It is only Macbeth who mentions murder not the witches. It was him who connects the idea of murder and kingship. But at the moment Macbeth thinks the idea of murder is ‘fantastical’, that is in his imagination. Macbeth decides to leave it to chance to whether he will become king or not.
In the second soliloquy, Macbeth cannot make up his mind whether to Kill Duncan. He says “if it were done, then ‘twere well it done quickly. If th’assassination could trammel up the consequence.” Macbeth is saying here that if the murder of King Duncan could be done, with out any consequences, then he should do it quickly. There is also a repetition on ‘done’, which shows Macbeth’s anxiety, which suggests that he knows he has got to do the murder, which he knows would be wrong and he would end up paying for his crime.
Macbeth also lists reasons why he should and why he should not kill the king; Macbeth is his kinsman, his host and his subject. Macbeth should be the one to protect him. The king is so good and kind “in his great office”, that killing him would cause big problems and distress. Also the King has used his authority so wisely and has been so free from corruption that his good qualities will be like “angels trumpet-tongued”, plead like angles against the evil deed if he was murdered and Macbeth will be condemned to “deep damnation”. The images of heaven and hell show the conflict in Macbeth’s Morals between love and evil. Macbeth also says that the only thing pushing him to do the crime of killing Duncan is his ambition; “vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself and falls on th’other-“.
In the third soliloquy, Macbeth sees a vision of a dagger covered in blood. Macbeth tries to clutch the dagger, which represents committing the murder. Macbeth is unable to hold the dagger, which shows his ambivalence about the deed and he realises that it is not real, even though all of his other senses says it is, “mine eyes are made fools o’ the other senses”. Macbeth thinks that “the heat-oppressed brain” causes the illusion. The kind of sin/killing that Macbeth is about to commit goes against Macbeth’s nature and against natural law.
Macbeth says “one half-world” which is saying half the world is in darkness, “nature seems dead”, and the other half is in light. The darkness is a symbol of the way the evil powers are rising up to attack the powers of goodness and light. Macbeth is talking about how his morals are turning bad, and his heart is becoming full of evil. Macbeth expresses the darkness of night using evil imagery, using such words as “dead”, “wicked”, “hecate” (which is the goddess of the moon and sorcery). Macbeth also describes himself as he walks to do the murder as “Tarquin’s ravishing strides, toward his design” (Tarquin was a rapist). Macbeth begins to wonder whether he is going mad. The bell that rings in this soliloquy has summoned Macbeth to judgement, whether Macbeth will go to heaven or hell.
The “knell” is a church bell that is rung to announce a death. The dagger is the first of several visions that Macbeth sees. He cannot tell whether they are real or imaginary. The visions are symbols of the power of evil sprits and also of the evil that is growing in Macbeth’s heart. This shows that Macbeth’s morals are increasingly evil, and this is the beginning of Macbeth going mad as he afterwards continues to kill innocent people, including Lady McDuff and her children.
These soliloquies show how Macbeth’s moral state gradually decreases. In the first soliloquy Macbeth is only thinking about murder, but he decides to leave up to chance. But in the second soliloquy Macbeth thinks about killing the king more, he begins to list reasons of why not to kill the king, the king’s character and his obligations to the king. Macbeth knows the crime has to be done, and that his ambition is the only thing driving him to do it. In the third soliloquy his morals decrease rapidly, until Macbeth actually does the murder. His mind is full of dark imagery, as he uses strong, evil words.
