Macbeth Essay Explores how the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth develop over the course of the play. Drawing on Shakespeare's use of language and setting, it examines how the events of the play impact on them and their relationship.William Shakespeare was born in Stratford upon Avon in 1564. One of the most influential of all time, still remembered today for his enigmatic works. The zeitgeist of England in the 17th century only intensified its success. In an age of acute paranoia and morbid fascination surrounding the supernatural, works like "Macbeth" were the forbidden fruit craved by audiences of that era. Furthermore, since feminism had yet to be invented, "Macbeth" was also controversial in relation to Lady Macbeth's character and her almost masculine temperament. In an era where men were the dominant gender, Lady M's domineering character was intriguing. Shakespeare's works are grouped into three categories; stories, tragedies and comedies. Macbeth is ultimately a tragedy. He was thought to have written "The Scottish Play" for King James I, who had a personal interest in witchcraft and the supernatural. In this essay I aim to explore Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's fall from grace and the deterioration of their relationship throughout the play. Right at the beginning of the first act we find ourselves faced with three gaunt women. Every detail of this scene prompts our imagination to perceive a confusion of the usual human order. Their curious paradoxes, "right is bad and bad is right" and the rhyme in which they speak. In the middle of this scene we are faced with the surprising phrase "There to meet Macbeth...". Yet in the next scene Macbeth is portrayed as a vision of valor. Shakespeare made the play more palatable by describing these traits through the words of other characters, this device gives Macbeth's character more validity. Even after his sergeant's flourishing testimony, the witches' mention of his name is still seared into our minds. The audience is not at all prepared for the character of Lady Macbeth. We learn about her through her powerful soliloquy, following the reading of Macbeth's letter. A manipulative and dangerously busy woman. She is ruthless. Rise to the prospect of previously unimaginable power. Macbeth's tendency to speculate and brood over problems, a quality noted in scene three, is seen by his wife as a crucial weakness. She believes he does not lack ambition, but he is picky about the methods he uses to achieve this ambition..