The murder of Duncan on Macbeth Essay Example for Free

The arrive at of Duncan on Macbeth EssayTo what extent is it fair to place the main(prenominal) blame for the murder of Duncan on Macbeth?It is obvious that Macbeth did very k faint Duncan, barely is Macbeth really to blame for his actions? There atomic number 18 many other factors to create into account. superstar reason for Macbeths actions is that he was under a lot of pressure from other people and changes in his life. to a fault there whitethornbe a supernatural element to take into account for the massacreing of Duncan by Macbeth, which may generate influenced Macbeths decisions. There in any case maybe of coarse, no-body else that could have influenced Macbeth and just Macbeth himself. Or maybe all of the various pressures and influences combined to payher, making one mass attack on Macbeths mind. The blame for the murder of Duncan could be rigid on anyones shoulders, but who do we blame specifically? Do we blame Macbeth, lady Macbeth, The Three Witches, or was it the atmosphere and society of the 11th century?The most obvious person to blame for the murder of Duncan is Macbeth. This is because he actually took hold of the knife and stabbed Duncan. Therefore he should be and feel responsible for the murder. His motives for the murder are that if he kills Duncan then he lead be made king of Scotland. He believes strongly in the afterlife, but motionlessness doesnt care about what happens to him when he dies, may it be of old age, or of murder also. All he cares about is becoming king. He moxies that up by sayingWed dance the life to semen.It is his high ambitions that drive him into murdering Duncan. But, surely Macbeth knows that killing Duncan is a treasonable offence, and he could also be killed for it. He would lose everything because it would be obvious that Macbeth killed Duncan. This is because no-body else would have the right motives. He would lose his titles of Thane of Glamis, and also when he became Thane of Cawdor, he would lose that too. So he can non really afford to commit the murder. This is where the argument of whether Macbeth is mentally ill comes into play. A sane person wouldnt risk his life and livelihood like that.His normal personality is that of a human being that hasnt got it in his personality to kill soulfulness who hasnt done anything to harm him. Macbeth is able to kill a man on a battlefield, but that is a totally different situation. On a battlefield you dont know the person you are about to kill, and he is also prepared to kill you also, so it is like killing in self-defense. But by killing Duncan, it is killing in cold blood, someone that is asleep and has no defense. A split personality perhaps, where one minute he is nice, and wouldnt hurt a fly and the next minute he is a cold-blooded killing machine. You could even say that he is slightly sycophantic towards Duncan. Even Duncan himself says that Macbeth is loyalWhat he hath lost august Macbeth has wonThe word noble sa ys it all in that line. Macbeth has the respect of the King, and so has won the position of Thane of Cawdor.Lady Macbeth or The Three Witches could also have influenced Macbeth into killing Duncan. The Three Witches prophesised that Macbeth would become Thane of Cawdor, and then King. They sayFIRST WITCH All descend Macbeth, fall to thee, Thane of GlamisSECOND WITCH All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane ofCawdorTHIRD WITCH All hail Macbeth, thou shalt be King here-afterMacbeth was already Thane of Glamis, so that doesnt count as a prophecy, but he wasnt Thane of Cawdor when The Witches spoke to him, but then Ross and Angus came from the battle with the Norwegians, and told Macbeth that he was Thane of Cawdor because Sinel had been killed in battle. So the witches send-off prophecy had come true. That is when Macbeth fell into The Witches trap, or spell, or whatever you wish to call it. He opinionated to trust The Witches, so he expected that Duncan would die soon, whether it be of old age or by murder, but the prophecy did not come true. So Macbeth decided to kill Duncan himself, to make the prophecy come true. He was greedy, because the witches forced Macbeth into killing Duncan through temptation. But, Macbeth could have backed out at any nous along the road to the murder.Lady Macbeth influenced Macbeth by putting so a good deal pressure onto Macbeth to kill Duncan, to devolve her and Macbeth a better life. Macbeth dejects pushed around by her, and does whatever she tells him to. This may have caused Macbeth to murder Duncan, but again, Macbeth could have backed out at any point.Lady Macbeth set-back finds out about The Witches prophecies