Macbeth's Murder of Duncan in William Shakespeare's Macbeth
Shakespeare uses the Greek idea of Tragedy in his play 'Macbeth' when
he focuses on one character with a fatal flaw that brings him
greatness but eventually leads to his downfall. However, 'Macbeth' is
not a typical example of a Greek Tragedy: A Greek hero would not be
responsible for his down fall, whereas Macbeth brings it on himself.
Macbeth's ambition is the main factor in driving him to murder. Other
factors such as the predictions of the witches and Lady Macbeth's
persuasive techniques have a part in Macbeth's transformation,
although his ambition is the driving force.
Macbeth's encounter with the witches early on in Act one introduces
the idea that he could become King. 'All hail Macbeth, that shalt be
King hereafter'. All though Macbeth dismisses these predictions in his
conversation with Banquo he is hiding his true feelings. '(Aside)
Glamis, and Thane of Cawdor: The greatest is behind'. This idea of
disguising thoughts is an important theme throughout the play. The
predictions that Macbeth and Banquo hear lead to the break up of their
friendship, this is the intention of the witches. The pair become
suspicious of each other: Banquo suspects Macbeth's plan and Macbeth
is worried that Banquo knows too much. 'Let us speak our free hearts
to each other'. Macbeth is trying to find out how much Banquo suspects
without arousing his suspicion any further. This is another example of
feelings being disguised. Macbeth eventually realises that he has to
kill Banquo despite their strong friendship because Banquo is honest
and loyal to the King.
After the execution of the...
... middle of paper ...
...hey make him believe that the
action he takes to become King is destiny, diverting the blame for his
crime away from him.
The witches decide the time of Macbeth's attempt at sovereignty. When
Malcolm becomes Prince of Cumberland the method is decided: Macbeth
realises it will not occur justly. Lady Macbeth simply reassured
Macbeth: He had already made up his mind to go ahead. He makes her
think that he is against it so she will ease the burden on his
conscience by persuading him to go ahead. The circumstances of
Duncan's stay at the castle decided the exact time and place.
Ambition drove the whole act and was also responsible for Macbeth's
downfall, the other influences merely triggered the ambition. Had they
not occurred, his ambition would have led him to an attempt at the
throne at another point in his life.
There is much speculation as to who the third murderer is who assisted in the slaying of Banquo. Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and one of the Weird sisters are a few of the best candidates as to filling this role. Each of these three main characters has their own motive as to why they would want to join in on the assassination. Out of these three possibilities of filling this third murderer's role, all have reasons as to why they could or could not fill the position.
Macbeth is the remaining contributor to turning himself into the power-hungry animal he is before he is finally taken down. Macbeth let himself get talked into killing Duncan; he rationalizes with himself to kill Banquo. He is too ambitious. As soon as the witches cast the prophecy that he would be King, Macbeth lets himself be jealous. Once it is an option, he realizes how divine it would be to be King. Now, Macbeth will do what is necessary to get there, even if he suffers terrible consequences. After killing Duncan, Macbeth suffers by not being able to speak. “As they seen me with these hangman’s hands,/List’ning their fear. I could not say ‘Amen’/When they did say ‘God bless us’” (2.2.38-40). Macbeth cannot utter the sacred words of God; moreover, this illustrates to the reader how terrible the consequences are psychologically for this murder. Macbeth is also jealous of the prophecy Banquo gets, which also drives him to kill Banquo. Soon after he kills Banquo, Macbeth hosts a banquet, where Banquo’s seat is left empty. Only Macbeth truly knows what has happened to Banquo. However, he hallucinates that Banquo is at the table with all the guests when Macbeth says, “Avaunt, and quit my sight! Let the earth hide thee./Thy bones are marrowless; thy blood is cold;/Thou hast no speculation in those eyes/Which thou dost glare with” (3.4.113-116). Macbeth is seeing Banquo at his banquet even after he ordered murders to kill Banquo and Fleance, Banquo’s son. Macbeth cannot believe his eyes, he is shocked at the sight of Banquo and he is losing his mind. Macbeth endures horrific hallucinations, falling into the depths of insanity. These two quotations in the play are very important because they emphasize how Macbeth has turned into a mon...
Guilt surrounds Macbeth for the second time when he sends out the murderers to kill Banquo, his old friend. Macbeth had no other choice but to get rid of Banquo. Banquo had witnessed the three witches and the prophecies. One prophecy was that his son would become king one day "To make them kings, the seeds of Banquo kings"(Act3 scene1 line70). In order for Macbeth to be safe is to kill Banquo. Banquo may assume what had happened and tell the people of Scotland. "For Banquo’s issue have I filed my mind; for them the gracious Duncan have I murdered; Put rancors in the vessel of my peace only for them, and mine eternal jewel".
