Responsibility In Macbeth Essay

   Shakespeare's "Macbeth" holds many hidden themes within its already exuberant plot.  The first of these surrounds the murder of Duncan and the role that both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth himself played.  However, the true guilt of the murder can fall on either character.  Although Macbeth physically committed the crime, it was Lady Macbeth that pushed him to his limits of rational thought and essentially made fun of him to lower his esteem.  With Macbeth's defenses down, it was an easy task for Lady Macbeth to influence Duncan's murder and make up an excuse as to why she could not do it herself.  The guilt of Duncan's murder can be placed firmly on the head on Lady Macbeth.

In the Shakespeare play, Macbeth, Macbeth is responsible for all the deaths in the play because Macbeth didn’t have to do anything about the prophecies, he could have chosen not to kill King Duncan, and Macbeth decided all on his own to have Macduff’s family killed.

After he kills Duncan, Macbeth carries all the guilt, and is too shaken by shame to continue, while Lady Macbeth either feels no guilt, or represses it, because she is able to continue the deed and frame Duncan’s guards.

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

Guilt is a very strong and uncomfortable feeling that often results from one’s own actions. This strong emotion is one of the theme ideas in William Shakespeare, “Macbeth”. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth feel guilt, but they react in different ways. Guilt hardens Macbeth, but cause Lady Macbeth to commit suicide. As Macbeth shrives to success guilt overcome’s Macbeth where he can no longer think straight. Initially Macbeth planned was to kill Duncan but it wasn’t enough he also had to kill Banquo and Macduff’s family. On the other hand Lady Macbeth had to call upon the weird sister to unsexed her so she had no true feeling towards anything as if she was a man. However, the true guilt of the murder

Responsibility for the Tragic Events in Macbeth by William Shakespeare Macbeth is one of Shakespeare four great tragedies. The witches, Lady

“When Lady MacBeth receives the letter from MacBeth telling her that he wants to kill Duncan, she fears that he would not have the courage to go through with it” (Shakespeare 31). She brings out the worst in him and encourages him to kill King Duncan. She persuades him by constantly telling him negative things to get MacBeth to believe that he is doing the right thing. “Look like th’ innocent flower, but be the serpent under ’t” (Shakespeare 35). Lady MacBeth is the one who tells MacBeth to be this vicious creature and makes him think that killing King Duncan is okay. Because of Lady Macbeth’s behavior, MacBeth was led to become a murderer. Macbeth should not be held accountable for his actions since Lady MacBeth is the one who convinced him to commit the crime that started his madness and turn him into a monster.

These predictions are effective in attracting Macbeth's attention because they feed off his desire for what they promise. At this point in the play he is the newly

In the Elizabethan Era, society was highly suspicious of the power of supernatural forces and it was commonly accepted that one’s life was governed by fate and was predetermined. Shakespeare’s Macbeth challenges the Elizabethan ideology of fate by privileging that although Macbeth was a victim of his “vaulting ambition” (1:VII 27), he was ultimately responsible for his villainous actions. Shakespeare has foregounded certain events to privilege that a person has free will and a concience and the cosequences of going against one's conscience, thus challenging the assumption of the Elizabethan Era. The audience is invited to sympathise with the protagonist, Macbeth, and see him as a tragic hero. Before his descent into evil, Macbeth

The “Tragedy of Macbeth” by William Shakespeare tells a tale of deceit, murder, and ambition, beginning with a cutthroat rise to power, followed by calamitous downfall. At the start of the play, Macbeth is a brave and loyal captain in King Duncan’s army, but after three witches prophesize that he himself will become the king of Scotland, and that those born of a friend, Banquo, will be king after him, Macbeth is overtaken by ambition and gluttony. Instigated by his wife and his own lust for power, he murders Duncan, assumes the throne, and subsequently sends mercenaries to kill Banquo’s sons. While awaiting battle, Macbeth addresses the death of his wife in Act V, scene 5. Throughout the

There were many wrongs committed in "MacBeth." But who should bear the major responsibility for these actions? The witches' prophesising? Lady MacBeth's scheming and persuasion? Or should MacBeth himself be held responsible? No doubt the witches and lady MacBeth influenced MacBeth in the course of action he took in his rise to power, but ultimately he must bear the major responsibility for his fate.

Furthermore, although the three weird sisters are the driving force of the supernatural and evil throughout the play, there are other elements present that work both with them and around them. Clifford Davidson writes extensively on this topic, but what he discusses most is the idea of the evil force that exists throughout the entirety of the play. This force makes itself apparent in the weird sisters themselves as character, but also in the large and almost demonic influence that they have on Macbeth as he murders and plots his way to the throne. It’s apparent that there is something bigger at work within the text other than the sisters, and that is this overlying force of evil that runs its’ course on Macbeth, eventually leading to his death.

Though the Weird Sisters do develop the tone of the play from the very beginning, and pave the path that Macbeth walks throughout the play they only inform Macbeth of the future and do nothing to influence the coming events. Early on, the Sisters divulge the prophecies too Macbeth and Banquo, but after that moment their role becomes inconsequential.

In order to measure their power over Macbeth, he will be compared to the antagonist Banquo. Even though he was exposed to the same events, he acted very differently than Macbeth, which shows that he still is able to exercise his free to a certain point. As a result, the Weïrd Sisters do not operate as the absolute power over Macbeth, but more as a trigger for his unbounded ambition that eventually leads to his decay.

The weird sisters had a heavy role on the outcome of the play “Macbeth” written by the the famous William Shakespeare. They appear throughout the play, at the beginning as well as the end, always adding a new interesting prophetic effect into the play. These prophecies are essential to the success of the play, adding all the traits of story that the play needs to work, such as tone, character, and plot.