They mock him, taunting him about how far he has fallen. He responds in anger, wanting to hear more prophecies. He obviously feels more entitled now, and his ambition has thoroughly succeeded in corrupting him to the point of no return. He is now king; his friend (though, in his eyes as of late, his enemy,) Banquo, is dead and out of the way; and he is on a mission to kill any others who stand in his way and jeopardize his crown. The witches inform him that none of women born will kill him, but Macbeth still insists that he will kill not only Macduff, but his entire family and staff, just to be on the safe side of things.
Although he has second thoughts about killing Duncan, Macbeth chooses to go through with it. Lady Macbeth’s influence is a huge part of his choice, but he still is not under anyone’s control. It is his free will that helps him decide to speed up his fate of becoming king. When he murders Duncan, I feel that this is when Macbeth unleashes the monster in him.
“Two truths are told, As happy prologues to the swelling act of the imperial theme” (Shakespeare 1.3 136-138). Lady Macbeth may have pushed Macbeth but he killed the former king and others to make himself king. Macbeth has the blood on his hands, he was not forced into killing anyone he did that out of his own desire to become king. Macbeth wanted to be king because he had the insight to what his future held which fueled his ambition and drive to become
The show that Macbeth thought has terrify himself that he think in order to the prophecy come true he has to kill King Duncan. After Lady Macbeth has found out about the witches’ prophecy of Macbeth latter. Her strong desire and ambition of power has led Macbeth to assassinate Duncan by insulted him “wouldst thou have that Which thou esteem 'st the ornament of life, And live a coward in thine own esteem, Letting “I
This scene really depicts the relationship between cruelty and masculinity because the murderers realize that it’s ok to kill Macbeths’ best friend Banquo because he might stand in his way of becoming king. The following quote from the play explains how Macbeth really wants Banquo dead because he is worried that he might stand in his way of being king. It also shows how Macbeth was telling the murderers that’s it’s ok to kill Banquo even if they are
Macbeth’s flaw, is his power seeking, ambitious nature, and it leads to his and many other’s downfall. Macbeth’s ambition is what drives him to go through with the murder of Duncan, and later to murder Banquo, both of these murders ultimately lead to Macbeth’s death. Macbeth’s ambition, his desire to be king, was the reason that Duncan was murdered, “’Gainst nature still: Thriftless ambition, that wilt ravin up, thine own life’s means! Then ’tis most like that the sovereignty will fall upon Macbeth.” (Shakespeare Act II, Scene IV).
She felt as if she was more of a man than Macbeth. After King Duncan arrived that night, Lady Macbeth ordered her servants to leave so she can help her husband murder King Duncan. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth wanted the prophecy to come true. Macbeth killed King Duncan. He not only killed King Duncan, but he also betrayed Scotland by causing an uproar leaving the kingdom’s people without a
She was trying to make Macbeth the king so she could be the queen. It was her ambitious plan on murdering Duncan, but Macbeth does not want to kill him. After Lady Macbeth reads the letter she says, “Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood.”
Macbeth exclaims his internal battle when planning for the death of Macduff: “I am in blood, Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more,” (3.4 141-143). When Macbeth says this he is expressing that he feels so far into this game of murder, and Shakespeare dramatically describes this as Macbeth figuratively, being in blood. Macbeth believes that he has “waded” so far into this blood that it would not make sense for him to stop, but to keep murdering anyone that could prevent him from becoming king. Macbeth and his men are not successful in killing Macduff, but do kill Macduff’s wife and son. Macbeth remains in a confident state, even as Macduff’s forces advance towards Macbeth’s estate.
Here, Macbeth is seen giving into Lady Macbeth’s persistency in murdering King Duncan. By declaring that he will “do all that may become a man,” Macbeth is also deciding to entrust himself and go down the path of free will. Given that Macbeth is showing hesitancy towards going through with the plan, readers can consequently see that his ambition has risen, yet not to extreme heights. As the play progresses, Macbeth reverts back to accepting the fate of the Three Witches. He visits them once more and demands that they predict his future, and the Weird Sisters prophesize: “laugh to scorn the power of a man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth” (IV.i.79-81), to which he responds with, “I’ll make assurance double sure and take a bond of fate” (IV.i.83-84).
He compromises his honor and negates moral responsibility to attain power and position which results in his tragic end. From the beginning, Macbeth was faced with choices and he continuously kept on making bad ones. The witches vision for the future of him becoming king together with his ambition drove Macbeth to commit a crime, make a choice that would then continue to haunt him forever. With significant influence from Lady Macbeth, he decided to take action and murder King Duncan. We see him consider his choice to kill Duncan in soliloquy in Act 1, Scene 7 “If it were done”.
Lady Macbeth even views her husband’s weaknesses as leverage to harass him into killing Duncan. This can be seen when, at one stage, Macbeth repels the idea of killing a good king and believes that the assassination should not be done, his wife demands him to kill by saying abusive words. She questions if Macbeth loves her, she questions Macbeth’s masculinity and she criticizes Macbeth’s aspiration to be king. These three brutal statements hurt Macbeth. Since Macbeth wants to prove his manhood, his love for
He cannot actually kill sleep. In this personification, sleep is given a human-like quality. Because of his guiltiness, Macbeth is paranoid and the lunacy is invading his mind in every aspect. When Macbeth orders Macduff’s family to be killed, he declares, “From this moment / The very firstlings of my heart shall be / The firstlings of my hand” (4.1.166-168).
Lady Macbeth in the beginning of the play is manipulative, most of the times she manipulates her husband into doing either what she wants or what she thinks he should do. For example, when Macbeth does not want to kill Duncan anymore, Lady Macbeth convinces him by saying “from this time such I account thy love. Art thou afeared to be the same in thine own act and valor as thou art in desire? (I.vii line 38-41). Besides, the audience see Lady Macbeths is influencing her husband’s feelings by she is using her love as a weapon because she is saying do it
Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, is a play that mainly focuses on one common theme of insanity. Macbeth gradually becomes plagued by intense guilt as his desire for power drives him to attain his goals by any means necessary, including committing murder. He kills Duncan in cold blood in order to become King, has Banquo killed by three murderers because he wishes to maintain his position as King, and finally, he has Macduff’s family slaughtered. Each of these occurrences takes place because of Macbeth’s will to be King, or they are a result of his guilt. Nonetheless, they are all completed of his free will, which is what causes him to deteriorate mentally.