THE REASON
In the play, “The Tragedy of Macbeth”, William Shakespeare brings us into the world of Scotland. He brings to you the protagonist, Macbeth, who was a knight in King Duncan's army. Macbeth sought for power, and with the predictions of three witches, and the coercion from his wife, kills king Duncan. He was not the only responsible. In fact, the evil act would not have been committed if it wasn't for his wife.
Lady Macbeth is responsible for the killing of Duncan, because she was Macbeth's wife, she coerced his conscience, and she wanted the crown more than her husband.
She was his wife.
Macbeth's wife, Lady Macbeth contributed to the murder of king Duncan simply because she was his wife. Men trust their wives more than anyone else. Compare these scenarios. If a typical street beggar whispered to Macbeth, instructing him to kill the king of Scotland, so that Macbeth may gain the throne. Macbeth would, without a doubt utterly refuse the beggar's instruction. Seeing that the advice is coming from the lowest of lows, a beggar, Macbeth would automatically
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assume any idea's from beggars would end in futility. However, returning back to Lady Macbeth, if she suggested killing King Duncan, how much more would Macbeth have a listening ear? Not just for a beggar on the streets, not simply an advisory in the castle, but his own wife. She coerced him. Lady Macbeth saw that her husband was ambitious for power, but not to the extent of murder.
Numerous times occurred, where Macbeth would cry out for reassurance. Showing that he was not willing to kill Duncan. However, on each occasion where Macbeth would drive back against his temptations, Lady Macbeth would convince him that meeting those evil desires were necessary for a man. “What beast was't then, that made you break this enterprise to me? When you durst do it, then you were a man; and, to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man. (Act 1, Scene 7).” The question arises, if Lady Macbeth didn't execute the specific act of murder, then why would she be accused of being the reason behind the act? She is guilty of this because of her cunning use of words. Without Lady Macbeth tempting her husband, would he have indeed, continued on to commit his sin? The answer is a straightforward,
no. She wanted the kings power, and obtained it by using her husband. Macbeth loved the king dearly. He saw himself has the golden-boy. The innocent soldier, wanting to please his king and excel in land. That being said, he did not come to the conclusion to obtain power by killing Duncan. It was because of Lady Macbeth, that the thought even entered the atmosphere. She wanted ultimate power, and did everything thinkable to obtain it. Lady Macbeth even created a fail safe, by guiding Macbeth into murder, while leaving her unsuspected. If they were accused in collaborating in the murder of Duncan, Lady Macbeth could have easily poured the blame all onto Macbeth, leaving her free of blame. In conclusion, Lady Macbeth is guilty and responsible for the murder of Duncan. She used her position as Macbeth's wife and abused his trust. Furthermore, she coerced Macbeth into disregarding his conscience. And lastly, she had the greater desire for power, and worked diligently to achieve it. Through these three reasons, it is more than justified to claim that Lady Macbeth was the deepest in the darkness.
“When you durst do it, then you are a man.” (I, vii, 55)- Lady Macbeth is very conniving showing that she is willing to convince Macbeth to murder Duncan, despite the fact that she is unable to carry out the actions by herself. She is willing to jeopardize the safety of her husband in the pursuit of happiness, even though in the end without realizing that it will compromise that happiness. Lady Macbeth knew her husband was ambitious, but he was too kind. So she wanted to manipulate him into killing Duncan in order to fulfill he pursuit of happiness. During her soliloquy in act I scene v lines 13-29 Lady Macbeth states “Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be what thou art promised. Yet do I fear thy nature. It is too full of the milk of human kindness to catch nearest way. Thou wouldst be great, Art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it… And chastise with the valour of my tongue all that impedes thee from the golden round which fate and the metaphysical aid doth seem to have the crowned withal.” During this soliloquy Lady Macbeth states that she is going to convince her husband into taking action so that he can become king. This soliloquy shows that Lady Macbeth is the dominant partner, which is contrary to the stereotypical gender stereotypes of that time frame. This proves that once again that in the pursuit of happiness that Lady Macbeth is willing to take over the relationship in order to achieve what she thinks will bring her happiness. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth also lied in order to achieve what they though would bring them
Taking Responsibility for the Murder of King Duncan in William Shakespeare's Macbeth Although Macbeth did murder King Duncan, there were other people. responsible for his death, he said. There were really 4 other people. responsible for the murder, the witches whom Macbeth had communicated. with, Lady Macbeth, Macbeth's wife, of course Macbeth himself, King.
