Macbeth Act 1-- "Lady Macdeath"

N.d. Web. 19 May 2013. http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2010/094/5/3/Lady_Macbeth_by_HFFK.jpg.

After reading the first act of the play, Lady Macbeth seems to be the force behind pushing Macbeth to the act of violence. An example of that would be when Lady Macbeth reads Macbeth's letter in Scene 5. Lady Macbeth thinks that Macbeth is too weak and kind to kill Duncun, the king of Scotland. Since Lady Macbeth is the wife of Macbeth, the former Thane of Glamis and current Thane of Cawdor, she needs to support and be the one pushing Macbeth to proceed in the murder of Duncan; therefore, Macbeth, himself, can be the new King of Scotland and Lady Macbeth can be the queen. When Macbeth tries to back out of the murder, Lady Macbeth says to him "What beast was't, then,/ That made you break this enterprisei to me? When you durst do it, then you were a man;" (I, xii, 53-55). In these lines, it is clear that Lady Macbeth accuses Macbeth as being a coward and not a man; therefore she is the one who pressured Macbeth into committing the crime. However, I predict that Lady Macbeth will also be the one who tells Macbeth to stop once he gets too out of control and she might be the one killed by Macbeth too. This is because Lady Macbeth is not entirely an evil woman. For example when Lady Macbeth tells herself "Under my battlements. Come, you spirits/ That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here/ And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full/ Of direst cruelty  Make thick my blood" (I, v, 46-50). This shows that she is trying to tell herself to be really cruel and ruthless and try not to act "womanly" in a stereotypical way. It is clear that Lady Macbeth is not born naturally evil, but she thinks that not thinking "humanely" and not lettting her morals take over will make her husband's plan to become king come true.

By reading the first act, it is also evident that Lady Macbeth is really good at putting on a show for Duncan. For instance, when Duncan arrives, Lady Macbeth acts like the very charming and polite wife of the very brave soldier, Macbeth. However, Lady Macbeth has been hiding her dark side all along with all the evil thoughts and plans in her mind. As a result, this also teaches us that people are not always what they seem. Like Lady Macbeth, people can hide their dark side even with their pleasant demeanor.

So far in the play, Lady Macbeth has proved to be an unusual character because the wife is not normally shown to be more violent and ambitious than the husband. In this case, Macbeth is the more cautious and kind-hearted character compared to Lady Macbeth. As a result, I do not find Lady Macbeth as a likable character because she comes across as the evil and violent one in the play; therefore I cannot relate to lady Macbeth at all. I highly doubt anyone would have the mind of Lady Macbeth's unless they are a serial killer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ft2Lthl9q5Y

This is a video of when Lady Macbeth reads Macbeth's letter and think that Macbeth is too weak to kill Duncan, the King of Scotland.

Macbeth Act 1-- Destiny, Fate and Influence

N.d. Web. 19 May 2013. http://saltlakemagazine.com/site_media/uploads/2010/07/macbeth-witches.jpg.

The witches have an important role in the novel. Before the witches met Macbeth, they talked about the tricks that they played on other humans. For instance at the beginning of Act 1 Scene 3, the witches talked about the mischief that they played on the humans, like crashing a sailors ship. This is evidence that the witches like to cause trouble to humans. As a result, the witches might use their magic to do the same by making Macbeth kill Duncan. Banquo, on the other hand, believe that the witches have the  power to see into the future. To cite an example we only have to refer to when Banquo says "If you can look into the seeds of time/ And say which grain will grow and which will not/ Speak, then, to me, who neither beg nor fear" (I, iii, 61-63). In the lines it is apparent that Banquo thinks that the witches have the ability to predict what will happen in the future. However, he is not entirely certain whether the witches can correctly predict the future. Their abilities to look into the future seem believable because they predicted that Macbeth will become the new thane of Cawdor, which does eventually end up becoming true. As a result, this means that the witches in the play have a lot to do in planning out what will happen later on, but whether or not the characters' actions are already decided by the witches is not clear in the first two acts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXcT7nrpglw

This is a scene when Macbeth and Banquo meet the witches and hears the prophecy of Macbeth and Banquo's kids becoming the future King of Scotland.

 

 

 

Even though the witches appear to have special magic powers to predict or change the future, I believe that destiny is determined by people's choices. We can choose our own paths by what we decide to do and how we act. The future is not already set because we are the only ones that can shape our own destiny and make things happen that other people think will not. People have the ability to influence their own future and they can succeed by working hard, setting goals and getting an education. Macbeth, on the other hand, wonders if the witches' prediction will occur by themselves without him having to do anything. "If chance will have me king, why, chance may/ crown me/ Without my stir" (I, iv, 157-159). However, Macbeth does not understand that his future can only be shaped by his actions, not according to the witches' predictions. To cite an example of that we only have to refer to Macbeth's actions. Macbeth did not have to kill, but his bad decisions that he made to fulfill his great future end up ruining his life. The King of Scotland would not have been killed and Macbeth's life would not have been ruined if Macbeth did not believe the witches' predictions.