**Feedback Requested: Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's Relationship**

In Shakespeare’s tragic play "Macbeth," Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are portrayed as having a very complex relationship. This relationship can be described as ironically close. Throughout the play, the couple bonds over murder, guilt, and a hunger for power. They both rely on each other to maintain a position of power in Scotland. However, this relationship gradually disintegrates over time, first evident in Act 1, Scene 7.

In Act 1, Scene 7, the marriage is seen to be very strained in anticipation of the murder they are about to commit. Macbeth starts the scene with a soliloquy. He considers both sides of the argument, initially contemplating the possibility that everything will go as planned if he follows Lady Macbeth’s ambition. He then turns to the potentially violent consequences, suggesting that if he and Lady Macbeth resort to murder, it will eventually come back to haunt them. The audience sees Macbeth’s unfiltered thoughts on killing Duncan, revealing his awareness of the consequences, unlike his wife, who thinks only of the potential benefits of the plan. The length of the speech indicates the extent of his doubt and anxiety: "Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return to plague the inventor." When Lady Macbeth enters, Macbeth uses a declarative sentence, "We will proceed no further in this business." Here, he tries to regain the dominance he has lost and is resolute. The Jacobean audience and King James would perhaps admire this dialogue as "man" regains dominance and makes "moral" decisions as expected.

However, this admiration is soon shattered once Lady Macbeth starts emasculating the "Thane of Cawdor": "When you durst do it, then you were a man." The verb "durst" reminds the audience of the jeopardy behind the deed, implying an element of toxicity within their relationship. She goads Macbeth into agreement by insulting his manliness. Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as strong-willed and hideous as she persuades her husband to commit regicide. Lady Macbeth's continued transgression over Macbeth shows that she is taking control, using his masculinity to manipulate him. Perhaps she wants to be the leader of Scotland more than Macbeth. This shows Lady Macbeth as dangerous, willing to go to extreme lengths to become Queen and break the natural order to gain control over her husband and all of Scotland.

Furthermore, Lady Macbeth uses violent verbs to persuade Macbeth. She says, "Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out, had I so sworn." The violent verbs "plucked" and "dashed" demonstrate that Lady Macbeth is willing to do anything to keep her promise and expects the same from Macbeth. The extended sentence reflects her desperation for power, mirroring Macbeth’s early ideas: "Vaulting ambition which o’er leaps." Here, she acts as the antithesis of a Jacobean woman, portraying an imbalanced relationship and reversal of roles between the couple. Instead of being dismissive (as expected from a Jacobean man), Macbeth feels humiliated and follows her plan. This makes the growing cracks in their relationship more visible to the audience.

As the play progresses, Shakespeare creates more distance between the characters. In Act 2, Scene 2, Macbeth shows the first signs of guilt after murdering the king. However, Shakespeare juxtaposes the characters as Lady Macbeth feels no guilt whatsoever. For example, Macbeth becomes paranoid and his guilt engulfs him, leaving him unable to rest: "I’m afraid to think what I’ve done." Meanwhile, Lady Macbeth asserts dominance once more and orders him to complete the plan. She makes her disdain evident to the audience when she says, "My hands are of your color, but I shame to wear a heart so white," further emasculating him. Despite being expected to support her husband (as per a Jacobean woman), she continually insults him.

In conclusion, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth begin the play almost too comfortable within their marriage, inviting chaos and tragedy into their relationship. They start opposing each other, leading to the total disintegration of their relationship and their fatal flaw. This warns the audience about the dire consequences of committing regicide on both a person and a marriage.