 Lady Macbeth is a character in Shakespeare 's Macbeth ( c.1603 – 1607 ) . She is the wife of the play 's antagonist , Macbeth , a Scottish nobleman . After goading him into committing regicide , she becomes Queen of Scotland , but later suffers pangs of guilt for her part in the crime . She dies off @-@ stage in the last act , an apparent suicide . 
