What are the first impressions of Lady Macbeth?

        What are the audience’s first impressions of Lady Macbeth?

Lady Macbeth is perhaps one of the more evil characters of Shakespeare. She plays a crucial part in the play, as she is the one who pushes Macbeth into killing King Duncan, along with many other unforgivable acts. This then leads to Macbeth’s tragic fall: his death. Shakespeare establishes right from the start that Lady Macbeth is both ambitious and cunning, making it very clear to the audience as to what they should expect.

She is introduced to the audience in Scene 5 Act 1 as she is reading a lettre from her husband, Macbeth. The lettre explains his encounter with the three “weïrd sisters” in addition to his newly apointed title as Thane of Cawdor. She then, after reading the lettre almost immediately believes the witches prophecy. Instead of contemplating whether or not their prediction is true, she starts plotting against the current king, Duncan. Being the ambitious woman that she is, she simply overlooks the authenticity of the women’s statement, eager to succeed in becoming Queen. When speaking about Macbeth becoming king, she says “shalt be what thou art promised”. This implies that she believes in the prophecy so much that she thinks that Macbeth has the right to the throne. Her determination for the crown is so strong that she, regardless of his feelings, calls out her husband as being too weak. She says, lines 14 to 15, “thy nature, it is too full o’th’milk of human kindness”. This shows that Lady Macbeth’s determination is so strong that she will do virtually anything to get to what she wants, even if it means harming others.

Aside from being unbelievably ambition and determined, Lady Macbeth is also quite cunning. She manages to deceive the public, along with King Duncan and Macbeth himself. By acting sweet and caring, she successfully fouls everyone into thinking she really is all these things. In Act 1, she is the one who convinced Macbeth into killing King Duncan after have invited him over to their castle. She greets him with such praise and admiration, “in every point twice done and then done double” and “against those honours deep and broad” that King Duncan has no way of knowing that they are plotting his assassination.

In conclusion, Lady Macbeth is, without question a strong, cunning and ambitious woman. She does not fade into the background which makes her stand out from the ordinary Elizabethan woman. We later on find out how far she is willing to go for the title and how, in the end her behaviour leads to her tragic fall.

...