We start to see Lady Macbeth’s actions have a huge impact on Macbeth’s character as he transforms from a decent being to an overly bitter creature. The cause of his alteration is due to the fact that Lady Macbeth is constantly excreting heartless information into his mind. "Art thou afeard to be the same in thine own act and valour as thou art in desire?" (I;vii;39-41) "And, to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man." (I;vii;50-51) Lady Macbeth uses these quotes to push her husband beyond limits and is therefore responsible for his dramatic change in attitude. She is constantly feeding his thoughts with negative comments and later on Macbeth realizes that he has another side to him. As he moves along to discover the concealed side of him, Macbeth falls in love with himself and begins to be drawn towards his evil desires. Because Lady Macbeth was the main cause of his new hidden discovery, she is fully responsible for opening up the door and letting the darkness in. This results in Macbeth committing both murders.
However, it was Lady Macbeth who convinced him to slay the king so that he could usurp the throne: “Hie thee hither, / That I may pour my spirits in thine ear”. So we can say that Lady Macbeth has more responsibility for Duncan’s murder than Macbeth himself as she used her position as a wife and a woman to induce his husband to commit the sin. She knew the “adoration” Macbeth had for her (“My dearest love” referring to Lady Macbeth) and used her status as a woman to judge Macbeth a coward if he didn’t kill Duncan. Even though Macbeth holds some blame for not being the strong, valiant man he is, in battle with her wife and standing before those childish yet effective arguments she used, Lady Macbeth is the immediate cause for Macbeth’s actions.
This immediately makes him forget all his attempts of loosing his part in the killing, and from then on there was no moans or disagreements between the two, with her clearly taking leadership. With all this evidence one could conclude that Lady Macbeth is 'partly' responsible for the death of King Duncan because she was the sole planner of his murder, but Macbeth is always going to be the one holding the knife when it pierced Duncan's throat, so he will also always be slightly responsible for the murder as he committed it. Macbeth was naive and is simple used by Lady Macbeth as a tool, which can gain access to the male dominated court of the time. ' It takes two to tango' would be an appropriate motto to this story.
Although Macbeth had changed his mind and basically refused to murder Duncan, Lady Macbeth was able to eventually convince him to carry through with the plan. Even though Macbeth was the one who executed the plan, Lady Macbeth was the mastermind behind the scheme. Her greed for power was the one major factor that possessed her to convince Macbeth of the plan and carry through with it. Macbeth murdered Duncan at Iverness, and became hysterical after doing so.
Speculations that Lady Macbeth is responsible for Duncan’s murder have been made by the defense. But the blood found on this cloak hidden in Macbeth’s quarters proves without doubt that it was Macbeth who actually committed the murder. He is ultimately to blame. The accusations made by Macbeth’s lawyers that Lady Macbeth pressured her husband to assassinate Duncan are irrelevant. It is unthinkable that such a brave and valiant soldier could be so weak as to be influenced by his wife to commit murder, unless he had already considered doing it, or had something to gain from the death of Duncan, such as the throne of Scotland.
