A Brief Analysis of the Tragedy of Characters in Macbeth

Zhengshiyue

【Abstract】Macbeth is the last of the four tragedies of Shakespeare， the play of Macbeth is a power to usurp the person， his fall is human weakness to his tragedy； his death to give people to think of Macbeth The description of the more deep Macbeth s tragic ending. Shakespeares tragic figure is a great success in portraying the characters and exploring the dark side of the human soul.

【Key words】Macbeth； Tragedy of Characters

Lady Macbeth is possessed of dual personalities in that she is not only gentle， kind， virtuous woman required by moral values of the man， but also has great intelligence and political ability. After getting the letter， Lady Macbeth knows the prediction from the witches that Macbeth is likely to be the king. So she changes so much that another herself in her awakes. At that time， the women must depend on the men and they cannot have their own stages to show their abilities， although they may have strong political abilities. Only what they can do is to achieve their dreams by their husbands. If not so， the hope will be laid on their children. Therefore， Lady Macbeth is not anxious about the terrible ambition of her husband， and she is so willing to help her husband to strengthen the evil to kill Duncan. The reason why Lady Macbeth behaves like that may be that she is so influenced by warlike thoughts and power and desire from the aristocracy. Often she witnesses despotism， rob， sinister and crafty. Her only faiths are “power is truth” and “the hero dares to do what others dare not”.

Lady Macbeth has strong will and firm character， exceeding her husband， Macbeth. At the beginning of the tragedy， Lady Macbeth behaves so strong and firm， because she knows well about her husband. The goodness of her husband in humanity leaves her husband undetermined. When she knows the weakness of her husband， Lady Macbeth hopes to make an influence on her husband with her own firmness and strong will. So when her husband returns， she starts to make herself become vicious. Lady Macbeth is good at taking chance to get glory and wealth.Macbeth： a kids cautionary tale concerning greed， power， mayhem and other current events During the process of the success， she is so determined and hardhearted and never retreats. When she hears that Duncan will visit them， Lady Macbeth has realized that this is the best chance to kill Duncan and to get the throne.

Lady Macbeth does well in being double-dealer with good understanding. She tells her husband to pretend to be good person deceiving common persons. When Macbeth is so waving to kill Duncan， Lady Macbeth starts to persuade her husband and gives him strong brace of the spirit. Eventually her words work， evoking the manliness of her husband. And her husband decides to kill Duncan. Even when Macbeth is so scared to allophasis， Lady Macbeth is still so calm and overcomes the crisis. When the ghost of Banquo appears in the banquet， Macbeth is almost scared to death. In the meanwhile， Lady Macbeth explains to the ministers what happens with lies， and she comforts her husband as well. Lady Macbeths firmness helps her husband avoid several crises. To speaking frankly， Macbeth cannot get the throne without the help of Lady Macbeth. But afterwards， when Macbeth wants to kill the family of Banquo， he doesnt tell Lady Macbeth the fact. Since then， Lady Macbeth doesnt have chance to participate in the decision of her husband. But Macbeth kills more and more persons without hesitation. All family of Macduff is killed by him. Afterwards， Macbeth does all of these murders absolutely himself. If Macbeth still talks with her wife， most probably he can be the king all the time.

The destruction of Lady Macbeth is due to her magical personality. Her magical personality gives her strong destructive power and creative power. By the analysis of Lady Macbeth， we can find that she is a dual personality. On the one hand， she is gentle woman who can take good care of her children in the house. On the hand， she has strong will， strong political ambition and firmness as a man. She is not a complete bad woman. If she can take sue of her talent on other things， Lady Macbeth will be capable woman. That is the reflect of her magical personality， which is also the glamour of the tragedy.

References：

[1]Tragedy of destinyCambridge，Mass.，Editions XVII siecle，1940.

[2]Irving Ribner，“Macbethπ：The Pattern of Idea and Action”，inShakespeare Quarterly，Vol.X.No.2，S pring，1959，pp. 147- 159 ； excerpted and reprinted in Mark W.Scott ed.， Shakespeare for Students（Detroit：G ale Research，1992），p.248.