Sovereign Under The Unchecked Moral Constraints

After killing the king, Macbeth is seen to be embracing evil over and over again when he decides to murder Banquo. Having already gained the crown of Scotland, he now wants further security and believes that Banquo will disrupt that. Although at first manipulated by his wife to

He attempted to bury the past by killing more and more people to try to cover up that he was the one who killed Duncan. Once Banquo started getting suspicious of Macbeth, he decided to kill him. “But to be safely thus. Our fears in Banquo/ Stick deep, and in his royalty of nature/ Reigns that which would be fear’d. ‘Tis must he dares/ And, to that dauntless temper of his mind” (III.i.52-54). Macbeth fears Banquo because he was starting to realize that Macbeth was the one to kill Duncan, and because of this he decided to kill Banquo. Macbeth committed over nine murders throughout the play, all revolving around the fact that he let others manipulate him.

His desire to stay in power overcomes him as he realizes that Banquo’s son may take his place. Shakespeare reveals Macbeth’s feelings about his best friend after becoming king in another soliloquy: “To be thus is nothing; but to be safely thus. Our fears in Banquo stick deep, and in his royalty of nature reigns that which would be fear’d…” (3.1.48-51). Macbeth’s fears of Banquo are expressed, and it all started because he heard that prophecy about Banquo. Macbeth does not see much point in becoming king if he in not “safely thus”. In order to preserve his power, he feels the need to sacrifice other people’s lives. The murderous path he has chosen will only lead him to death, as people will find out and kill him for it, contributing to the theme that death is inevitable. In conclusion, Macbeth’s desire to stay in power is what made him choose to take another life; however, if it was not for the witches, he would not have felt a need to carry out any of the deeds he has done.

He realizes that if he want to start his own dynasty, then he will have to have control of all the variables. Then Macbeth began to think, “For Banquo’s issues have I filed my mind;/ For them the gracious Duncan I have murdered” (Shakespeare 85). He realizes that he has set himself up to fail. He is cleared a path to the crown for Banquo’s kin. Macbeth goes on to state, “He chid the sisters/ When first they put the name of king upon me” (Shakespeare 85). This give the readers the thought that Banquo is jealous of the king. Macbeth, not wanting to risk his crown, calls for some outside murderers. As I stated earlier, Macbeth knew he must get rid of Banquo and his sons. He succeeds in having Banquo killed, but Banquo’s son, Fleance (the one person Macbeth needed to kill), escapes.

But, later on in the play we learn by the witched that Banquo's descendants will become King and that they will prosper. It says “Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none”, when Macbeth learns about this and hears about it he is scared and then eventually considers Banquo as a threat to him to become King. So Macbeth has to come up with a solution to this and eventually comes up with the solution that he must murder Banquo and his son Fleance. He gets two murders to go out and murder Banquo and his son while they are walking so that his promise of becoming king will not be in jeopardy. This is an ironic act of betrayal because Macbeth and Banquo have been friends for a long time and have done everything together. Banquo was not just his friend he was also the co-commander of the army and had some power in Scotland.

Macbeth falls from a hero for his country and king to someone who is a dark and evil person. Macbeth is a very ambitious person even from the start when he meets the three witches. Macbeth and Banquo meet the three witches in a cave and the witches speak about the good news in the future in a sort of

William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a tragedy in which the main characters are obsessed by the desire for power. Macbeth’s aspiration for power blinds him to the ethical implications of his dreadful acts. The more that Shakespeare’s Macbeth represses his murderous feelings, the more he is haunted by them. By analyzing his hallucinations it is possible to trace his deteriorating mental state and the trajectory of his ultimate fall. Throughout the play Macbeth is never satisfied with himself. He feels the need to keep committing crime in order to keep what he wants most: his kingship. The harder Macbeth tries to change his fate the more he tends to run into his fate. His ambition and struggle for power was Macbeth’s tragic flaw in the play.

Throughout the play we see the character of Macbeth change, not only from the way he thinks and speaks, but from his actions as well. Killing Banquo and having Lady Macduff and her children murdered show the insecurity that is present in Macbeth’s character.  After the murder of Duncan, Macbeth becomes paranoid.  This paranoia leads to his killing the guards to help secure the place that he has found for himself.  Macbeth is also very superstitious, which becomes evident when he allows the witches’ prophecy to convince him that Banquo’s offspring would become Kings.

Macbeth went to all lengths to maintain his power. Macbeth decided that Banquo, his comrade in battle and his best friend had to be killed. Macbeth stated in his soliloquy, “Our fears in Banquo stick deep, and in his royalty of nature/Reigns that which would be feared” (3.1.53-55). Macbeth abused the power he had because of his paranoia that others were after his position of power. Macbeth showed that he was willing to do anything even killing Banquo, whose intentions were to have Macbeth’s best interest. Macbeth saw Banquo as a threat because of the prophecy that his son’s will become king. Macbeth acted on his feelings instantly about Banquo and didn’t think it through clearly. Macbeth let his paranoia of losing his powers to get the best of him because he killed someone who was close to him and wanted what was best for him.

Macbeth loses the trust of the people who were once loyal to him, after he killed Duncan. He murders Duncan so that he could be king; he messed with the natural order so he can be king which causes him to lose people's trust, such as Macduff. This is the start of his demise. In Act 3 Scene 4, After Banquo is kill because of Macbeth’s order, he begins to see Banquo’s spirit while no one else can. Macbeth wanted to take his fate is in his own hands and guarantee that he would stay king.

After the murder of Banquo, Macbeth’s rule starts to disintegrate; this is the third stage of a tragic hero, the Reversal of Fortune. Prior to Banquo’s murder Macbeth was doing well, or at least acceptably. He is king, holding the highest position in government that he could, and at this time most people are not suspicious of him, many people favor him even. “Thou hast it now, king, Cawdor, Glamis, all as the weird women promised.” (Shakespeare, Act III, Scene I), Banquo illustrates Macbeth’s position of power, and how well everything is going for Macbeth, before Banquo's death. After Banquo’s death, Macbeth’s fortune runs out. Macbeth hallucinates, he becomes even more paranoid, and people question his rule. Directly after the murder of Banquo

Firstly Macbeth was a power hungry person. The three witches told Macbeth he will become a king, and this pleased Macbeth. The three witches also told Macbeth that Banquo’s kids will become heirs to the throne. Hearing this Macbeth didn’t want anyone taking his place a king of Scotland. As Macbeth invites over King Duncan one night, he kills the king

Macbeth gaining the power of king of Scotland made Macbeth act like nothing could stop him. Macbeth had gained the position of king of Scotland. He wanted more power than he already had. Macbeth thought Banquo’s son was a threat to his power. Macbeth sent three murderers to kill Banquo and his son.

After killing King Duncan , Macbeth is starting to realize what it is that he has done, and becomes suspicious and paranoid of everyone around him by puting spy's in every castle and killing those who are any treat to him what so ever. Banquo is the only other person who knows of the meeting with the witches and he would assume that it was Macbeth who killed the King. The witches also said that Banquo would beget kings but he himself would never be king after Macbeth, and so Macbeth decides that Banquo is a threat to him. To get rid of the treat with banquo he decides to kill him and his son Fleance.

Macbeth says to himself, “To be king is nothing, to stay king… that’s what matters. My fear of Banquo runs deep. It’s his natural nobility that's threatening”(Shakespeare 51). Macbeth wanted Banquo dead because he was thinking that Banquo may be a threat to him in the future and Banquo was the only one with Macbeth when the witches told them their prophecies. Greediness led Macbeth to become a cruel and oppressive