Who_Was_Responsible_for_the_Death_of_King_Duncan

Look Carefully at the Characters on the ‘Weird Sisters’, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. Who is Responsible for Duncan’s Death' William Shakespeare, a successful playwright, was around in the seventeenth century when James I of England and the VI of Scotland had become King. James’s mother was Mary, Queen of Scots, a lady that in ways resembles the character of Lady Macbeth. Mary was executed by her cousin, and Queen of England, Elizabeth as she tried to plot against her to take power. James also claims descent from Banquo, a main character and good friend of Macbeth’s in the tragedy of Macbeth. Also, Shakespeare includes the references to witchcraft in the play using the Weird Sisters as a good example. All this shows Shakespeare gave some good references to England at the time. There are three main suspects that could be at least partly responsible for Duncan’s death; Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and the Witches otherwise known as The Weird Sisters. Having said this, I think that the possibility of taking one of these characters out of the play would ultimately end in King Duncan not being murdered. The Witches are ever present in Macbeth’s mind mostly when he is going mad! The Witches do not feature in every scene but they seem omnipresent. They set the tone for the play by opening it and they start Macbeth’s ambition to become King. The Witches become very interesting using pathetic fallacy when we see them and their appearance and language used is very eye catching and unusual. The Witches language is very different, which in turn separates them from all other characters and Shakespeare summed up a typical view of what they were like at the time. They too, speak in riddles, which makes Macbeth’s ambition to drive on and creates a good effect with the reader. The Witches quickly gain the trust of Macbeth with the prophecies they give. This makes Macbeth dependent, weak and obsessive. Macbeth says: ‘‘Stay, you imperfect speakers tell me more’’ (I.iii.73.) This quote shows how straight after the Witches state their prophecies Macbeth is addicted and wants to know more. This is also shown when Macbeth revisits the Witches in Act 4 Scene 1. Macbeth’s language is very commanding. It also indicates the first step in the betrayal to Banquo when he says ‘‘Tell me more’’ not using us or we. He also describes them as imperfect; this shows good imagery and shows that The Witches are unusual and almost unknown. His commanding voice is authoritative, strong and powerful but the Witches quickly turn him into the complete opposite. Before the Witches met Macbeth, he was loyal to the king and Banquo. But this soon changes, and three prophecies later, Macbeth’s loyalty to the King was turned. This is also demonstrated in a slower process with his best friend Banquo, who his later ordered to be killed, by Macbeth. Macbeth says, ‘‘and thane of Cawdor: when it not so'’’ (I.iii.91.) This shows that he is not convinced by The Witches or he could just be hiding the truth from Banquo another indicator it would seem to his betrayal of a good friend. But after the news has been broken Shakespeare cleverly gives us an insight in too what Macbeth is plotting by letting us into his thoughts. Macbeth thinks: ‘‘Glamis, and thane of Cawdor! The greatest is behind’’ (I.iii.125-126) At this point Macbeth’s mind has clearly been taken over by the witches when he thinks: ‘‘Two Truths are told,’’ (I.iii.139) The Witches from this point take over his mind and as he gets weaker and weaker, the more he is persuaded to commit the murder. Macbeth repeats the Witches prophecies and this shows how they are ever present in Macbeths mind. Also alliteration is used in my second quote to give importance to what Macbeth says. Macbeth is very optimistic too as shown in the first quote I used. Also the Witches reappearance in Act 4 Scene 1 brings back Macbeth’s habitat of dependability and trust with the Witches but this time it’s greater. This is because he cannot depend on Lady Macbeth anymore as she is going mad and because the last prophecies all were true he has more trust and less doubt concerning The Witches. Everyone knows the Witches are unusual characters but why after the first set of prophecies did they not flee, or were they waiting for Macbeth to come back' I think The Witches highly motivated Macbeth due to their prophecies. Even though Macbeth is addicted to the Witches it could be said that The Witches are just as addicted to Macbeth. This is shown at the very start when The Witches mention Macbeth before we are introduced to him, the third witch says: ‘‘There to meet with Macbeth’’ (I.i.8) Lady Macbeth can also be held responsible for the death of Duncan. Lady Macbeth was almost perceived as the fourth witch in the play and is associated with Catholicism. All this evidence associates with one person in 17th Century: Mary Queen of Scots. She was considered evil, trying to plot against her cousin but even though it seems this way no one could know for certain as Mary, Queen of Scots’ son was King James. Also, the demanding nature of Lady Macbeth seems to resemble the character of Elizabeth I: she was very manly and wanted to prove that women can run Britain well. This is shown when the Spanish Armada invaded England to make it Catholic again, Elizabeth gave a heroic speech just like a man and this can be compared to when Lady Macbeth makes her soliloquy in Act 1 Scene 5. In Lady Macbeth’s opening soliloquy it is apparent that she’s very dominant and she very often repeats The Witches prophecies in turn shows good effect, showing her obsession and desire to go forward and fulfil the last prophecy. In the soliloquy it often looks like she is talking to someone, invariably The Witches and a famous line she says ‘‘Unsex me here’’ (I.vi.46.) Lady Macbeth is the physical catalyst for the Witches’ prophecies. She drives Macbeth on to commit the murder and uses good blackmail techniques by insulting his man hood. This shows her dominance over Macbeth and her bravery for the task that lies ahead of them both. 'When you durst do it, then you were a man; and, to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man'. (Act I Scene VII. 55-57) This is basically saying that you will be more of a man if you do this. The contrast in language between the first sentence and the second creates a good effect and this also shows how Lady Macbeth is in control at this point with aggressive and firm behaviour. Also she drums into Macbeth’s head about being a man through repeating ‘more’ and ‘man.’ She obviously emphasises this well as he carries out the murder. Also a lot of alliteration is used which creates greater emphasis on the repeated words, ‘More’ and ‘Man’ The killing of Duncan and the determination to do it becomes an obsession for Lady Macbeth. She organises every fine detail and her powerful and authoritative figure is shown when she persuades Macbeth to carry out the murder. Macbeth says ‘If we should fail'’ Lady Macbeth says ‘We fail!’ (Act I Scene VII 66 -67) This outlines Lady Macbeth’s ruthlessness and certainty that they will succeed, and also her disregard for the consequences that so worry her husband. It also shows she has nothing really to loose and that she is not scared repeating the word ‘Fail’ that haunts Macbeth throughout the Act. The punctuation also shows how Macbeth is on edge when he says ‘fail’ like he’s almost scared of the word. Whereas Lady Macbeth says it with conviction this is shown by the explanation mark used. This shows the powerful demeanour that Lady Macbeth has, from when we meet her, when she gets the letter from Macbeth. These two of quotes shows the contrast between the pair of them at that time, but this does change and reveals a different side to both characters. Lady Macbeth soon is loses the dominance in her relationship with Macbeth. The two almost swap roles, and she turns mad, with minimal support form her husband. She eventually commits suicide. At the time Macbeth is very stressed revisiting The Witches but he also becomes less dependent on his wife. He starts by taking decisions on his own, soon after he kills Duncan. This is clearly shown when he organises the murder of Banquo with out telling Lady Macbeth. But ultimately I think that Macbeth is responsible for the death of Duncan. This is probably the obvious choice because he physically did it and his weak attitude towards his wife made him vulnerable. Macbeth’s madness can be blamed on the Witches and partly Lady Macbeth but he was he weak enough just to let them in' Macbeth is a classic example of a Shakespearean tragic hero. Macbeth’s change in character from a noble man to a violent individual is very noticeable there are three main reasons for this, they are; The Witches prophecies, Lady Macbeth’s manipulation of Macbeth and finally Macbeth’s drive and ambition to become king. I feel the obvious point was that he actually physically killed King Duncan. His ambition was to become king and so he killed King Duncan. ‘‘I go, and it is done; the bell invites me. Hear it not, Duncan; for it is a knell that summons thee to heaven or to hell.’’ (II.i.71-73) The deed of doing it now is just second nature to him The Witches and his wife have implanted this into his mind when the bell goes he doesn’t even have to think about what to do. Rhyming in the quote makes it sound like its The Witches saying it. The relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth is a very interesting one. When Lady Macbeth becomes obsessed for power she starts to influence Macbeth but he should have put his foot down. Macbeth says: ‘We will proceed no further with this business’ (Act I Scene VII 34) Lady Macbeth Says: ‘Was the hope drunk’ (Act I Scene VII 38) It is obvious that Lady Macbeth gets her way. Macbeth’s weak and feeble mind makes him a pushover and Lady Macbeth is pretty much controlling him throughout the Scene. Lady Macbeth use of a metaphor insults Macbeth just as much as not calling him a man. Also Macbeth’s order towards his wife was disregarded by his wife. The final point and most important point, is the reaction of the two men, Banquo and Macbeth, when the prophecies are first made by the witches. As we know Macbeth’s ambition takes over and his determination drives him to kill Duncan. Whereas Banquo could have done similar as the Witches said that his children would be king. The direct contrast of the two men shows how Macbeth’s agenda and loyalty changes rapidly. This is shown in Act 1 Scene 3 when the third witch says, ‘So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo’ (I.iii.71) and then again straight after the first witch says, ‘Macbeth and Banquo, all hail!’ (I.iii.72) Even though we think that the prophecies were really for Macbeth, they were obviously not just for that purpose. It could be said they were for which ever man was less loyal to the king. Banquo addresses the point when he says ‘‘I dreamt about the weird sisters last night’’ Macbeth denies thinking of them and says ‘‘I think not of them’’ we know this is not true as he is about to kill Duncan and fulfill one of the witches prophecies. Even though Lady Macbeth was very controlling Macbeth was a strong, noble man and he could have easily shrugged or ignored his wife. The relationship between the couple shows that even though it looks like Lady Macbeth is the dominant character it becomes more obvious that Macbeth is just as controlling. This is shown as he never asks for help from her in the murders of Banquo and Macduff’s family. Their relationship changes soon after the murder of Duncan, and Macbeth realises that he is king and has to be stronger. As I have said before it is like their roles have changed but this time Macbeth does not need Lady Macbeth and she is forgotten about, which consequently leaves her going mad and eventually committing suicide. At Macbeth’s death he was very dignified and reminded us of the last Thane of Cawdor. He died fighting Macduff and even though a whole army was surrounding him he still fought on. This showed us the better side of Macbeth and reminded us of Act 1 Scene 2 where he was heroic to fight off an invasion when he was outnumbered. Personally I think that Macbeth is responsible for the death of King Duncan. This is because he was weak minded, he actually did it and he was dependent on Lady Macbeth. He was a weaker, less loyal man than Banquo. Macbeth’s ambition and desire could not rest until he had fulfilled The Witches prophecies. I think this play overall influenced on audience to not kill the king as you will not succeed. Shakespeare and other playwrights often did this as it would put them in high regard of the King. This therefore would have made King James more powerful and his public more loyal. Will Pangborn.