 Study Macbeth or William Shakespeare? Let's do some word-level analysis on the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. In Act 1, scene 7, Macbeth shows his reluctance to kill the king. The alliteration of We Will and He Hath shows he feels really strongly against killing King Duncan. He says, I've bought golden opinions and this refers to his good reputation of protecting Scotland. Yet Lady Macbeth asks, was the hope drunk where you dressed yourself? And this rhetorical question shows she's disgusted at what she sees as coward. Assonance in Art Thou Afraid shows she's questioning his masculinity, showing she's the one who has the control of their relationship. The noun coward shows she's further questioning his masculinity. Clearly here we can see that it's Lady Macbeth that's manipulating Macbeth. Macbeth responds by asking, Prithee peace, which means please give me peace. This alliteration shows that he's played right into her hands. He's going to now prove his masculinity. He says, I dare do all that may become a man. And this declarative sentence shows he feels really insecure to prove his masculinity to Lady Macbeth, showing clearly that Lady Macbeth is the one that controls their relationship.