Can someone help me with marking? GCSE AQA English Literature

MH - yr10
In the archetypal play ‘Macbeth’, Lady Macbeth is portrayed as a pivotal standpoint, changing from an ‘innocent flower’ to a ‘fiend-like queen’, depicting the impact of her thirst for power, eventually leading to the heinous crime of regicide. Shakespeare portrays her pivot from the typical woman to an abhorred, resented outcast and misalignment from society to portray the impact of one’s ‘vaulting ambition’ and to condemn women who step out of their role in society.

Shakespeare initially portrays Lady Macbeth as a typical woman at the start of the play, similar to any other housewife in the Jacobean era. Lady Macbeth is portrayed as Macbeth's 'dearest love’, where the term ‘dearest' serves to convey Macbeth's love and affection for her. The superlative depicts Macbeth's love for her, typical in a common Jacobean relationship. However, Shakespeare may also portray their relationship as unnatural and atypical to a common relationship at the time through Shakespeare employing Lady Macbeth as Macbeth's ‘partner in greatness'. The term partner symbolises Lady Macbeth’s equality to Macbeth in the relationship, as women were seen as below men in the Jacobean hierarchy, also known as the Great Chain of being. This deploys Lady Macbeth as straying away from her natural order, and this ultimately leads her to become a catalyst of Macbeth’s heinous crime – regicide. Thus, Shakespeare may perhaps condemn women who step out of their natural role in society. Shakespeare portrays their relationship to become slightly unnatural to deploy the idea that disobeying God’s will and the Great Chain of Being can cause drastic consequences, as exemplified through Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, who traded away their ‘eternal jewel’, thus warning the audience of defying God. Shakespeare initially portrays Lady Macbeth as a typical housewife, but may perhaps portray her as slightly misaligning to a typical wife to foreshadow her resentful deed – regicide.

Shakespeare uses the regicide of king Duncan as a pivot to induce Lady Macbeth’s transformation from an ‘innocent flower’ to a Machiavellian, deceitful woman. Shakespeare employs Lady Macbeth as authoritative and similar to the supernatural, as she is portrayed to welcome Duncan to ‘my battlements’. The term ‘my’ symbolises a sense of authority, overshadowing Macbeth in the relationship. This shocks a Jacobean audience, as women were rarely seen as equal to their partners, let alone hold authority above them. This portrays Lady Macbeth as a changing character, pushed by her thirst for ambition. Lady Macbeth is also seen as similar to the three witches. She uses the metaphysical aid, where she asks the ‘dire spirits’ to ‘unsex her here’ and fill her ‘from the toe to the top of direst cruelty’. Shakespeare uses the term ‘cruelty’ to indicate her embracement of her dark, evil side. This further deploys the impact one’s ‘vaulting ambition’ can have on them. The semantic field of supernatural imagery would greatly misalign with the Jacobean expectations at the time, where she was expected to do chores and housework. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth perceives Macbeth as ‘too full of the milk of human kindness’. ‘Milk’ is typically used as a symbol of kindness and fertility, particularly viewed and associated with women, and Lady Macbeth acknowledging the lack of ‘milk’ needed for regicide portrays her as embracing the inhumane and supernatural features, and subverting gender expectations. This encourages the reader to fear and resent the supernatural and Lady Macbeth’s actions, as James I expressed his dislike for the supernatural through the book ‘Demonology’. Shakespeare portrays Lady Macbeth as similar to the supernatural and portrays her as authoritative to demonstrate her pivot from good to evil as a result of her ‘vaulting ambition’.

Shakespeare then portrays Lady Macbeth as far from God and too ‘wade[d] in blood’ Shakespeare portrays her as a person who has strayed away from God due to her abhorred action – regicide. This is exemplified through Lady Macbeth saying ‘out damned spot’. This highlights and employs Lady Macbeth as being metaphorically stained with Duncan’s blood. The term ‘damned’ illustrates how Lady Macbeth is forever spiritually cursed by God as a result of her actions, encouraging the readers to stay away from regicide. The term ‘out’ can reiterate her authoritative tone, as the imperative word ‘out’ symbolises her command, and could demonstrate her authority over Macbeth, even after being terminally ill. Shakespeare denotes her as sleepwalking, metaphorically symbolising her association to the ‘wicked’ and supernatural as sleepwalking was only experienced by those who had defied god, according to the contemporary audience. However, Shakespeare may perhaps depict Lady Macbeth as regretful and remorseful for her actions. She says ‘All of the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand’. This conveys a sense of regret, and a desire to ‘sweeten’ the ‘little hand’. By saying ‘sweeten’ instead of simply asking for the metaphorical blood to go away, Shakespeare may perhaps portray Lady Macbeth as acknowledging she is forever metaphorically stained with Duncan’s blood, and the weight of her guilt. This evokes a sense of sympathy from the reader, as Lady Macbeth and Macbeth were not portrayed as evil throughout the play, however driven by their ‘vaulting ambition’, hence making the tale of Macbeth a tragedy. This portrays the devastating effects of regicide, and how it can affect a person, as exemplified through Lady Macbeth. Shakespeare employs Lady Macbeth as a character who is strayed away from God, portraying the effects of regicide.

Shakespeare portrays Lady Macbeth as a woman who was driven by her desires, misaligning from her society to change from good to evil, ultimately portraying the effects of the thirst for power and the effect of ‘vaulting ambition’. From an innocent, typical woman to a ‘fiend-like queen’, Lady Macbeth serves as a warning of the act of regicide to a Jacobean audience.