Sunday, October 20, 2013
Cruelty/Macbeth
"And fill me from the crown to the toe, top full of the direst cruelty"(Macbeth/Shakespeare Lines 42-43). This line in Shakespeare's Macbeth said by Lady Macbeth is of great significance. This statement shows how even though Lady Macbeth felt that her husband was too nice and kindhearted to commit such a crime such as killing the king, she was not. However, this still shows that even Lady Macbeth is aware that it takes a cruel, almost heartless person to kill a perfectly innocent man like the king. The significance of this is so great because it sort of shows Shakespeare's view on things such as killing. Only a truly, purely cruel person like the sort that Lady Macbeth says she wants to be would be able to commit this crime with no remorse. Also, someone of this same level of cruelty in their body would be able to kill a perfectly innocent person for their own gain. This too also shows greed. Macbeth had already been promoted to the Thane of Cawdor which was a big accomplishment for him, but for his wife it seems that was not enough. The thoughts and strong considerations of her killing the king for her and her husband formed almost immediately after the promotion. Macbeth on the other hand, was beginning to consider it but his good virtues prohibited him from acting upon it and it seemed that he was fairly content with where his current position was. To be filled from the crown to the toe would be to fill one's entire body in every section with cruelness and evil. For one to want to be royal this badly is very significant in the play of Macbeth.
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I found your blogpost to be insightful. I hadn't thought about whether or not Lady Macbeth went for the king because she wasn't satisfied with the title of Thane for her husband. I start to believe that Lady Macbeth is only concerned with her own plan/decisions, and not one's for her husband. What if she did think for the both of them? Do you think their love will last?
ReplyDeleteThe contrast between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth was written well. It shows that Macbeth's virtues and morals are completely different than Lady Macbeth's. One thing that amazes me is how much power Lady Macbeth had over Macbeth, and how she was able to convince him, as if she put some sort of spell on him. Do you think Macbeth will ever realize maybe how badly influenced he is by his wife?
ReplyDeleteLady Macbeth is certainly the center of evil so far in the play, and her ideas have definitely influenced Macbeth so far. But is he really as pure as we might think? He does plan to kill Duncan, but is that from his own thought process or from his wife's negative influence?
ReplyDeleteI like the fact that you say that Lady Macbeth acknowledges that what she is doing is pure evil. It takes some sort of mystic power to overcome the feelings of guilt.
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