relationships

• Macbeth and Lady Macbeth


  • Complex characters
  • Change drastically throughout the play
  • Very different people by nature
  • Shared goals and desires unite them as a married couple
• At the beginning of Macbeth


  Their relationship is incredibly strong
• As their characters evolve under the weight of their crimes

  Their differences slowly drive them apart
• Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's uniting factor

  All-consuming ambition
• Macbeth's reaction to the witch's prophecy


  1. Receives promotion to Thane of Cawdor

  2. Fantasizes about becoming king

  3. Knows he must commit regicide
• Macbeth writes to Lady Macbeth about the prophecy


  Shows how much he values her opinion and approval
• Lady Macbeth's reaction to the prophecy


  Immediately determined to help Macbeth achieve his goal of becoming king
• Macbeth's initial hesitation


  Lady Macbeth is prepared to push him over his moral boundaries
• After the murder of King Duncan


  Macbeth openly displays remorse and fear, while Lady Macbeth keeps her composure
• As Macbeth becomes king


  He begins to keep to himself more and share less information with Lady Macbeth
• Lady Macbeth notices the change in their relationship


  Feels she is losing both her relationship and her peace of mind
• At Macbeth's celebratory banquet


  Lady Macbeth tries to manipulate Macbeth, but he is no longer as susceptible to her insults
• Towards the end of the play


  Lady Macbeth has a mental breakdown, while Macbeth becomes a cruel and bloody tyrant
• Reason for their drastic changes


  The witch's prophecies - Macbeth feels a sense of immortality, while Lady Macbeth is truly alone
• Lady Macbeth takes her own life
• Macbeth's response to Lady Macbeth's death is cold and emotionless
• Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's eventual deaths are inevitable considering the heinous nature of their crime
• The breakdown of their marriage is a painful factor in this tragic story