Who Is To Blame For Macbeth's Murder
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth should kill the King if he has any hopes of ever taking the throne for himself. He goes ahead to murder the groom so that they will be blamed for the King’s murder and will have no chance to defend themselves. But what motivates Macbeth into action? Various characters and factors have influenced Macbeth into action such as his own ambition, the three witches and Lady Macbeth (Jekels 75). They all play a huge role in his final action and decision. However, I strongly believe that Macbeth himself played the leading role.
Macbeth had the desire to kill Duncan in search of power at the start. It had been initially noted that Macbeth is kind at heart, but when Duncan states that his son is the one next in line for the throne, it bothers him because his initial ambition was to become King. The mixture of the three witches and Lady Macbeth just fuel his great desire and ambition. According to the text “The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step on which I must fall down, or else leap, for in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires. The eye winks at the hand; yet let that be which the eye fears when it is done, to see" (Shakespeare 3). This quote clearly shows Macbeth had the inner desire to become the king one day. …show more content…
The second factor which influenced Macbeth to take action is Lady Macbeth.
She frequently persuades Macbeth to take action and kill for her own gain. She is influenced by selfishness and greed. Macbeth reveals her own thoughts by stating that she thinks Macbeth is ambitious enough but too kind. This makes her worry because he might pass the only chance of her ever taking the throne. She reveals this when she states "Yet do I fear thy nature. It is too full of human kindness... Art nor without ambition, but without the illness to attend to it." (Shakespeare 34) It is clear from this statement that Macbeth is kind at heart, but his wife motivated him to kill
Duncan.
The three witches enlighten Macbeth on the three prophecies in act 1 and 2. Macbeth knew only one of them, but two have already been fulfilled. The prophecy stated that he was going to become the Thane of Glamis, then the Thane of Cawdor and would soon become king. The first two prophecies came true which prompted him to kill prior being crowned the Thane of Cawdor. The quote that influenced Macbeth was "all hail Macbeth that shalt be King hereafter"(Shakespeare 40). This put the idea of the king in his head before his wife tells him that he must certainly kill Duncan in order to be king.
Even though it seems that the witches and Lady Macbeth have influenced him to kill the king, Macbeth himself played the lead role because he was an ambitious man. He would never have had the courage to fulfill the third prophecy without his ambition. Without the spark of his ambition by his wife Lady Macbeth, and the third prophecy, he would never have killed the King (Keller 45). All these factors and characters played a big role in forcing Macbeth to take action.
Macbeth had the desire to kill Duncan in search of power at the start. It had been initially noted that Macbeth is kind at heart, but when Duncan states that his son is the one next in line for the throne, it bothers him because his initial ambition was to become King. The mixture of the three witches and Lady Macbeth just fuel his great desire and ambition. According to the text “The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step on which I must fall down, or else leap, for in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires. The eye winks at the hand; yet let that be which the eye fears when it is done, to see" (Shakespeare 3). This quote clearly shows Macbeth had the inner desire to become the king one day. …show more content…
The second factor which influenced Macbeth to take action is Lady Macbeth.
She frequently persuades Macbeth to take action and kill for her own gain. She is influenced by selfishness and greed. Macbeth reveals her own thoughts by stating that she thinks Macbeth is ambitious enough but too kind. This makes her worry because he might pass the only chance of her ever taking the throne. She reveals this when she states "Yet do I fear thy nature. It is too full of human kindness... Art nor without ambition, but without the illness to attend to it." (Shakespeare 34) It is clear from this statement that Macbeth is kind at heart, but his wife motivated him to kill
Duncan.
The three witches enlighten Macbeth on the three prophecies in act 1 and 2. Macbeth knew only one of them, but two have already been fulfilled. The prophecy stated that he was going to become the Thane of Glamis, then the Thane of Cawdor and would soon become king. The first two prophecies came true which prompted him to kill prior being crowned the Thane of Cawdor. The quote that influenced Macbeth was "all hail Macbeth that shalt be King hereafter"(Shakespeare 40). This put the idea of the king in his head before his wife tells him that he must certainly kill Duncan in order to be king.
Even though it seems that the witches and Lady Macbeth have influenced him to kill the king, Macbeth himself played the lead role because he was an ambitious man. He would never have had the courage to fulfill the third prophecy without his ambition. Without the spark of his ambition by his wife Lady Macbeth, and the third prophecy, he would never have killed the King (Keller 45). All these factors and characters played a big role in forcing Macbeth to take action.