Macbeth's Second Murder And Lady Macbeth example essay topic
At the beginning of the play, Macbeth does indeed have the ambition to kill King Duncan. Even Lady Macbeth can see that, she knows he could, but she also knows that he wouldn't without a bit of encouragement. So, in a way, Lady Macbeth somewhat brainwashes her husband into killing the king by taunting his masculinity, "what beast was't then, That made you break this enterprise to me? When you durst do it, then you were a man, And, to be more that what you were, you would Be so much more a man". Lady Macbeth would have even killed King Duncan herself except she claims that he looked like her father, "Had he not resembled My father as he slept, I had don't". Macbeth went along with the plan and murdered Duncan.
After his first murder, Duncan, Macbeth becomes very ashamed of what he has done, "to know my deed, 'were best not to know myself". Lady Macbeth doesn't even seem to care in the slightest, but she is aware that if they think about what they have done too much, it will drive them mad, "These deeds must not be thought After these ways: so, it will make us mad". So instead she thinks that if they just get rid of all the evidence, then they will both be fine and no one will find out, "a little water clears us of this deed. How easy is it then!" Later on in the play, Lady Macbeth does end up turning quite mad.
She can't stop washing her hands because she seems to see blood on them all the time, which ends up driving her into committing suicide. From here on out it is Macbeth's ambition and madness that drives his cruelty. It would be unfair to place the entire blame on Lady Macbeth. Macbeth had shown he was willing to murder with only a bit of encouragement, to say Lady Macbeth is solely responsible for the events thereafter is ludicrous. It did not seem a major step for Macbeth to become a murderer, encouragement does not excuse the act. In conclusion, It was not all Lady Macbeth's fault that Macbeth went out and murdered so many people.
After all, Banque was Macbeth's second murder and Lady Macbeth was not involved with the planning of the whole thing, he was acting alone. Although Macbeth probably wouldn't have killed King Duncan if it wasn't for Lady Macbeth pressuring, he still did kill a lot of people, and murder is murder. It's up to the person who is going to committee the crime whether they do it or not. Macbeth's innocence was gone the second he killed King Duncan so after that, it was all his doing.