Macbeth is plagued with paranoia and a thirst for power. Macbeth fears that Banquo has discovered his unclean hands and he will turn him in. “Our fears in Banquo stick deep, and in his royalty of nature reigns that which would be feared. ‘Tis he much dares…” (III, 3, 53-56) Macbeth knows that he could wipe out Banquo on his own, however he knows there would be obvious consequences for him. “And though I could with barefaced power sweep him from my sit and bid my will avouch it, yet I must not, for certain friends that are both his and mine…” (III, 1, 134-137) In order for Macbeth to wipe out Banquo without suspicion, he schemes to have other men take care of the matter by convincing them that Banquo is at the heart of their problems. “Know that it was he, in times past, which held you so under fortune, which you thought had been our innocent self.” (III, 1, 84-86) Macbeth’s desire for power is his downfall.
Banquo is Macbeth's best friend in the tragedy. Banquo is with Macbeth when Macbeth meets the witches and they tell him of his upcoming fortune. Banquo notices how Macbeth is too ambitious after he sees Macbeth's reaction to the witches predictions. He feels even though Macbeth is his best friend he feels Macbeth is capable of wrong doing in the future to get what he wants. This is shown in one aside after they leave the witches. "…And oftentimes, to win us to our harm, The instruments of darkness tell us truths, Win us with honest trifles, to betray 's in deepest consequence. Cousins, a word, I pray you. (Act1, SceneIII,line123)" This quote is stating that Banquo thinks Macbeth may do anything to get what he wants no matter what the consequences are. Duncan is the King of Scotland and Macbeth's leader. Duncan's view of Macbeth is narrow-minded. He perceives him as a loyal, noble, trustworthy, soldier whom he is very fond of. Duncan also feels Macbeth is the reason for them winning the war. There is many times in the play where this is pointed out by the things Duncan says. For example, "Give me your hand. Conduct me to mine host: we love him highly, And shall continue our graces towards him...(Act1, SceneVI,line29)" This quote shows that Duncan seems to feel like he owes Macbeth something for his loyalties and bravery in the war. Duncan's perception of Macbeth will prove to be his downfall.
This is because how he is king and Banquo knows about the witches and might be suspicious about Macbeth killing Duncan. Even though that Banquo is Macbeth’s best friend he is betraying him because he doesn’t want lose the crown and not be king anymore. He didn’t have any remorse planning this because he was not going to do it as he sent people to do it for him. We see how Lady Macbeth is less dominant in this scene like how Macbeth was in Act 1 Scene 7. When he says "make our faces visors to our hearts" this highlights that Macbeth is not scared to kill Banquo and has a plan on how not to feel guilty. Additionally, Macbeth says how he is jealous of King Duncan “life’s fitful fever he sleeps well”. This indicates that Macbeth is under a lot of stress because he’s about to kill his friend, even though he looks confident he still may not want to do it. Macbeth is trying to prove to everyone that he is the King and not is weak and he doesn’t want anyone thinking differently about him. In this scene we see how Macbeth has changed his behavior after he becomes King and has all the power. This shows the audience how Macbeth has drastically changed and gained so much power from killing
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the repercussions of Macbeth murdering his King are very numerous. Through themes that include, imagery, soliloquies, atmosphere, and supernatural beings, Shakespeare enforces the magnitude of Macbeth’s crime. Most of these factors are linked together.
In Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, the third murderers identity is unknown and it is never revealed at the end of the play. But there are some clues throughout the story that suggests Lady Macbeth could be the unknown third murderer. Lady Macbeth could be the third murderer in Macbeth because she shows signs of wanting to be like a man, she is the one that influenced Macbeth to kill Duncan, and because she shows signs of extreme guilt later in the story. With these three pieces of evidence, Lady Macbeth is shown to be the third murderer in Macbeth.
At the end of the play this character feels guilt for what she has done and has taken the personality, which was that of her husband in the beginning.At the beginning of the play Lady Macbeth speaks and shows her shows how cruel and heartless she really is; "And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty". This shows she has no good in her, what so ever. Macbeth on the other hand, began as a good respectable character. When Lady Macbeth speaks of killing Duncan, he gives many reasons for reasons that he could not do so. Some of the reasons he gives in that speech are, that Duncan respects him, and trusts Macbeth. Duncan is also related to him by blood, and if he were to kill him he would never be able to rid himself of the guilt; wash the blood from his hands.At the climax of the play Macbeth makes plans to kill Banquo, with out Lady Macbeth, without anyone.