Lady Macbeth seems like the right person who the most at fault. It is true that Lady Macbeth is the one who tells Macbeth to murder Duncan, and with her words in her aside, “unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty,” (I.v. 391-392) along with many other horrible scenes Lady Macbeth gives. It gives the audience a purpose to accuse her for all the murders. Lady Macbeth is argued to be in control of Macbeth. John Turner, coauthor of two books on Shakespeare, says, “Until her sense of time dissolves and Macbeth seems crowed already,” (Johnson) which shows that the image of Macbeth being King and having power is driven by Lady Macbeth’s ambitiousness. This is not entirely true. Lady Macbeth does have an ambition for power but not to the extent to be killing everyone. She only wanted Duncan off the throne, she was not aware of the other men in authority, such as Macduff, suspecting her and her husband. She was not paranoid like Macbeth, which is why he killed so many people. It’s reasonable to argue that Lady Macbeth was the influence; therefore she is to be at most at fault. She also was not the one to kill Duncan and the other people, Macbeth did.
Additionally, when Shakespeare wrote “Macbeth” he was aware that people could not pretend to be loyal to someone for a long time, and then all of a sudden reveal that they are actually evil (Mack). It is for this reason that Lady Macbeth is used to pressure Macbeth into killing Duncan. Before that murder, Macbeth was very reluctant to kill for personal gain and it took his wife’s encouragement to change his opinion (Mack). Shortly after the scene where Lady Macbeth tries to convince Macbeth to kill Duncan, Macbeth has a soliloquy where he tries to convince himself to kill Duncan, and eventually his lust for power wins out (Gleed).
Lady Macbeth pressures Macbeth into murdering Duncan through emotional abuse, saying that he is a coward and not a man. This abuse causes Macbeth to feel emasculated and insecure, so he wants to prove himself to his wife. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth also uses Macbeth’s promise to her, making him feel guilty about not upholding their agreement. She wants him to feel as if he was breaking the vows of their marriage if he does not go through with the murder. Finally, by drugging the guards, Lady Macbeth convinces her husband that they have gone too far to turn back. She tells him that they would be destroyed if they failed so far into their plan. Although Lady Macbeth did not physically commit the murder, she manipulated Macbeth and convinced him that killing King Duncan was the right thing to
While many may believe that Macbeth was the motivation behind why King Duncan was killed, in the novel, Macbeth, it is clear that it was really Lady Macbeth's dangerous ambition and desire for power that forced Macbeth to inevitably slaughter King Duncan. Lady Macbeth utilized her intelligent method of making Macbeth feel less of a man to persuade him to do what she needed, which was to murder King Duncan, in order to obtain the crown and eventually, all the power that she
Lady Macbeth as the Driving Force Behind the Murder of Duncan in William Shakespeare's Macbeth
Sometimes people can help you act on certain ambitions that could improve your life. However, those actions do not usually go to such extremes as committing murder. In Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth is given a prophecy from three witches, also known as the Weird Sisters, that says he will become king. However, in order to gain the throne, Macbeth needs to kill his cousin, King Duncan. Since Macbeth has high morals, he is reluctant to carry out the act. Nevertheless, his wife, Lady Macbeth, is committed to doing whatever she can to make sure Macbeth murders Duncan and becomes king. Lady Macbeth’s decision to motivate Macbeth to kill Duncan and how she manipulated him ultimately influenced his decision to kill Duncan.
Macbeth is the one who to blame for killing Duncan. In the timeline of the play, men were known to be superior to women, especially to their wives. Duncan’s death will never happen if Macbeth just use his own morals,“‘I dare do all that may become a man/ Who dares do more is none,’” (I.vii.ll.51-52). In this quote he shows that he was trying to kill his desires of taking Duncan’s position.
If MacBeth had never been persuaded to kill Duncan, MacBeth probably would not have committed any other murder crimes throughout the rest of the play. One could blame Lady MacBeth for persuading her husband to become a killer --- blame women’s ability to manipulate men into having bad character. Though, one could also blame MacBeth, seeing as he was responsible for his own decisions. MacBeth had the option of how strongly he stood up to his wife for his moral beliefs, and he chose to barely defend his opinion. It’s clear that neither MacBeth nor his wife were solely responsible for his final decision to murder King Duncan. Without his wife’s persuasion, MacBeth would not have killed the king, but MacBeth could have chosen to not be so easily persuaded by his wife.