Murder Of Duncan As Lady Macbeth example essay topic

Due to the nature of Macbeths downfall it would be difficult to blame a single person for his downfall. The main characters that were at fault in Macbeths downfall were The Witches, Lady Macbeth and of course Macbeth himself but who is to blame the most out of the three The Witches played a big part in Macbeth's downfall, as they were the first characters who influenced Macbeth as they met him at the start of the story. The Witches were determined from the start to influence Macbeths way in life, they intended to meet with him from the start to begin the downfall of Macbeth, There to meet with Macbeth. Before they started putting ideas into his head they had to make sure that he was willing to listen to them so they waited until he was sure of his abilities, so they only started influencing him after the battle against Norway where he shone. As Macbeth would not normally listen to the telling of the Witches, they had to cleverly mix the truth and things that had not happened yet to gain his confidence. They influenced Macbeths first thoughts of killing Duncan as they first told him that he would be Thane of Cawdor, and he already was but he did not know yet.

They then said that he will be King, that would have triggered his thoughts later on when he found out he was Thane of Cawdor. All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Glam is, hail to thee Thane of Cawdor, All hail Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter. Although they did not directly tell Macbeth to kill King Duncan it gave him the idea. After Macbeth received the news that he was Thane of Cawdor he built a trust with the Witches as he now thought they were right about everything. Macbeth then thought about becoming King, he partially expected Duncan to name him as King until he pick Malcolm The Prince of Cumberland, that is a step I must overleap. He then knew he was not within a chance of becoming King...

The Witches are determined to let Macbeth complete his tasks that they have set him, so they indirectly tell Macbeth to kill Banquo by telling Macbeth that Banquos sons will be Kings. This prevents Banquo stopping Macbeth when he might have. The Witches also stop Macbeth from wanting to walk out on this by making him overconfident by telling him that none of woman born shall harm Macbeth. They also tell him that Macbeth shall never vanquished be, until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him. These predictions make Macbeth overconfident, as he believes that these things are impossible realistically. But he does not think of what they may really mean.

This then leads to the death of Macbeth in the final act as Macbeth prepares to fight the English army lead by Malcolm. The English army camouflage themselves using branches from Great Birnam wood so that it appears that the forest is moving up to Dunsinane hill. Macbeth is finally killed by Macduff who was born by a Caesarean operation and therefore he was not of woman born. The Witches played a big part in Macbeths downfall as they kept Macbeth going but at the same time confused him into thinking that he was invincible but he was clearly not. Unlike the Witches Lady Macbeth did not set out to ruin Macbeth's life, she did not contribute to Macbeth's downfall until after the meeting with the witches. But Lady Macbeth on the other hand has a more direct influence on Macbeth, as she is closer to him.

From the start we learn that she is more powerfully minded than Macbeth is as she is more committed to Macbeth becoming King than Macbeth himself. In fact she convinces Macbeth to kill King Duncan when he starts having second thoughts about it. Lady Macbeth receives a letter from Macbeth where he states he is having thoughts of killing Duncan but he does not say that he will. Lady Macbeth decides to take the matter into her own hands because she wants a better title for herself. She is stronger minded than Macbeth as she knows that although Macbeth is an ambitious person he is too noble to do such a thing as kill the King. But when she finds out about King Duncan is coming to stay she straight away decides that this would be the perfect moment for Macbeth to fulfil his predictions.

But when she tells Macbeth this he is not as willing to participate as Lady Macbeth is, in fact when she mentions the idea of murder to him he replies by saying We will speak further. This means he had to think the whole thing over, as he was not sure about the whole ordeal. But when he has considered the murder he replies We will proceed no further in this business. This angers Lady Macbeth so she puts him in a difficult position to make him reconsider.

She does this by questioning his manhood, When you durst do it then you were a man. She also uses the most powerful imagery to persuade him, I have given suck, and know how tender tis to love the babe that milks me I would while it was smiling in my face have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums, and dashed the brains out, had I sworn as you have done this. These clever and powerful mind games she plays with Macbeth finally convince Macbeth to kill King Duncan. Although Lady Macbeth was stronger minded she still was not willing to kill Duncan herself. She made Macbeth do the dirty work the only real part she played in the murder of Duncan was that after Macbeth killed Duncan she went back with the daggers put them in the hands of the grooms and smeared them with Duncan blood. Lady Macbeth does not play such a big part in Macbeths downfall even though she convinces Macbeth to kill King Duncan.

This is because after this she influences Macbeth less and less. The only other thing she does after the murder of Duncan that influenced Macbeth, was when she went crazy and eventually killed herself. This would have especially affected his moral as after her death everything went downhill for Macbeth. Macbeth starts of the story being a completely different person to the one he is come the end of the story. At the beginning he is a strong brave person who is well respected by his fellow countrymen. He has a strong marriage and has many friends and therefore is loved by many.

But this is later shadowed by the evil inside, which is released by the Witches. Macbeth is a good person but the Witches reflect the evil in Macbeth. When Macbeth meets up with the Witches at the beginning Banquo dismisses what the Witches have to say whilst Macbeth does the opposite and he listens to the preaching of them. Macbeth takes into account everything the Witches have to say and acts on what they have to say.

Anything they mention to him he acts on with violence, he becomes too alert with what could happen and he does not think he just acts on instincts. They tell him to beware Macduff so Macbeth butchers his wife, children, servants, all that could be found. But the influence of the Witches becomes less and less as the story progresses. From the start Macbeth is not as committed to the murder of Duncan as Lady Macbeth is, this is because Macbeth is too noble and loyal towards Duncan. But when he finally kills Duncan his wife is driven mad by the guilt. You can tell he was weak minded at the start of the story as he hallucinates on his way to kill Duncan Is this a dagger which I see before me.

Also when Banquo is killed he hallucinates Banquos ghost coming to haunt him and makes a mockery of himself in front of his guests. But after the death of King Duncan it only spurs Macbeth on to more evil deeds. He is corrupt and slaughters all that get in his way, he is told that Banquos sons will be kings so he kills his close friend Banquo. He then tells Lady Macbeth that he has arranged to kill Banquo and he comments that she marvell st at my words. This shows that Lady Macbeth realises the sudden change in Macbeths ways. Hesitancy gives way to an enjoyment of violence.

He becomes a tyrant he is obsessed with killing he instructs his soldiers to, hang those who talk of fear and he threatens to hang until he starves the servant who brings the news of Birnam wood to Dunsinane hill if he is telling the truth. Macbeth is too ambitious to realise that he will die in the final battle as what the Witches told him has given him a strong belief in his personal abilities. But when he remembers what the Witches said about Birnam wood and it actually comes true he nearly gives up hope especially when his wife kills herself. The one thing that keeps him going is that none of woman born shall harm Macbeth, but when Macduff tells him he was from his mothers womb untimely ripped, he realises he has no chance of defeating Macduff and he is therefore killed. The Witches played a larger part in the downfall of Macbeth than Lady Macbeth did, but Macbeths belief in personal abilities puts the greater share of the blame on Macbeth himself.

Macbeths ambition made him blind to the other side of what the Witches had to say. As he was ambitious when things went his way after the telling of the Witches he made himself believe that he was invincible and refused to think of the consequences of the things he did. 357.