Macbeth Is Noted by Many

Macbeth is noted by many Shakespearean scholars to be his greatest triumph, because it is a study in the nature of human beings and their relationships with each other. As Macbeth, begins, both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth desire to seize the throne, although the bolder Lady Macbeth acknowledges and encourages the idea more than her husband does. Together the Macbeths obtain the position as king and queen, but the short success eventually turns into disaster as their interests and roles change, with Lady Macbeth deteriorating into weakness and Macbeth growing more aggressive. The peculiar divergence from the Macbeths' original state results from Macbeth's dangerous ambition and overconfidence taking over his actions, which Lady Macbeth has no power to control.

The evident shift of power from Lady Macbeth to Macbeth himself, results from the changing medium of power within the play. The evident shift of power from Lady Macbeth to Macbeth himself, results from the changing medium of power. While Lady Macbeth weakens because she relies on subtle manipulation to maintain power, Macbeth on the other hand becomes more dominant as the play progresses because he commands brute force and physical violence.

The ultimate and prophetic decision to kill the King was the inevitable result of Lady Macbeth's careful manipulation. Macbeth himself had many personal qualms with committing such an act. When he originally hears the prophecy that he will become King of Scotland, he explains, "my thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, / shakes so my single state of man" (1.3.52-53). This passage reveals both the subtle and overt dangers and challenges in killing Kind Duncan. Macbeth is a general within Duncan's army, although he possesses great personal ambition, his training and military discipline creates a psychological block against treason. As Macbeth fights in battles to protect not only Duncan's land but also his life, he creates a leader-follower mentality that directly results from his loyalty to Duncan. Another major impediment to such an action is Duncan himself. Macbeth reveals that he has no bereavement with Duncan whatsoever, in fact, Macbeth reveals that he deeply admires Duncan and feels that the king has treated him with generosity and trust. This is evidenced by his title of the Thane of Cawdor, a title of nobility that Duncan personality gives to Macbeth for his bravery and success in battle. The combination of both these two above factors creates a difficult position for Macbeth. The only personal reason to kill Duncan is to satiate his own personal ambition, thus making his motives driven by greed and envy rather than any nobler cause. Since Macbeth is known not only as a courageous and honorable general, but also a personal confidant to the king, he stands to lose much in terms of both respect and pride in attempting to kill Duncan. All of these factors leads to an inability to act on Macbeth's part and ultimately is the reason that Lady Macbeth exerts so much influence within the early stages of the play.

Lady Macbeth is unrestrained by the same responsibilities and psychological barriers to disloyalty that Macbeth possesses. Therefore, she has a much greater impetus to provoke Macbeth into killing Duncan. The key difference in why Lady Macbeth is extremely strong within the first part of the play is that she has an upper hand in two crucial areas. She has a stronger resolve and mental commitment to the cause of killing the king, and secondly, she also has the ability to use subtle manipulation to convince her husband to act. Lady Macbeth, unlike her warrior husband, is much more subtle and thus much cleverer. She is unclouded by the issues of personal pride that tempers Macbeth's ambitions to become king, but rather she wants the throne for Macbeth precisely because it would grant her more personal power as well. Having this clear purpose in mind gives her the confidence to act that Macbeth does not have. For her, Duncan's death is a "black and white" issue, not confused by moral and social qualms. It is because she has such a clear black and white picture of this issue, that she has the greater resolve and thus more strength in the commitment to kill King Duncan.

The deed of killing a King however is not easily accomplished. Lady Macbeth's principle weapon in this case is her deft manipulation of Macbeth. Since she does not want to bloody her own hand, nor has the ability to seize the throne by her own right, her strategy is to coerce her husband to do the deed for her. Lady Macbeth artfully uses the tactic of challenging Macbeth's masculinity as the catalyst to successfully killing Duncan. It is evident with the chaotic and violent era of Macbeth's Scotland that masculinity is measured through brutality, violence and aggression. These qualities that are so prized in warriors are the measuring stick of manhood. Macbeth artfully manipulates her husband by provoking his own manhood, challenging him to do such a deed in order to prove his own masculine worth. The artful manner in which she refutes all of Macbeth's rebuffs and doubts shows that she is both clever and ambitious. Lady Macbeth plays on Macbeth's psychological impediments against killing Duncan and exposes them to him as a weakness. She shows Macbeth that his inability to kill Duncan reveals that he is in fact enslaved to him. This tactic works beautifully as Macbeth finally concedes, "I am settled and bend up / each corporal agent to this terrible feat" (1.7.92-93). It is upon this final concession from Macbeth that we see the real strength of Lady Macbeth, her ability to use her wits to manipulate her husband's actions.

Upon Duncan's death however, the balance of power within the Macbeths' relationship changes dramatically. Upon ascension to the throne, Macbeth now takes on the position of ultimate masculinity. As king, he takes on the position of "alpha-male" among all the nobility of Scotland. The affect of his transformation into king is profound on both his personality and his position of power within his relationship with his wife. Macbeth sees his own position as a usurper, not only is this result of his guilty conscience, manifested in the appearance of Banquo's ghost, but also because of the witches' prophesy. Therefore, although he has attained the status of ultimate masculinity that he so craved, he constantly seeks to defend this position from outsiders. This mentality is ultimately what shifts the balance of power from Lady Macbeth to Macbeth himself. Lady Macbeth's power is subtle and takes on the form of persuasion and manipulation rather than brutality. Through the act of killing the king, Macbeth has turned their untied power play into a game of violence. This it is far outside of Lady Macbeth's comfort zone, because it allowed Macbeth to gain too much confidence in him. Now that he has this retained confidence, he does not so readily consult his wife, and thus Lady Macbeth loses her former influence with her husband. Their power struggle is the inevitable result of a changing vision between the couple. While Lady Macbeth sees this opportunity as a way to secure their power over Scotland through careful diplomacy and subtle observance of social etiquette, Macbeth takes the view of kingship as a war against attrition. While before the death of Duncan, both these two had a united vision of gaining the throne, they are now split at an ideological level on how to maintain and expand their power. It is because of this difference that Macbeth now assumes almost total control over his authority without consultation with his wife.