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Amy Green
Clark
ELA 10H P.2
14 November 2016

Before and After a Murder

Author Gary W. Goldstein once stated, All you can change is yourself, but sometimes
that changes everything! Meaning, one person can change the world, let alone a country,
through both evil and good deeds. This theme in Macbeth is develops throughout the play in
many various forms, but especially in the main characters; namely Macbeth and his wife, Lady
Macbeth. Macbeth Shakespeares story of the Macbeth family gaining and losing the throne of
Scotland through murder, most of the deaths resulting from the choices and orders of the couple.
Over the course of the story, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth slowly but surely change their roles
and by the end of the play we see something different in both of the characters. Their reactions to
nearly everything is stemmed from various emotions that the other is not feeling. Lady Macbeth
and Macbeth have very different reactions to their manycrimes in the beginning and at the end of
the play the two display how much -or how little- they have changed.
First of all, the weight of killing Duncan at the beginning of the play contrasts the
couples personalities. Macbeth feels this straight after he slaughters the king, Duncan, which he
laments to Lady Macbeth as he trembles in shock: ...Will all great Neptunes ocean wash this
blood/ Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather/ The multitudinous seas incarnadine/
Making the green one red (II, II, 78-81). Since water is a symbol of cleansing in this play, by
discussing how not even the maximum amount of water the earth can offer can wash the blood
off of his hands Macbeth is saying he will never be forgiven by anyone, including himself

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because the stain will always be there for everyone to see. He shows that he is very sensitive and
that killing his boss has traumatized him beyond repair and that killing other people is the only
way to cover his actions since he cant wash his hands clean.
Lady Macbeth, however, doesnt show any sort of remorse and handles the crime
casually. Having to witness Duncans assumably mutilated body to complete the plan of the
murder of Duncan and the framing of his guards, Lady Macbeth returns to her shaken up
husband and says, ...A little water clears us of this deed./ How easy it is, then! (II, II, 86-87).
Lady Macbeth displays for us how little she cares about her former king of whom she plotted to
kill, so long as she is queen since she has not been in a direct relation with him, unlike her
husband who is a soldier conditioned to protect his king. And again, water is symbolic of
purification of sins, where she has no relations, Lady Macbeth doesnt need to worry about a
relationship pressing guilt upon her. She also gives us an image of an absolutely heartless woman
who is capable of shameless murder of her friends. Because of the their opposing reactions, we
see Macbeth as a good guy that has made a bad decision and his spouse as both cold hearted and
evil.
Furthermore, the two showcase how far they have come from themselves at the beginning
of the play by their continual dual personalities. Lady Macbeth is shown sleepwalking in the eyes
of both a doctor and one of her maids. Instead of being remorseful, she is more annoyed in her
sleep than anything as she speaks to what she thinks is her pillow: Out, damned spot, out, I say!
.. Fie, my/ lord, fie, a soldier and afeard? What need we fear/ who knows it, when none can call
our power to/ account? (V, I, 37-41). The queen is letting out her frustrations by verbal means
and growling at her hand, which she thinks is covered in blood. This quote reinforces our notion
that this woman has little shame because even now she is not apologizing for her sin, but

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insulting her husband by calling him afraid, making it obvious the woman has not changed only
enough to understand she and her partner have done something terribly wrong and immoral and
that she doesnt want the death of many people on her hands any longer. Macbeth, however,
takes a different persona the next time we see him, preparing for war and talking to his seyton the
man who helps the king into his armor,) when a cry is heard. The king tiredly asks what all the
commotion is about and after receiving the news his beloved is dead grumbles, She should have
died hereafter (V, V, 20). This answer, void of all emotion, reveals his transformation from a
man anguished by murdering his king to one who feels nothing for anyone who dies. This
sudden transformation makes the reader nostalgic and pitiful towards the newly broken main
character, who has transformed from beloved war hero to a criminal. Due to what we see both
characters do nearing the close of the story, we become aware how minimally Lady Macbeth
changes and how Macbeth has become an entirely new person.
Critics may say that Macbeth already has dark intentions before the reader or viewer
meets him in this story. However, the first few scenes are dedicated to Macbeths loyalty and
victories for King Duncan. And even though he does think about doing such things, he shakes the
thoughts off and only after does Lady Macbeth convince him to kill Duncan and become king,
not his own conscious choice, that pushes the thane to commit the crime that would make him
king .

Works Cited
Shakespeare, Macbeth, Folger Edition, 1992. Book.