WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S MACBETH: How does Lady Macbeth persuade Macbeth to murder Duncan?

How does Lady Macbeth persuade Macbeth to murder Duncan?

Lady Macbeth is adamant to become queen after she reads the letter that Macbeth sent to her about his unusual meeting with the witches. The letter also declares Macbeth’s promotion as the Thane of Cawdor. Lady Macbeth then delivers a vicious soliloquy that amplifies her strength and will to murder Duncan which completely overshadows Macbeth’s will to do the same.

Before Macbeth returns home, Lady Macbeth criticizes Macbeth’s flaws and feels that he will not kill the king. In Act 1 Scene 5, she says “ Yet do I fear thy nature, it is too full o’th’ milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way.” This shows that she thinks Macbeth is too noble to carry out the murder. She is afraid that Macbeth’s kind nature will threaten their chance of gaining power and achieving their goals. She plots ways to convince her husband to murder Duncan.

Firstly, she uses the form of flattery. She calls him, “Great Glamis, Worthy Cawdor, Greater than both by all hail hereafter.” Macbeth is convinced because usually wives do not address them by their titles. Lady Macbeth is manipulative and tries to increase self-pride so that he would do as she commands. She also tells him on what he could achieve once he becomes king. She tries to boost his confidence so that the plan to murder King Duncan can be executed. She agrees to take on most of the work by saying, “Leave all the rest to me.” She is afraid of giving Macbeth too much work least he spills the beans.

When Macbeth declares that he has changed hi mined to kill Duncan, Lady Macbeth is enraged. She calls him a coward and disgraces his manhood. She retorts, “When you durst do it, then you were a man” (Act 1 scene 7). She also compares his willingness to carry through the plan of murder with his ability to carry out a sexual act. “Was hope drunk where you dressed yourself……such I account thy love.” She is using aggressive rhetorical questioning and compares his commitment to the measure of his love for her. In this way, she makes Macbeth guilty.

Lady Macbeth tries to conceive n image of a mother murdering her innocent child ad contrast it as a reminder of his duties as a husband. She says,” Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you have done to this.” It is clear that lady Macbeth’s affections are conditional and unless Macbeth gives in to her, she will continue to question his role as a protector and husband. Lastly, when Macbeth is worried of failure, she promises him that they would be successful as long as they are confident, bold and strong.

 Lady Macbeth is stronger, cold-blooded and more ambitious than her husband, Macbeth. At one point she wishes that she were a woman so that she could execute the plan herself. Even so her husband implies that she is a masculine soul in a female body, undaunted and with remarkable strength of will.

JEKYLL AND HYDE- WHO IS THE REAL MONSTER?

In The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson brings to life one of the most compelling and original monsters ever written.

The obvious monster is Mr Hyde: the snarling, feral mass of murderous impulses. First, Hyde beats up a little girl. Later, he stamps an kindly white-haired old man to death - and enjoys it. Hyde is the creation or alter ego of an eminent doctor. When Jekyll takes the potion, he is transformed, out of himself into Hyde - unrecognisable.

We meet the eminent Dr Jekyll, cowering in darkness, haunted, and feel sorry for him. But he is the real monster. Hyde's body is his body; Hyde's nature is his nature, and is his own creation. Dr Jekyll is a man who craves respectability at any price.

In order to preserve his respectability, and indulge his darkest desires, Dr Jekyll works on a compound that will transform him - separate his good and bad natures, and let it loose. It’s an addiction. Though Jekyll is appalled, he always needs one more hit. He enjoys the transformation, enjoys the power, enjoys the feeling of keeping CLEAN. With his alter-ego, Jekyll enjoys rolling in the dirt.

It's like the question: if a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound? If we do mean, cruel, disgusting things, does it matter if no-one finds out? Various experiments have proved that in darkened rooms, more people will cheat for a financial gain. Under cover of darkness, when we think that we can't be seen, we lose our inhibitions. More crimes are committed under cover of darkness than in daylight.

Respectability and social pressures of the Victorian era are hard for us to understand today. We can easily understand that it’s not okay to beat small children and kindly old men. But what’s harder is to feel the social pressures that Stevenson was working in. In some ways, this morality tale is too sharply cut: none of us want to beat old men, or small children - hopefully.But we face temptations on a daily basis. 

In real life, the moral universe is rarely as clear-cut as respectable doctors vs murderers. It’s about the subtle slide into the pit and the fact that often, there’s something to enjoy on the way down. If there weren't something in it for us, we wouldn’t go there in the first place.

