... causing her ultimate deterioration. To begin, Lady Macbeth's insistence that blood can be effortlessly distilled provokes the beginning of her downfall. Early on, Lady Macbeth acts as the mind and the will in plotting an assassination attempt, thirsting for the power that she could achieve if the attempt was successful. Furthermore, she manipulates her tentative husband, Macbeth, to murder the Scottish king, Duncan, by redundantly questioning ... what he has done. He is only barely clinging on to sanity when Lady Macbeth continues to influence him, declaring, "A little water clears us of...

• Word Count: 886
• Approx Pages: 4

... Shakespeare's time, we would overlook the underlying message embedded in such characters such as the witches in MacBeth. Another prominent belief at the time was that of 'cosmic order' and the 'Chain of Being'. The universe was thought to be in certain order such that the earth stood the centre and planets revolved around it. Along with this were the angels, saints and at the top, God. It was believed that everything had a place ... much more exciting. However, intentional or not, MacBeth gives current audiences the ability to realise what Elizabethan life was like in terms of beliefs a...

• Word Count: 1117
• Approx Pages: 4