Duncan would be murdered whilst framing someone else. (Act one, scene seven)

Lady Macbeth: “When Duncan is asleep,

His two chamberlains

Will I with wine, and wassail, so convince,

That memory, the warder of the brain,

Shall be a fume, and the receipt of reason

A limbeck only: when in swinish sleep,

Their drenched natures lie as in a death,

What cannot you and I perform upon

Th’ unguarded Duncan? What not put upon

His spongy officers? Who shall bear the guilt

Of our great quell.”

This speech given to us by Lady Macbeth is the planing of King Duncan’s death. She is telling us that she will make the guards drunk with wine in order to disable their ability to guard Duncan, this will then allow them to murder the King and leave the murder weapons behind with the guards so they will be seen as the guilty party.

This goes to show how serious Lady Macbeth is who really wants to make something of herself in a male dominated world. I don’t think it would be going too far to say that Lady Macbeth has the blood of a warrior; perhaps like Macbeth when we were first introduced to him.