Earlier drafts of the novel have a different slant: Jekyll’s secret crime is not murder, it’s homosexuality, and the psychological damage is not the consciousness of evil, but the damage of a torn nature. Society condemned homosexuality, and it had to be hidden. Ultimately, Stevenson abandoned this element - as too dangerous, too hot to handle. But it lies, still at the heart of the novel, making it hard to pin down whether Stevenson meant us to condemn social judgement, or condemn the person who thinks they can indulge animalistic urges as long as no one is looking.

courtesy:

http://englishtutorhome2.blogspot.com/search/label/Jekyll%20and%20Hyde

THE ROLE OF FATE IN WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S " ROMEO AND JULIET"

Some people may not believe that fate is something that truthfully exists in the world. This portion of the population doubts that there is anything that is actually meant to be or supposed to happen thinking that there is always a way around troubling predicaments, knowing that it isn't necessary to turn out just one certain way. They trust that whatever occurs in their lives comes as a result of the decisions that they make with their own free will. Others, however, believe that whatever happens during the course of their lives is inevitable and every event predestined and laid out before them like a roadmap to life; in other words, fate. William Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet has fate as an exceptionally crucial force, pulling the characters into a more animated state. Because of fate, the play becomes tremendously thrilling and it is exactly what manages the two young lovers to meet each other in the first place. The moment that Romeo and Juliet meet is the exact incident that leads to their death, however unaware these "star-crossed lovers" are to that fact. Thus, fate is undoubtedly the most responsible influence for the couple's heartbreaking tragedy.  

    It is not merely a coincidence that Romeo and Juliet meet in the first place. A serving man comes across Romeo and Benvolio in the first act, unaware that they are Montagues, and informs them about the Capulet party: "My master is the great rich Capulet, and, if you be not / of the house of Montagues, I pray come and crush a / cup of wine" (I ii, 86-88). It is by fate that Romeo and Benvolio run into the Capulet serving man and discover the party. It is not just a simple ACCIDENT that the serving man tells the two cousins about the party at which Romeo is destined, yet unaware, that he will meet his love. Furthermore, before Romeo attends the Capulet party, he says, "Some consequence yet hanging in the stars / shall bitterly begin this fearful date" (I iv, 114-115). Romeo already predicts what the fates have in store as he says something bad might transpire if he dares to show up at the party, where he will meet Juliet. It is fate that they meet because Romeo says it himself. The final deaths of them both (Romeo and Juliet) is the "consequence" that he is talking about and the bitterness that starts the pathway to their ultimate tragedy is their first encounter, since they are supposed to be opposing enemies. For these reasons, Romeo and Juliet's first meeting is compulsory and sure to happen, fate being the most powerful force at work, determining their future. 

     Though they are the offspring of two families who have held a grudge over each other since antiquity, Romeo and Juliet are doomed to be in love. When Romeo discovers who Juliet is, he says to himself, "O dear account! My life is my foe's DEBT" (I v, 132). Despite the fact that they were born into feuding families, Romeo can't help but love Juliet because he already loves her before he discovers her true identity as a Capulet. Thereupon, it is fated that he loves Juliet even if it is forbidden. Moreover, when Juliet finds out from the nurse that Romeo is a Montague, she says, "My love sprung from my only hate! / Too early seen unknown, and known too late! / Prodigious birth of love it is to me / That I must love a loathed enemy" (I v, 152-155). Since Juliet could not see beforehand that Romeo is an enemy, by fate, she begins to love him unconditionally. However, when she finds that her true love is also her true nemesis, it is too late for her to hate Romeo. Unfortunately, she has already been sucked in my love's overpowering gravity-like pull, which cripples her chances of defeating her true destiny of being in love with Romeo. 

  It is also a result of fate that flaws agonize Friar Lawrence's plan which eventually leads to Romeo and Juliet's utmost and dire demise. For example, instead of knowing about what the friar has in mind, Romeo is informed by Balthasar about Juliet's "death": "Her body sleeps in Capel's monument, / And her immortal part with angels lives" (V I, 19-20). Though it seems like an honest ACCIDENT that Balthasar is the one to tell Romeo about the turn of events, it is more likely that fate holds a much greater influence. By fate, Balthasar comes to Romeo and tells him what he believes to be true, but the piece of information he offers is a cause of the tragedy. Friar Lawrence's plan is also ruined because Friar John is unable to deliver the message to Romeo: "I could not send it (here it is again) / Nor get a messenger to bring it thee, / So fearful were they of infection" (V iii, 14-16). Because Friar Lawrence's message is crucial to the plan he devises, the fact that it is never sent creates a major rupture that can turn out to be quite deadly. Romeo, not knowing that Juliet isn't officially dead, makes a big mistake, because he is oblivious, that leads himself and Juliet toward their impending doom. The fate put over the friar's plan leaves Romeo a desire to die, which destines Juliet and himself to their conclusive fate: death. 

    Taking into consideration that Romeo and Juliet are predetermined to meet, love and die together, fate is clearly the dominant force for the most part of the play.