Macbeth's Killing of Duncan in William Shakespeare's Macbeth Essays

Thane of Cawdor to me promise no less to them' (act 1, scene 3, page

    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.

    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.

he would soon be king. From this point, his actions lead to terrifying consequences involving

seen nor heard speak and she tells them to fill her to the brim with

In life, there are two types of people: those who do the right thing and those who don’t. In the play Macbeth, by Shakespeare, the main character Macbeth is given a prophecy by three witches that says he will become king; however, there is no descending line of kings of his own blood. With the knowledge of the Witches’ prophecy, Macbeth’s ambition, and manipulation from his wife, Lady Macbeth, Macbeth is quickly dragged into a never-ending, bloody murder rampage to obtain the crown and get rid of those who stand in the way of obtaining it as well. Macbeth constantly battles with his moral dilemmas; however, he easily falls victim to influences that go against his morals. Influences on major characters emphasize how easily one’s decision making can be negatively affected, resulting in one going against his or her morals/integrity.

We see in the play Macbeth that when the motivation to succeed in life becomes overpowering, other people may easily influence one and elements and one may decide on wrongful actions to achieve a goal. Some of the influences on Macbeth include the witches and the apparitions, Lady Macbeth, and lastly Macbeth's own insecurities and misguided attempts to control his future.

Macbeth is a tragedy of a Scottish general who dramatically “transforms” from being a noble and dutiful soldier to a ruthless butcher. This is a direct consequence of the supernatural world, his wife’s manipulation and persuasion, and Macbeth’s own ambition.

According to the classical view, tragedy should arouse feelings of pity and fear in the audience. Does Macbeth do this?

Laurence Sterne once wrote, “No body, but he who has felt it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a man’s mind torn asunder by two projects of equal strength, both obstinately pulling in a contrary direction at the same time.” This passage embodies one of the over arching themes of Macbeth. The character Macbeth, in Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, could easily identify with this passage due to the fact that he is pulled in opposite directions by both his desire to do what is right and his desire for power.

Lady Macbeth as the Driving Force Behind the Murder of Duncan in William Shakespeare's Macbeth

Duncan seems to be a very good king and it is even said that the king is very noble in Act 1. Although he is a good king trouble finds him, Macbeth is forced into madness by Lady Macbeth and the three witches to kill him. Before this, the king had just killed the thane of Caldor and had him executed for reason of being a traitor making Macbeth the new thane of Caldor. From Act 1 scene IV (Macbeth The service and the loyalty I owe,In doing it, pays itself. Your highness' partIs to receive our duties; and our dutiesAre to your throne and state children and servants,Which do but what they should, by doing every thingSafe toward your love and honour.)

In the original play of Macbeth, Macbeth only had second thoughts about Duncan's death in the beginning, after that there was no stopping him because there was no doubt in his mind that he wanted him dead. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth had come up with a very thorough and thought-out plan that was described in detail of how they would kill Duncan and what would happen. However, in the movie of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth acted very differently when it came to taking Duncan’s life. They were both very unsure and hesitant of when and even if they should take Duncan’s life; they were given multiple opportunities for both of them to kill him, but they continued to wait for the perfect chance, which happened later than they had planned it to.

Lady Macbeth is the most interesting and complex character in Shakespeare's play, Macbeth. She is, in fact, the point on which the action pivots: without her there is no play.

Macbeth is the leading character of Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth, in which he struggles to deal with the consequences of his actions. Is he a Tragic Hero? His brutal actions make it very questionable, but yes, Macbeth is a Hero in his own Tragedy.