when he writes her a letter. He writes this letter because he knows he needs somebody to push him to kill Duncan. She drives him to the crown, and therefore acts as a catalyst to Macbeth. She bullies his and uses emotional blackmail against him. She knows that he has good positive morals, and so she has to push him . She ridicules him by sayingWhen you durst do it, then you were a manAnd to be more than what you were, you wouldBe so much more the man.This basically means that when he dared to do it, then he was a man. This is insulting towards Macbeth, because she knows he is a warrior and is mocking his bravery.She also answers every objection that Macbeth has against the murder, and tries to motive his with her answer. Macbeth says thisIf we should failLady Macbeth then now jumps in by sayingWe fail?There is a hint of move in that reply, surprise about Macbeth, of him thinking that they will fail. But Lady Macbeth could also be implying that if they get caught, then Macbeth should get all the blame.Macbeth also doesnt believe that they will be able to cover up the murder successfully. Lady Macbeth objects to this lack of optimism by sayingWho dares receive it other,As we shall make our griefs and clamour roarUpon his death?This suggests that no one will dare believe anything else (this is r eferring to the daggers planted on the soldiers), because Lady Macbeth and Macbeth will mourn so much that everybody will think that the couple is genuinely upset.Lady Macbeth also organises the finer points of the murder. When Macbeth come back from the murder scene with the daggers, she is annoyed with him because he is being careless. She then has to plant the daggers onto the soldiers herself because Macbeth is too scared of acquiring caught.The reason why Lady Macbeth is pushing so hard is maybe because she is feature. She actually asks to be possessed by Demons or Spirits. She saysAnd fill me from the crown to the toe top-fullOf direst crueltyShe is asking to be possessed because then she will be able to lose here feminine side and become cruel and greedy. These aversion spirits may be connected to The Witches.Macbeth first meets The Witches after the battle with Norway, and they predict that he will become the Thane of Cawdor and then King. When the first prophecy comes tru e, Macbeth and Banquo are extremely surprised. We can tell this because Banquo saysCan the monster speak true?This shows us that they did not expect The Witches to be telling the truth. Then Macbeth goes into deep prospect about the spot prophecy. Banquo tells us this when he saysLook how our partners raptWe could say that Macbeth is thinking that it is his destiny to be King, and therefore King he must be. After this point Macbeth is always thinking about the second prophecy and whether to do anything about it or not. The Witches made him fell like this and so must take some of the blame.The Witches also may have contributed to the murder of Duncan because they were making some kind of spell onto Macbeth at the start of the play. There is obviously some kind of sorcery going on in this first scene because the First Witch saysI come GreymalkinA Greymalkin is a greycat, which is a spirit associated with the Devil. The Witches would not call to this demon if they werent planning on evil spells, and in this context Macbeth is surely going to be involved. Also, The Witches obviously arent bluffing about their power, because they then hovered off, which is a tricky thing to do if you arent a witch. This proves their power and their dexterity for the rest of the play.We fist get an idea of what the atmosphere is like in 11th century Scotland when Macbeth and Banquo appear. Macbeth saysSo foul and fair a day I have not seen.There is a contradiction here, because a day cannot be foul and fair at the same time. But what he may mean is that the bear is bad, but because of the victory over the Norwegians, it has made his day good. Perhaps The Witches made the weather bad with their evil presence.In the 11th century, it was not unusual for highly respected people to get murdered, so that other people could climb higher up the ranks. Macbeth may have just been pursuit the custom of that time. The atmosphere of the 11th century is evidently that of an evil, brutal pla ce.I conclude that Macbeth should take the main blame for the murder of Duncan. He actually committed the murder and let ambition and greed tackle him, despite knowing the consequences. I think that the other three factors are less important, but acted as catalysts, working alongside the main factor. If the other three factors were taken away, then the murder would have still occurred, but not as quickly.