How does Lady Macbeth compare to Queen Elizabeth I?

In this essay I will be looking at the the similarities and differences between arguably
Britain's most iconic Queen, Elizabeth I and Lady Macbeth, one of the main protagonists in
Macbeth, a tragedy play written by William Shakespeare in 1605, four years after Elizabeth's
death.
The first similarity between Lady Macbeth and Queen Elizabeth is that both had limited
power as women and so manipulated men to do their bidding in a number of ways to do
things for them. In A Time Traveller's Guide to Elizabethan England it states that "Elizabeth
is acutely aware of so much power being vested in a group of privy councillors; thus she
manipulates them in a number of ways." This shows that Elizabeth had the ability to extend
her influences by manipulating and influencing others. Lady Macbeth behaves in a similar
way, manipulating Macbeth into doing what she wants. A quote that demonstrates this is in
Act I, Scene VII where Macbeth says "We will proceed no further in this business.' Lady
Macbeth then says 'When you durst do it, then you were a man'. This quote really plays with
his emotions because it suggests he is unworthy of being a man. Lady Macbeth is probably
aware of the effect this would have on Macbeth and uses it to persuade him to do what she
wants. Finally Macbeth says 'I am settled and bend up' and agrees to go along with the
murder. This is an example of how Lady Macbeth can manipulate her husband.
Another similarity between Lady Macbeth and Queen Elizabeth I is they both feel a strong
sense of duty. Queen Elizabeth was very dutiful to converting her country to what she
believed was the 'Right' religion, Protestantism. It would have been considerably easier to
keep the country catholic after her sister's death, but she felt like she had to convert the
entire country's religion. Lady Macbeth also has a strong sense of duty to her husband,
feeling like she had to help him become king, as he could not manage on his own. This is
demonstrated in Act I Scene V when Lady Macbeth says 'Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full
o' th' milk of human kindness' Later Lady Macbeth says 'Hie thee hither, That I may pour my
spirits in thine ear'. This shows that she plans to help him become king because she feels he
is too kind to achieve it on his own. This could be interpreted as duty to help her husband get
power as opposed to a want for power herself as she never once mentions herself during
this speech, only her husband.
A way that Macbeth is different from Lady Macbeth is that Lady Macbeth is presented as an
unreligeous person. This is shown by the quote 'Come you spirits that give us murderous
thoughts". In tudor times spirits were thought to be the enemy of religion By saying "Come" it
is an imperative and that suggest she may even be commanding the spirits, or at the very
least is extremely certain that she wants the spirits to come. She also says "fill me with direct
cruelty" Most religions are about being kind to other people and by asking to be filled with
cruelty she is rejecting her religion. This is a big contrast between Queen Elizabeth who was
almost definitely very religious as she put a lot of time and effort into reforming the english
church, which she would not have bothered with if she was not religious.
Another difference between Lady Macbeth and Queen Elizabeth is that whilst Lady Macbeth
feels she needs to be a man to show strength, Queen Elizabeth is confident in her ability to
be strong and brave as a woman. This is demonstrated when she makes a speech saying "I
know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of

a king, and of a king of England too" King has connotations of bravery and strength. By
saying she has the "Heart and Stomach" of a king she is suggesting that she doesn't need to
be a man to show bravery or strength. "Heart" and "Stomach" also have connotations of
justice, loyalty and courage. However when Lady Macbeth says "Unsex me here" She is
implying that as a woman she lacks the ability to be cruel and evil as a woman. "Unsex" is
an imperative which suggest she is really desperate to become a man.
So in conclusion Lady Macbeth is very similar to Queen Elizabeth I and may have even been
based on her as Queen Elizabeth was one of the most prominent women of the day who
shared character traits with Lady Macbeth, such as determination and strength.