Act One Scene Five: Character, Lady Macbeth.

Having received a letter from her husband, informing her of the predictions made by the witches, there is something inside of Lady Macbeth where sparks in her mind seem to fly. Despite the news of Macbeth’s new titles, he warns Lady Macbeth not to become “ignorant” about them, and yet immediatly after reading his note, she refers to these forthcoming titles as positions that he has been “promised”, yet of what power do these witches possess concerning titles and such, since they live in a wood, not in a castle as a King’s aide, yet Lady Macbeth, as a fellow believer in the spirits, sees these predictions as a spiritual thing. She believes that Macbeth could be a wonderful thane, both of Cawdor and Glamis, and his ambition to be King is great, but that is not all it takes to get there. She claims he lacks the “illness” that is required, or perhaps better known as the “doing anything to get what you want” quality.

A messenger then arrives informing Lady Macbeth of King Duncan’s stay with them in the evening, and that Macbeth is on his way to the castle now. Again, Lady Macbeth envisions an opportunity for a murderous plan to emerge, and what a better place than under her own roof?

Since Lady Macbeth is of a spiritual nature, she too believes in nature itself sending signs to her, as her own predictions, hence hearing the raven crow, it is a sure sign of an evil foreboding, especially on Duncan’s behalf. She then prays to her spirits, asking for them to give her strength for the evening she is planning, and for them to “unsex” her there. This could be taken in two senses. The first that she wishes for her womanly nature to be removed, so her more masculine side can take over, giving her strength to kill a man. Or for the spirits to take away any sexuality, creating a form of soulless spirit, so that after becoming a murderer, she is unable to be emotional, or have “remorse”. She wants the night to be blacker than ever before, so that the Heavens are unable to see the deed she will do, and cannot tell her to stop, or see the damage.

Macbeth then enters to hear his wife praising his new titles, and also explain to her husband that his news had not made her ignorant to the situation, but see a clear passage that they both need to take. The plans she has for her husband create a clash in his personality, since he should greet the King in the most kindly of manner, with a gentle tongue, and shaking of eth hands, and yet use this as a disguise. She wishes for him to be like a serpent, which in the context Shakespeare had written this, was clearly an animal associated with trickery, lies, and deceit since it was this animal that aided toward the end of the Garden of Eden. For a woman also to suggest such ideas, could also relate to this, as it was Eve that convinced Adam to take a bite of the fruit also. The actual plans on how they will physically kill Duncan is a job that Lady Macbeth wishes all for herself, and for a woman to get a strange pleasure from this, is rather sickening, perhaps it is from this point we can see her soul fill with “direst cruelty”. This is where they exit saying the matter will be spoken of later.