Macbeth: Lady Macbeth

Macbeth: Act 3, Scene 2 - A Power Shift?

This is an interesting scene indeed - we see an almost subverted dynamic between Macbeth and his Lady, as Macbeth begins to hide his dark and murderous intentions from his wife.  

We see Lady Macbeth initially taking charge as she reminds her anxious husband that "what's done is done" - but then we see Macbeth taking the main role in this scene as his long-winded and wordy contributions take up stage time and swing control back to him.  It could be argued, however, that this shift in dynamic doesn't hand Macbeth control at all, but instead shows that he is edging further into a loss of control as he begins to ramble and dribble (kind of like I am now).  

You'll notice Lady M's parts are short, sweet and succinct.  Is she retaining control here by doing this, or are we seeing her influence over Macbeth being chipped away?  It's debatable, that's for sure.  What we do know, however, is that by the end of the scene, Lady M relinquishes all the power she has by almost giving control to Macbeth - "what's to be done?" - who then rebuffs her with a patronising "dear chuck" and an order to be ignorant of his future misdeeds.

We also see a great shift in Macbeth's own language here - notice how, at the start of the scene and when referring to past events, his chosen pronouns are inclusive, but by the end of the scene and when referring to the future, suddenly it's all "me", "I, and "your" - separating the formerly close couple.

Lady Macbeth's Descent into Madness (Act 5)

Following on from my post about 'hidden' stage directions, this short video explains Lady Macbeth's descent into madness very clearly, showing how Shakespeare stages the scene to show, by way of pathetic fallacy and metaphor, the undoing of his once-controlling and once-powerful character.

Macbeth: An Analysis of Act 2, Scene 2

The deed is done!  Duncan is dead and Macbeth, despite his misgivings, was the one who thrust the knife into him.  

However, now it's time to cover up the deed, and Macbeth is already showing signs of regret.  Not so Lady Macbeth, though; she is quite happy that she is on her way to being a Queen.

Methought I heard a voice cry, “Sleep no more!
Macbeth does murder sleep”—the innocent sleep...

Macbeth is already renouncing his religion as the word 'amen' gets stuck in his throat; Lady Macbeth is having none of it.  She's sick of his whining, and gives him a piece of her mind, telling him what to do in no uncertain terms, and taking control of the situation as only Lady Macbeth could.