Soliloquies in Macbeth

In Lady Macbeth's soliloquy in Act 1, Scene 5, she awaits Duncan's arrival to her castle and considers this to be the perfect opportunity to murder Duncan. She is firm in her purpose and does not waver, unlike Macbeth. She is willing to go to any lengths fulfill Macbeth's desire of becoming the king. She calls upon the agents and omens of evil to take away from her all that makes her feminine. These lines highlight gender stereotypes present in ‘Macbeth' and reinforce the popular notion of femininity that expects women to be soft and emotional, incapable of any ruthless action. Lady Macbeth does not wish to feel any remorse that will weaken her and make her reconsider her decision of murdering Duncan. The line, "Come to my woman's breasts and take my milk for gall...", presents her as an anti-mother figure who chooses ambition over motherhood. Lady Macbeth beseeches night to cover herself (night is personified) in the thickest smoke of hell so that even her knife cannot see the wounds it makes and heaven cannot peer through the darkness to ask her to stop. This soliloquy also shows that Lady Macbeth is inherently a gentle person who is trying to steel herself for committing the cruel act of murder. It should also be observed that, it was Lady Macbeth who, – knowing Macbeth is "too full of the milk of human kindness" – decides to murder Duncan herself thus, committing the sin of murder so that, Macbeth could achieve kingship.

In Macbeth's soliloquy, which is found in Act 1, Scene 7, he debates whether he should kill Duncan. When he lists Duncan's noble qualities ("he hath borne his faculties so meek") and the loyalty that he feels toward his king ("I am his kinsman and his subject"), we are reminded of just how grave an outrage it is for the couple to slaughter their ruler while he is a guest in their house. At the same time, Macbeth's fear that "we still have judgement