This
quote is from Act 1, scene 5 and is spoken by Ladyafter her husband's arrival. He had previously
notified her by letter of his encounter withand that they had predicted that he would be thane
of Cawdor and "king hereafter." He also stated that their prediction had come true and
that he had been awarded the treasonous Cawdor's title since he would be assassinated for his
betrayal.
Ladywas overjoyed on receiving such good tidings and was ambitious
that her husband should become king. She was afraid, however, that he did not have the nerve to
claim the crown by foul means. She awaits his arrival so that she can encourage him to do a most
horrible deedmurder the king. On his entry, she immediately gets to work. She tells Macbeth that
she feels "the future in the instant." In other words, she can sense their glorious
future at that exact moment. It is obvious that she has already decided that they should
murderso that Macbeth can ascend to the throne in the shortest time possible.
When Macbeth tells her that Duncan is to spend the night at their castle and that he
was to leave the next day as he planned,comments:
O,
never
Shall sun that morrow see!
This is an
explicit indication of her intentDuncan shall never see the sun the next day, for he would be
dead. She then informs her husband that his countenance is too easily read and others may read
strange messages in his expression. She urges him to put on a show of friendship and
conviviality; he must "look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent
under't." She means that Macbeth must appear benign, kind and friendly, but that this must
only be an act, for he must deceive the others so that they do not suspect him of any malice.
This innocent and harmless appearance must camouflage his true nature and their purpose, which
is to assassinate the king.
It is evident from this that Lady
Macbeth is insidious and sly. She has no qualms about achieving her ambition by whatever means
possible. She states that:
He that's coming
Must
be provided for: and you shall put
This night's great business into my
dispatch;
Which shall to all our nights and days to come
Give solely sovereign
sway and masterdom.
She is referring to the fact that
Duncan has to be taken care of, not in the normal sense, but that preparations should be made
for his murder. She is so wicked that she even asks that the task of setting up the king's
assassination should be left to her. This will ensure that they rule the kingdom
alone.
True to her promise, Lady Macbeth acts the perfect hostess when King
Duncan and his party arrive. Everyone is easily deceived by her kindness and her florid and
flattering language. Macbeth follows his wife's lead and the two later manage to successfully
execute their plan without an accusatory finger being pointed at them.
The
king's sons,and , flee in fear for their own safety, which makes it easy to assume that they
were complicit in their father's untimely death. Furthermore, Macbeth has slain the king's two
unfortunate guards, who had been driven to sleep by a potion that Lady Macbeth added to their
drinks, claiming that he had been overwhelmed by rage and love for his liege when it was
discovered that they were responsible for his death.
Thus begins Macbeth's
tyranny, Lady Macbeth's descent into madness, and her husband's eventual
doom.
No comments:
Post a Comment