Lady Macbeth Character Analysis:

In Act 1, Scene 6 of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth reveals her dark side to the audience for the first time. In the previous scene (Act 1 Scene 5) Lady Macbeth reads Macbeth’s letter about his greeting with the witches and their strange prophecies of himself becoming King and Thane of Cawdor.

Lady Macbeth (alone) conveys her thoughts about her husband Macbeth being more cowardly than courageous. She believes that Macbeth doesn’t have the ambition to take action and claim the titles the witches prophesied. She says Macbeth is ‘Too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness.’

Once Lady Macbeth has finished dragging her husbands name she calls on the spirits to ‘unsex’ her, meaning to take away her femininity so that she – herself could complete the task of murdering the current King Duncan. Further on in the scene Macbeth arrives at the castle and his wife Lady Macbeth tells him of her plan to kill Duncan and to leave it in her hands.

• Sammie Traynor