Lady Macbeth Manipulated Quotes

The play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, is a tragedy about a Scottish lord, Macbeth, who becomes too ambitious. He starts off as a brave, loyal and noble man, but his ambition and thirst for power lead him onto a path of ruthlessness and self-destruction, and ultimately his own death. While Macbeth is manipulated by various people and occurrences, the main ones being the witches, Lady Macbeth and Fate, one theme that remains constant throughout the play is the power of choice. Macbeth does have the ability to choose, and it is this ability that makes him a tragic hero, not a victim.

There are certain characteristics that someone must have in order to be considered a full tragic hero. One of the main ones is that the character must have a …show more content…
He was influenced and manipulated, particularly by the witches. If the three 'Weird Sisters' (1:V:7) had not said anything to Macbeth in the first place then none of it would have happened. The 'Weird Sisters' put the idea of becoming 'king hereafter' (1:III:49) into Macbeth's head, and, consequently, the idea of murdering King Duncan. The witches knew that this would happen, they wanted it to happen. They also manipulated Macbeth later on in the play, with the three apparitions. They gave him false confidence, and, once again, they knew and wanted this to happen. They created 'toil and trouble' (1:IV:10), and they created it on purpose, to lead Macbeth to his demise. However, Banquo was also present at the first meeting with the 'Weird Sisters', and they made a prophesy for him, too. But Banquo chooses to ignore what they say. Macbeth could have made this choice as well, but he didn't. Although the witches did manipulate Macbeth, he wanted to believe their prophesies, and he chose to believe …show more content…
He was going to let 'chance crown me king' (1:III:43), but Lady Macbeth knew that this wouldn't lead to anything. She also knew that Macbeth's sense of loyalty and honour could stop him from killing Duncan and therefore becoming king and fulfilling his ambitions. She urges him to 'look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under't' (1:V:63-64). She also questions Macbeth's manliness, another weak spot of his. She knows that he doesn't like her doing this, and she knows that it's a good way of persuading Macbeth to do what she wants him to do - that it's a good way of manipulating him. But Macbeth wanted to be manipulated. He let his wife influence him. If he really didn't want to murder Duncan then he wouldn't have. Even before he spoke to Lady Macbeth he was having 'horrible imaginings' (1:III:37). Even though Lady Macbeth helped turn these into realities, she did not physically force her husband to commit murder. Once again, Macbeth had the freedom, power and ability to