Who Is Responsible For Duncan’s Death Essay Example

the witches, King Duncan would definitely not have been killed.

Upon learning that the second prophecy was true Macbeth began considering the third prophecy and became more motivated in the deed. In fact even upon hearing the prophecy for the first time, Macbeth replies by saying, “to be king stands not within the prospect of belief. ” Then, after learning of his new title, he says, “Glamis, and Thane of Cawdor! The greatest is behind. ” Also killing a king was an extremely serious crime which was seen as an attack against god.

I know this because in the poem it says “hath been So clear in his great office, that his virtues Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against his deep damnation of his taking-off; And pity, like a naked new-born babe, Striding the blast, or heaven's cherubim, horsed Upon the sightless couriers of the air. ” This quote is a potent indication of Duncan’s importance because the quote basically means that Duncan was a very good king who was seen as a gift from god and was deeply loved by all especially in the part here it says “And pity, like a naked new-born babe” because a baby is a symbol of life, purity, and perfection as babies are born with no sins and are usually welcomed with such love and care when they are born. Had the battle against Norway ended and Macbeth and Banquo gone home without seeing the witches, King Duncan would definitely not have been killed moreover upon learning that the second prophecy was true then Macbeth began considering the third prophecy and became more motivated in the deed.

In

fact even upon hearing the prophecy for the first time, Macbeth replies by saying, “to be king stands not within the prospect of belief. ” Then, after learning of his new title, he says, “Glamis, and Thane of Cawdor! The greatest is behind. ” If the witches wouldn't have said anything to Macbeth, he probably wouldn't have even considered becoming king because in the poem Macbeth mentions that “to be king stands not within the prospect of belief. ” However Lady Macbeth plays a major role in influencing her husband to take the path that he does.

She is the catalyst that effectively unleashes Macbeth’s true side of evil. Throughout the play we can see that she has a strong influence on him and is a cause for increasing Macbeth’s ambition. Lady Macbeth’s words to her husband as well as her many soliloquies show us her desire to become Queen and hence urge Macbeth to murder Duncan as well as begin his reign of tyranny. However, in no way can Lady Macbeth be seen as the sole influence on Macbeth.

Although Macbeth appears to be greatly subordinate to his wife in terms of levels of evil, he is still an extremely ambitious and powerful character. She greatly helps him throughout the poem to get him through various problems. In the earlier part of the poem we can see that Lady Macbeth’s words mean a lot to her husband, giving the impression that she is definitely the dominant figure in the relationship. Lady Macbeth has a strong influence on her husband and is a sole reason why Macbeth acts as he did.

Lady Macbeth is an

influence on her husband in many different ways, for many different reasons. The reader discovers that as soon as she opens her husband’s letter she immediately begins to scheme and plot, showing her true evil and aspiration. This creates the impression that she wants Macbeth to become King so she can solemnly become Queen of Scotland. She is unsure whether Macbeth is too kind and without the evil that needs to merge with his already prominent ambition.

As said in the poem by her, “I fear…is too full’o the milk of human kindness, to catch the nearest way,” for this reason, she influences him greatly into the prospect of murdering the king. The thought of becoming Queen pushes her and causes her to act outrageously. Macbeth is slightly doubtful of her plan to kill the King; however Lady Macbeth floods him with comments that question his courage and manliness like for example by saying that his love is worth nothing if he refuses to go through with the plan. She says “screw your courage to the sticking-place,” to make him more evil and confident about his actions.

But others might think that Macbeth is the most responsible if not fully responsible character for the death of King Duncan simply because he is the one who actually pierced a dagger into King Duncan and that the witches and Lady Macbeth just influenced his decision. This is true because as I have mentioned he is the one who stabbed King Duncan, all Lady Macbeth and the witches did was manipulate Macbeth but he could have simply refused to do the deed and be done with it, it

could also be said that Macbeth deep down wanted to kill the king that is why he allowed the witches and lady Macbeth to manipulate him.

The way I see it is that Macbeth is fully responsible for the death of the king because he had the choice to refuse to be manipulated but he didn’t refuse in addition Macbeth could have stopped all this even before it all began by not listening to the witches, the impression I get about Macbeth is that he might not actually be ambitious as much but greedy because he goes out of his way to make sure he gets what he wants.