Seen as the other motivator of Macbeth's ambition to usurp the crown
Relentlessly criticises Macbeth's actions and lack of masculinity
Her attitude arguably leads Macbeth to kill Duncan
Lady Macbeth's ambition
Contributes to her own insanity and she eventually commits suicide
Lady Macbeth's reaction to the Witches' prophecies
Her mind immediately jumps to murder
Lady Macbeth
Has both the ambition and the confidence to act on her desires
Doubts her husband's capacities to do so
Lady Macbeth: '"Yet I do fear thy nature; // It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness // To catch the nearest way. // Thou wouldst be great, // Art not without ambition, but without // The illness should attend it."'
This is one of Lady Macbeth's most famous quotes, and she says it in Act One, Scene Five, when we are first introduced to her
Shakespeare may have chosen to have her say these words when she is first introduced to the audience in order to foreground the fact that Lady Macbeth's defining trait is her ambition
In contrast, we are introduced to Macbeth when he is in battle, which might have suggested to Jacobean audiences that he is brave and noble (at least superficially or initially so)
Lady Macbeth
Can be seen as the ultimate catalyst for the plot, spurring her husband to commit murder
According to Lady Macbeth
You can only act on your ambitions and achieve greatness when you sacrifice or ignore your moral compass
According to Lady Macbeth
Macbeth is "too full o' th' milk of human kindness // To catch the nearest way" or, in other words, do what (supposedly) needs to be done
Evil
Equated with "illness" in this quote
According to Lady Macbeth
Pursuing one's ambitions generally necessitates doing evil deeds; evil and ambition are intimately linked
