Lady Macbeth taunts Macbeth and makes fun of him in order to make him kill Duncan. She puts the idea in his head. This is exemplified when Lady Macbeth says, “What beast was’t, then, That made you break this enterprise to me? When you durst do it, then you were a man” (Shakespeare I.vii). Lady Macbeth is taunting her husband and making her feel in order to get the luxury and pleasure that she is longing for. She wants to become queen and so, by killing Duncan, this dream of hers will come true. This is shown in the quote when she calls Macbeth a coward and tells him that he is not a man. She also says that he will only become a man if he kills Duncan. Macbeth is pressured at this point and wants to gain his wife’s respect and love which was why he continued with the deed. Macbeth had only committed this crime because he was forced to do so by exterior forces. Lady Macbeth was one of the biggest influences since she was able to control him and persuade him to do what she wanted him to. Lady Macbeth was able to sway him and could tell him what to do because she understood him and also because Macbeth loved her and depended on …show more content…
The witches were the first people to put the idea of killing Duncan in Macbeth’s head. They had introduced the evil idea to him. In the beginning of the play, the witches say, “ All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!” (I.iii). The witches hailed Macbeth to make him feel good about himself. They made him feel like he is capable of becoming king and that he has the power to become the leader. Upon arriving at his home, he is welcomed by the evil in Lady Macbeth which forces him to continue with his deed. She is successful in this act and convinces him to commit the murder. Macbeth was a victim of the witches and their prophecies. The outside forces were the reason he had grown the evil inside of him. Most of the readers justify sympathy for Macbeth by saying that he was just a victim of the witches, the agents of destiny (Shanley). Macbeth continued the evil that was implanted in him since he had murdered many others after killing Duncan. The witches and Lady Macbeth were like the water that grew the plant of evil inside of Macbeth. They had planted the greed and ambition in him which had only continued to grow. The witches had a leader which was Hecate who had decided what she wanted to do with Macbeth. She was their leader and had given them commands telling them what to do. Midway through the play, Hecate says, “And you