Introduction to Macbeth essay Make it dynamic and interesting. Refer back to the question throughout the essay ‘Here’s the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. Oh, oh, oh...’ (Act 5 Scene 1, line 50-2) Do you think that Lady Macbeth, despite her words, can still be pitied? Write about Shakespeare’s presentation of the different sides of her character. Lady Macbeth commits no violent acts. Her greatest violence is in her words Do we feel any tenderness albeit tinged with some contemptuous pity for Lady Macbeth’s distress / sorrow What are the different sides that Shakespeare shows us? Why is she such a complex character?

At the start of the play Lady Macbeth appears as a strong and ambitious woman. Although she commits no violent acts herself, her violence is in the strength of her words. She manipulates her husband and persuades him to murder King Duncan. When Macbeth sees the vision of Banquo, Lady Macbeth controls the situation admirably, despite feeling unhappy. These traits may make the audience respect her or despise her but they do not evoke feelings of pity. It is only when we witness her downfall in Act 5: her isolation from her husband, her disintegration into madness and her guilt at her actions, that we start to feel some sorrow for her. Ironically, many of her words have come back to haunt her. In sharp contrast to Macbeth, Lady Macbeth does not continue on the path of further murders and the violence and loathing turns inward as opposed to outward on others. When she commits suicide , the audience recognise that she cannot live with what she has done and we forgive her to some extent for her role in Duncan’s murder.