lady macbeth as powerful

intro

shakespeare presents LM primarily as a strong and powerful woman but contrasts that with subte juxtapositions that undermine her supposed power, perhaps hinting at her later demise

through dialogue

she speaks in iambic pentameter - a sophisticated metric that is representative of the higher classes of Macbeth

* lowly constructs like the porter using prose to symbolise a lack of power
* immediately shows her power in society as she is given the more developed and intelligent form to show her power in society as the wife of a thane.

Alternatively, at times her language devolves into almost chanting, alluding to the spell casting of the witches, therefore suggesting she has a form of mystical power

* has the ability to unnerve the audience - making her powerful
* witch context

soliloquy

shakespeare develops this by giving lady macbeth the soliloquy as it consildates her as a powerful woman

* in jacobean times there was a great inequality between men and woman, it was seen as unusual for women to be allotted power for their voices to be heard
* her numerous soliloquies implies her power that shakespeare gives her

violence

we see lady macbeths bravery and power from the violent and shoking imagery used throughout the extract, she is speaking about regicide, unthinkable for a contemporary audience (especially a woman)

* coupled with talking of killing baby “cruelty”, “blood” “murdering”
* would subvert the audiences prejudiced view of women
* \

witchcraft and blasphemy

shakespeare implies that lady m can command the “thick night” and resultantly block out “heaven”, turning her back on god

* her being able to control the night connotes the evil of witchcraft (king james and daemonologie)
* she would command the “thick night” so that “heaven” could not “peep through the blanket of the dark” (RELIGIOUS IMAGERY + SIN)
* powerful enough to shut out “heaven” (godlike

relationship with macbeth

* equal dynamic between the two of them
* “when you durst do it then you were a man” - suggests a great level of power to mock “great” and “worthy” and “brave” macbeth (patriarchal standards)
* spurs him to murder

unsex me here

although her power is undermined by her soliloquy suggesting that she wants to “unsex” herself and block the passage to “remorse”

* must have her “milk” exchanged for “gall”
* suggesting she is not powerful in her current form as a woman as she is limited by societal bounds

structurally

doesnt enter until late ish in the play

and dies early

no significant power to plot

conclusion

does portray LM as powerful however occassionaly undermines this assertion, hinting to her eventual descent to madness