Macbeth is captured by his wild ambition at the opening of the play when he and Banqou meet the three witches. The witches tell Macbeth that he is the Thane of Cawdor, and later will be king. They tell Banquo that his sons will be kings. Instantly Macbeth started to fantasize how he is going to be king. He understood that in order for him to become king he has to kill Duncan. “My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical”(Act 1 Sc. 3, p.23). He was pondering about the assassination until the moment that he could no longer control his emotions. “To prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which overleaps itself and falls on the other-“(Act 1 Sc. 7, p.41). Because of his “vaulting ambition” he killed Duncan.
Shakespeare's play Macbeth incorporates many elements of mystery. In particular, the mystery surrounding the identity of the Third Murderer in (III, iii, 79), which oddly enough has thirty-three lines in it, is a topic of debate in many conversations about Macbeth. The focus of this paper is on the identity of the Third Murderer and the facts and restrictions on the people suspected. Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, Ross, and the Weird Sisters all have surfaced as the most prominent choices for the true identity of the anonymous Third Murderer.
Macbeth is a true Shakespearian tragedy, in which mast murders take place, in order for one man and women to take the throne and become king and queen. It starts with Duncan’s murder, which is done because Macbeth did not want to see Duncan’s son next in line for the throne and the only way to prevent that was by eliminating Duncan. The nest murder was that of Banquo. Banquo is a friend of Macbeth and his murder is un-predictable. Macbeth may have feared that if he did not kill Banquo, Banquo would kill him in order to gain a position power seeing that the witch’s just informed both Macbeth and Banquo that Macbeth will be the next King of Scotland and Banquo will never have the chance to hold the throne. Once Banquo is out of the way, Macbeth turns his attention to his real target, King MaCduff. Although at first hesitant about killing MaCduff, Macbeth chooses to murder MaCduff, a man who Macbeth himself said was a good man and a fine leader. The last murder is of MaCduff’s family. Macbeth can not take any chances and must kill any associated with the former king (King MaCduff). The murder of MaCduff’s wife and son is the most vicious crime of them all because for one we see the killing on stage and number two a child is murdered, the most vicious and horrific thing one can show. Macbeth murders for personal gain and has no regrets or else he would not have continued his mass slaughtering. Macbeth is responsible for these murders because he commits them himself, without any assistance, he kills everyone out of necessity, and because all these acts were done out of free will.
Macbeth feeling this way convinces a pair of men to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. By having Banquo and Fleance murdered, Macbeth believes that it will prevent Banquo's sons from becoming king. Macbeth also hires the murderers to kill Macduff's family. This demonstrates Macbeth's obsession because it indicates that Macbeth values his power over his friends. His obsession with power causes Macbeth to feel guilty and lose his sanity. Macbeth's guilt and loss of sanity is indicated in the hallucinations he experiences. His first hallucination occurs just before killing King Duncan. Macbeth sees "A dagger of the mind, a false creation" (act II, scene I, line 38).
Many factors were involved in Macbeth's decision to kill King Duncan. He had pressure from his wife, he had an idea in his head, given to him by the three witches, and he was extremely ambitious. All of these factors contributed to his demise in the end and his decision to murder his king.
Macbeth did not have to kill all of the innocent people he had murdered. Instead, he could have turned himself in and said he killed the king. Like most people he didn’t want to die, so he decided to keep this as a secret and tried to live life as best as he could. In order for this to stay a secret he needed to murder a few people. He first had murderers go out and kill Banquo and Fleance. The murderers were able to kill Banquo, but Fleance escaped. Macbeth felt better that Banquo was dead since Banquo knew about the witches rules in order for Macbeth to become king. Therefore, Banquo would assume that Macbeth murdered the king. Now, there would be no assumption from Banquo that Macbeth killed Duncan. Macbeth wanted Fleance to be dead, since the witches said that Banquo’s sons will become the next kings after Macbeth, but Macbeth wanted his family to be the royal family forever. The next person that gets murdered by Macbeth is: Macduff’s family. Macbeth had people hired to kill Macduff’s family. This led Macduff and ten thousand soldiers from England to defeat Macbeth and ultimately kill the villain. All of the murders and the stress that people had to go through because of Macbeth made him a