2005, Form B. One
of the strongest human drives seems to be a desire for power. Write an essay in
which you discuss how a character in a novel or a drama struggles to free
himself or herself from the power of others or seeks to gain power over others.
Be sure to demonstrate in your essay how the author uses this power struggle to
enhance the meaning of the work.
The desire for power and control has motivated humanity since recorded history where men and women rally for power between each other. This reoccuring phenomenon shows itself in the play MacBeth by William Shakespeare, where Lady MacBeth seeks to gain power through MacBeth. Shakespeare uses detail and imagery to create a character who is willing to do anything to gain power and through her search to gain control, Shakespeare ultimately uses Lady MachBeth's character to show the consequences of guilt and the subconsciousness as well as the ability in woman that is hindered by the patriarchal society.
Lady MacBeth is the wife to MacBeth, a wealthy general who has recently seen many victories in battle. He then meets three witches that predict he will be King of Scotland, thereby instigating that he must murder Duncan, the current king, to do so. MacBeth is first reluctant to kill for power but is motivated and manipulated by Lady MacBeth who puts his manhood at stake for not being headstrong at getting what he wants. After killing the king and the father of future kings, both MacBeth and Lady Macbeth slide into insanity and paranoia. In the end, Lady MacBeth kills herself and MacBeth is beheaded by his rival, Macduff and all peace is restored.
Lady Macbeth is well aware of her gender and its status during her time period, one which is seen as a lesser and more subordinate to men. She uses MacBeth is gain more power since it is the only way she can. When MacBeth hesitates to kill King Duncan, she uses her cunningly challenges MacBeth's manhood, forcing him to kill the king to prove himself.From this detail, the reader can conclude that Lady MacBeth is willing to do anything to gain power for herself and her husband, motivating him to kill the King, calming him afterwards and even saying that if she were a man, she would have done so too in order to gain the throne. This relevation is even further exploited and consecrated when Lady MacBeth again keeps MacBeth's composure when he sees Banquo's ghost.
Shakespeare also uses imagery to describe Lady MacBeth's struggle for power and its consequences. Shortly after killing the King and Banquo, Lady MacBeth begins to sleepwalk. During her fits of sleepwalk, she talks incessantly about her bloodstain hands, describing the scene in which one can cover up even with the finest silks of Arabia. This is the turning point in Lady MacBeth's character, as much need as she felt to gain power for herself, she also feels a great deal of guilt for causing the deaths of now more than several people, including innocent women and children.
Through all of this, Shakespeare uses Lady MacBeth as a conflicted character, striving for power, manipulating to get it and then having her consciousnesses turn on her.
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Arrggg. I ended up not finishing because of the time constraints, which is sad since the conclusion is my strong point on character essays. :(
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Arrggg. I ended up not finishing because of the time constraints, which is sad since the conclusion is my strong point on character essays. :(
Your essay was outstanding. I am impressed by the effective flow of each paragraph and how your topic sentences always seem to correlate with the essay overall. I would suggest textual evidence every now and then, if possible, because I am not quite sure if it is mandatory in this case since your essay is based on actions and not dialogue. You may want to clarify that with her. I enjoyed your discrete explanations for Lady MacBeth's struggle for power, and how you even explained her downfall towards the end of the last body paragraph.
ReplyDeleteYour explanation was quite in depth, but perhaps if you don't want to run out of time, you could leave out some of the plot summary information. I would try to include more quotes and specifically state what DIDLS technique you are referring to. Also, even if you are paraphrasing a specific piece of the play, you need to cite your source. Do you see any similarities between Mommy and Lady Macbeth? I certainly do!
ReplyDeleteThis is reasonably good. I think some of your other essays were a little better ( which is good because this is the last one I am grading and thus you have improved). I think that most of your details are good and clear. I would also reflect a little more on Lady Macbeth's role in society and how that reflects her society or class.
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