Was Macbeth really a loyal companion of the king? The witches tell him that he will be Thane of Glamis and Thane of Cawdor, and that he will be king hereafter. After they speak to him and Banquo, Macbeth says, “Stay you imperfect speakers. Tell me more. By Sinel’s death I know I am Thane of Glamis. But how Cawdor?”( Shakespeare 219). By asking them this question he wonders how he will be king. Macbeth, after this scene, is getting greedy. He is willing to do anything to be King. Greed is a human trait that is evident in our daily lives. Macbeth displays greed throughout the play and it was one of the major components in his downfall.
In act 1 scene 5, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth decide that they will kill King Duncan, so that they can
become King and Queen. However, there is a problem. Lady Macbeth thinks that Macbeth is not tough enough to follow through with the plan of murdering the king. Nonetheless, Macbeth will show her that he can commit the murder. In scene 6, the Macbeths invite King Duncan over for dinner. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth make Duncan feel at home and by the end of dinner Duncan feels like he can really trust them. Macbeth goes over the deed he is about to perform in his head, he has a bit of a guilty conscience, but greed overcomes those thoughts and he is ready to perform the task. Lady Macbeth was very greedy as well. She was an important accomplice in this murder; she drugged the guards, which was all her idea. Macbeth takes a dagger and killed the king in his sleep, but he makes a fatal mistake and brings the bloody dagger back with him. Lady Macbeth takes control of the situation, takes them back to Duncan’s Castle, and places them on the drugged guards, so that Macbeth doesn’t look guilty. This is just the start of the greedy acts the Macbeths will perform. Macbeth’s greed was driven by his wife wanting him to kill for the power of king. She puts the thought in his head; the thought that he can actually kill the king. By killing Duncan, Macbeth gets a little confident, thinking he might just pull this off. After killing Duncan he goes down the royal throne, and feels unstoppable. So next he had Banquo killed, he thought out this plan so he wouldn’t get caught. In scene 4 act 3 Lady Macbeth is trying to soothe Macbeth, he is getting paranoid about the murders. The greed is coming upon him. “O, proper stuff! This is the very painting of your fear. This is the air-drawn dagger which you said Led you to Duncan. O, these flaws and starts, Imposters to true fear, would well become A woman’s story at a winters fire, Authorized by her grandam. Shame itself! Why do you make such faces? When all’s done, You look but on a stool.”(Shakespeare 254) . In this quote she is trying to get him to calm down, the murders are getting to home. Lady Macbeth, goes crazy in the story later on. She sleepwalks and says she has blood on her hands, the greed has gotten to her head. The Macbeths committed these murders because of greed. Why would they kill the king? They simply did it so they can have the power. Greed took them a long way in this tragedy, he went from a war hero to a murderous villain. This just shows what people will do for power.
Shakespeare's play "Macbeth" is considered one of his great tragedies. The play fully uses plot, character, setting, atmosphere, diction and imagery to create a compelling drama. The general setting of Macbeth is tenth and eleventh century Scotland. The play is about a once loyal and trusted noble of Scotland who, after a meeting with three witches, becomes ambitious and plans the murder of the king. After doing so and claiming the throne, he faces the other nobles of Scotland who try to stop him. In the play, Macbeth faces an internal conflict with his opposing decisions. On one hand, he has to decide of he is to assassinate the king in order to claim his throne. This would result in his death for treason if he is caught, and he would also have to kill his friend. On the other hand, if he is to not kill him, he may never realize his ambitious dreams of ruling Scotland. Another of his internal struggles is his decision of killing his friend Banquo. After hiring murderers to kill him, Macbeth begins to see Banquo's ghost which drives him crazy, possibly a result of his guilty conscience. Macbeth's external conflict is with Macduff and his forces trying to avenge the king and end Macbeth's reign over Scotland. One specific motif is considered the major theme, which represents the overall atmosphere throughout the play. This motif is "fair is foul and foul is fair."
Throughout Macbeth, the question of loyalty was on everyone's minds. Macbeth is more for power than loyalty. His fate told by the three witches
When the play started Macbeth was a very loyal person towards the King, therefore the King treated Macbeth like a son. The king tells Macbeth that he is in great debt to Macbeth and there is no amount of money or land to repay Macbeth for his services. Macbeth responds to the King telling him that all he wants is for the King to accept his services and duties to his throne and kingdom (Act I, scene IV). Macbeth shows a great deal of friendliness when he invites King Duncan to his house (Act I, scene VI ). Macbeth is thoughtful and very compassionate in the way of the king but without the King's knowledge he has a plan to kill the King while the King is sleeping.
In act 1 scene 5 Lady Macbeth received a letter from Macbeth. In the letter Macbeth wrote about what happened to him earlier. The tone of the letter is exciting which shows Macbeth’s interest in the prophecies. Moreover now that Lady Macbeth knows about the predictions, she is making a plan for example “Hie thee hither that I may pour my spirits in thine ear” so that he can succeed. This suggests that Lady Macbeth is going to persuade Macbeth to commit regicide. In addition, from that moment, Macbeth is starting to change from kind and nice to an aggressive and brutal man. Lady Macbeth started to manipulate Macbeth using insulting language to make him kill the king as she calls him a coward “Will you take the crown you want so badly, or will you live as a coward, always saying ‘ I can’t’ after you say ‘I want to’? This insulting language suggests that Lady Macbeth wants to force him to kill
Following the meeting with the witches, Macbeth begins to think about killing Duncan and taking the throne by force. Macbeth becomes concerned with the witches prophesies and wants to learn more, as we can see from what he says after they leave, "Would they have stayed!" (1.3.82). After this, he begins thinking about his desire to be king. We can see that he is thinking about murdering Duncan from his soliloquy, "Stars, hide your fires, /Let not light see my black and deep desires;" (1.5.50-51). Macbeth has begun his path to corruption.
