Lady Macbeth is a character from William Shakespeare's play Macbeth. She is the wife of the protagonist, Macbeth, and plays a pivotal ROLE in the play. Lady Macbeth is an ambitious and manipulative woman who encourages her husband to murder King Duncan in order to gain the throne. Her ambition and guilt eventually lead to her own downfall. The ROLE of Lady Macbeth is often seen as one of the most iconic female characters in literature.