The Importance of Duncan’s Murder in Macbeth Essay examples

In the thrilling tragedy of Macbeth, William Shakespeare uses key devices in order to effectively establish and sustain a suspenseful atmosphere. Shakespeare tells the story of a brave Scottish general, Macbeth, who receives several prophecies from a trio of sinister witches. His positive mind set is soon overcome with ambitious thoughts, leading to a series of selfish murders. The overall mood throughout the play is predominately dark and ominous in which many tragic plays inhabit. The major theme running through the play is the destruction wrought when ambition goes unchecked by moral constraints. Actions carried out without thought have the potential to present undesirable consequences and self-guilt. This argument is particularly concerning for Macbeth as his lust for power seizes control over his sanity, ultimately leading to his tragic flaw. Shakespeare clearly implements three vital devices to further

Shakespeare's tragedy, Macbeth, is a play that transcends time due to its timeless and universal themes. The themes presented in this play are just as relevant to modern audiences as they would have been to contemporary Elizabethan audiences. The play has been able to maintain its textual integrity, withstanding the fact that it is now performed out of its original context to remain a successful play for modern audiences. The issues of heroism, abuse of power and the deceptiveness of appearances are all key within the play, conveyed through the use of dramatic and literary techniques, are issues which still resonate with contemporary audiences. Shakespeare has tested the parameters of the conventional tragedy that was extremely popular during his lifetime and in doing so has created text, which is still relevant today.

He is Duncan’s ‘kinsman and his subject’, he reminds himself that what he is doing is wrong and that he has the duty to protect the king, not murder him. In an interaction with Lady Macbeth prior to the murder of Duncan, he says they ‘shall proceed no longer in this business’, this shows that he has a moral compass, and he knows that what he is about to do is wrong. Also, previous to the murder he hallucinates a ‘dagger’, it is a figment of his imagination because he is very anxious, and is already feeling culpability. This part in the play is key in showing that Macbeth is consumed by guilt and anxiety, so is not in the best mindset to commit a murder. Despite this, he still kills Duncan. His guilt returns after the murder when an ‘Amen [is] stuck’ in his throat, he knows that he has sinned against God, and he is too anxious to say Amen. Immediately after killing Duncan he is ‘afraid to think of what [he has] done’, he has immense regret and feels a lot of guilt.

3. 157-159) Macbeth’s arrogance is made apparent with the immediacy of his thoughts of becoming king and it is clear that the supernatural has given him arrogant ambition as Macbeth is already beginning to think of how he will be crowned king. Macbeth eventually decides he will show his “Black and deep desires” (1. 4. 58) and murder Duncan, the current king of Scotland. This is a shift from Macbeth showing loyalty to Scotland and the king as he now has arrogantly, for the benefit of himself becoming king, murdered Duncan, the king of Scotland. Duncan was greatly admired and respected by the population of Scotland. Macbeth himself describes Duncan as “meek” (1. 7. 17) and being “so clear in his great office” (1. 7. 18). When Macduff first realizes the death of Duncan, he describes the scene as: “O horror, horror, horror!” (2. 3. 73) Macbeth acknowledges that the reaction to Duncan’s death would be mournful before murdering him: “Pity… / Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye, / That tears shall drown the wind” (1.7. 21-25). However, Macbeth’s only goal is to become king, not to please the population of Scotland who admires their king greatly and sees him as a righteous person. After tempting Macbeth with the idea of becoming king, the supernatural gives Macbeth arrogant ambition, forcing him to contrast his loyal and courageous personality, which motivates him to kill Duncan.

Humans typically tend to be greedy and take everything for thierself, but Macbeth goes above and beyond to make sure his heart’s desires are fulfilled. Power changes him into a pretentious person and forms a need for more jurisdiction that is unquenchable. The neverending loop of murder that Macbeth gets trapped in causes his excessive pride and ambition to grow leading him to his downfall. Macbeth is a tragic hero because he widley models a tragic flaw of ambition and he displays a large amount of excessive pride, causing him to ultimately become

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In the play 'Macbeth', Duncan was the King of Scotland and was the first victim in Macbeth’s murder rage. In the beginning of the play, Duncan showed his appreciation of Macbeth and his honorable actions in the battle. He talked about the trust that he had in him and how he was an example of an honorable warrior. In the play, King Duncan was regarded as a very respectable man, but the real King Duncan was a nasty, selfish, and rude warlord. Even so Shakespeare decided to make him a respectable king with a good legacy since Macbeth was planning to kill him.

In William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth evil is conveyed in many ways through characters, themes and settings. Many themes are explored in detail contributing hugely to the sense of evil with characters being used along with these themes to create evil within the characters. These themes and characters are shown in different settings at different times consequently affecting the mood and atmosphere of the play.

that not only would he be a good king, but feels he deserves to be

Shakespeare’s plays all contain themes that are still relevant to our lives today. Macbeth is no exception. Here Shakespeare utilizes an extensive variety of themes throughout the context of the play and how the characters exploit their actions towards each other. The main theme of “the Corrupting Power of Unchecked Ambition” is dealing with a blind lust for power capable of anything while the parallel theme of “Guilt and Remorse” deals with the effects of bad deeds on the deepest innards of human nature. Both can be found widely amongst the current generation and therefore are still

The death of King Duncan is an important death to note as it is he who commences Macbeth's quest for power. But who killed the mighty King of Scotland? Is it his loyal and trusted kin, Macbeth or Lady Macbeth, the woman who invited him into her humble abode or maybe it was his stupidity and the all trusting nature he possessed which lead to his deathly demise. Duncan the King of Scotland, a name also synonymous with fool is a factor in his own death.

Shakespeare's Macbeth follows the protagonist of the same name on his meteoric fall from grace to his eventual demise. It details the schemes of a man who used murder as a tool to seize and maintain control of the throne of Scotland. Macbeth, formerly a fearless warrior admired by many, first takes the life (and throne) of Duncan, the current king. Then, the next morning, Macbeth murders Duncan's chamber guards whom he framed. When the time comes in Act III for him to kill his suspicious friend Banquo he enlists the help of two unnamed assassins.

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In Shakespeare’s book, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth single-handedly planned out the murder of Duncan, the king of Scotland. But, she let her husband do the deed because she thought he would get the job done with less guilt and remorse than she would have. This is why research has shown that 9 out of 10 murders are committed by men instead of women. Females are less likely than males to execute evil deeds such as murder.

Not only is Macbeth by far the shortest of William Shakespeare’s great tragedies, but it is also anomalous in some structural respects. Like Othello (1604) and only a very few other Shakespearean plays, Macbeth is without the complications of a subplot. (Bradley, 1905) Consequently, the action moves forward in a swift and inexorable rush. More significantly, the climax the murder of Duncan takes place very early in the play. As a result, attention is focused on the various consequences of the crime rather than on the ambiguities or moral dilemmas that had