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.
Until his death, King Duncan was misled by Macbeth’s false loyalty. When the Thane of Cawdor had been found guilty of being a traitor and was hanged, King Duncan thought so highly of Macbeth, that he gave the title to him. The Thane then ironically dies with pride while Macbeth dies a foe of Scotland. The King was under the impression that Macbeth was a loyal and brave soldier, calling him “O worthiest cousin” (1/4/14), but Macbeth was actually already planning to kill the King, “whose murder yet is but fantastical” (1/3/139). Even when Duncan goes to visit Macbeth, he praises the castle’s pleasant environment and hospitality, “This castle hath a pleasant seat” (1/5/1), but is totally unaware of Macbeth’s plans to murder him.
In act 2, scene 2, the murder of Duncan takes place. The audience should be on the edge of their seats by now, wondering if Macbeth will actually have the nerve to murder his king.
In Act 1 Macbeth is troubled by his desire to kill the king that is countered by his morals that state he should not kill Duncan for the fact “First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,
Lady Macbeth tries to get Macbeth to kill King Duncan, because she wants Macbeth to be king. " He that's coming/ must provided for: and you shall put/ this night's great business into my dispatch;/ which shall to all our nights and days to come/ give solely sovereign sway and masterdom." Iv 65-69, this is a quote from Lady Macbeth explaining to Macbeth that when King Duncan comes to stay, they will kill him. After Macbeth killed Duncan, he killed the King's guards, so no one could question them. All this was just the beginning of a walk down an evil trail.
At the beginning of the play, Macbeth was a kind and gentle person. The only time he killed is when he was in battle. Macbeth was loyal to the King (Duncan), and did as he wished. In battle, he kills a traitor to the Scotland who was a high ranking individual. For killing the traitor so bravely, Macbeth is awarded the title the Thane of Cawdor. The irony of this situation is that the title first did indeed belonged to 'a most disloyal traitor'(pg. 3, line 53). As Macbeth heads home with his new title and a lot more ambition. This is mainly because of the three witches who tell him he will be king. With this new ambition, Macbeth did not know what to think and he wrote a letter to his wife. By Macbeth writing this letter it showed at this stage he was still loyal because he still was sharing everything with his wife. Macbeth at this point still did not have a lust for power.
From the beginning, Lady Macbeth wants to be the queen and if that happens macbeth would be king. In order to do that the king, Duncan, would have to die. This is where Lady Macbeth’s idea of killing Duncan comes in. “Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty” (Scene 1 act 5 44-46). This quote describes how Lady Macbeth wants the royalty of being queen. Here she is power-hungry to be the queen and she shows she will do anything to get it like killing. As Macbeth tries to perform the murder Lady Macbeth persuades him and he finally does it. During this act, Lady Macbeth portrays a dominant leader as she leads Macbeth into the murder. What really tops it off is when Macbeth does not execute the plan completely and Lady Macbeth finishes it with ease. As the play goes on, the dominant lady in Lady Macbeth begins to disappear. In act 5, Lady Macbeth is always moving her hands like she is washing them, which foreshadows a dramatic and emotional scene about to happen. In the beginning of the play she didn't bother washing her han...
Duncan is the most unlikely character to be killed because of his personality, but his title as King of Scotland, causes for Macbeth to loathe Duncan. In the play there is very little interaction between Macbeth and Duncan, showing the little time in which Macbeth gets more power. Prior to the witches’ prophecies Macbeth is loyal to Duncan, and would never imagine killing him. After the one of the witches’ prophecies comes to be true, the thought of killing Duncan, Macbeth "yield[s] to that suggestion / whose horrid image doth unfix my hair / and make my seated heart knock at my ribs" (1.3.146-148). Partly because of Lady Macbeth’s suggestion his "vaulting ambition" is starting to take over, and he begins to take into consideration killing Duncan, to become king. Macbeth however, does not feel comfortable in killing Macbeth, giving himself reasons why not to kill Duncan: “First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, Strong both against the deed; then, as his host, Who should against his murderer shut the door, Not bear the knife myself,” (I, vii, 13-16) Lady Macbeth, convinces Macbeth, that killing Duncan is the right thing to do until right before he performs the murder. We learn from this murder that Macbeth truly had faith in the king and was very loyal, but knowing that one day he would become king, his ambition and the persuasion of Lady Macbeth, causes him to perform the act, that he will regret. This murder changes Macbeth as a person, however, and he soon feels little regret for killing King Duncan, but this act will soon aid in his downfall.
When Lady Macbeth is first introduced she is reading a letter from her husband, Macbeth. He is telling her about his meeting with the three witches and their three prophecies. The one she is most concerned with is the prophecy that Macbeth will become king. She decides that they must kill King Duncan. She then asks for the strength to commit the murder. “Of direst cruelty! Make thick my blood, Stop up th’ access and passage to remorse.” (Act 1 Scene 5 Lines 41-42) She is the one who plans the entire murder.
King Duncan trusts Macbeth too much. Macbeth appears as a superhero and faithful to King Duncan. He fights against the traitor Macdonwald, and he helps the king to solve a great problem that wins the war. Duncan trusts Macbeth very much because of Macbeth’s heroic efforts and he gives Macbeth the title “Thane of Cawdor”. In actuality, Macbeth is not as faithful to the king as he appears.