Why Is Lady Macbeth's First Soliloquy

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In the play, one learns that Macbeth will become king at the same time he does. Who does not know yet, is Macbeth’s wife, Lady Macbeth. In Act 1, Scene 5 one reads that Lady Macbeth has found out about her and her husband’s great fortune. She immediately assumes that she and Macbeth must kill the king in order for Macbeth to become the next king. This soliloquy and conversation use irony to foreshadow the characters’ descent into madness.

During her soliloquy Lady Macbeth puts Macbeth down, claiming “...thy nature;/It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness/To catch the nearest way” (ACT 1.5 Line 17-18). The nearest way is the easiest way and most direct way to become king. She fears that Macbeth will not be able to kill the king because he is too kind and soft, but as the story goes on, Macbeth becomes more and more heartless. Instead of being too soft to kill the 7+ …show more content…
This is ironic because of the fact that this line and this day would change the course of both of the Macbeth’s life, but in a negative way. It would lead to Macbeth’s self destruction and Lady Macbeth’s suicide. He rules for a very short time and spends most of the time in mental agony, seeing apparitions and being taunted by the witches who gave him this great fortune in the first place.

After Macbeth puts off their conversation about killing the king, Lady Macbeth says, “Leave all the rest to me” (ACT 1.5 Line 86). This line is another ironic one. It leads Macbeth into killing the king, but then Macbeth takes everything into his own hands. Lady Macbeth expects to be the all powerful in the situation until they become king and queen, but after Macbeth kills the king, he is introduced to a certain kind of anxiety that could only be cured by his action and his action alone. These actions lead to many murders commanded or done by

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