Lady Macbeth and Other Female Characters

Seminar paper from the year 2001 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 2,3, RWTH Aachen University (Institut fur Anglistik an der RWTH Aachen), course: King Lear and Macbeth, language: English, abstract: William Shakespeare's Macbeth is a play where the evil is of high importance. Macbeth, the central character, is drawn to sinister forces right from the beginning. The tragedy starts with three witches who plan to "e;[...] meet with Macbeth."e; (1.1.7) It is evident that this will lead to devastation and grief. Macbeth was actually the first play to introduce witchcraft to the stage; however, witchcraft was not considered as pure fiction since the belief in the existence of witches was widely spread in Shakespeare's time. But it is not only the witches who represent the evil. Macbeth's own wife, Lady Macbeth, contributes to the actions of Macbeth and as a result from that to his and her own (rise and) fall. Still there are some open questions. Critics discussed if it were really the witches who corrupted Macbeth or if he himself brought his demise about. Is Lady Macbeth the actual culprit or Macbeth? Has he to bear responsibility alone? However, it is also clear that without the help of the witches or Lady Macbeth he probably would not have committed the murder of Duncan. In this paper I would like to pay attention especially to these questions as well as to the female characters in general. In connection with Lady Macbeth s character I will focus on her functions within the play and for Macbeth and on how her evil nature is presented. Further I will concentrate on the description of the witches and their line of action . I will also try to point out some of the positive features of the female characters.