Reading lines 30 through 57, the
relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is one worth noting. After
killing the King, Lady Macbeth has to reassure him of making the right
decision, showing her power hungry ways and how controlling of Macbeth she can be. She acts more in a way of a man than he does, showing somewhat of a stereotypical role reversal. She speaks down to him, as if he is a child, which I think is very foreboding
of what is to come in the next acts. If she can make him kill a king, then what
else can she make him do, especially under his cowardly psychological state?
As the reader, reanalyzing and
comparing their relationship is one that will happen throughout the play.
Macbeth always seems to come to Lady Macbeth for confirmation of what he wants
to do, proving that without her, he wouldn’t seem to be as noble and brave as
everyone else has him out to be. Is this just a front, or does his wife have
ways over him that no one else can see? Lady Macbeth is an aggressive woman,
saying in lines 53-54 that she will take care of the daggers and make the
murder more realistic by putting them back in the room. As a headstrong woman, her confidence shows through and makes Macbeth come off as a cowardly man.
My questions are these: How will
Lady Macbeth’s aggressiveness continue on in the play? Will Macbeth finally ‘man
up’ and not be so afraid of his actions? How much more can Lady Macbeth
convince her husband to do?
Cody this is a good start and I like that you are focusing on a specific aspect of the play and not simply doing summary. I think you can push yourself further though by incorporating some quotes and analyzing them closely, paying attention to the language and imagery. I like that you reference specific lines but I want to encourage you to pull them in, it will help firm up your analysis by giving you something specific to look at. Your discussion questions are also concerned with the future of the play, instead of being concerned with major themes or ideas that we could discuss in class. Try to go for greater complexity and less plot centric discussion questions in the future.
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