Macbeth coursework

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Who is most responsible for the death of Duncan, the Witches, Lady Macbeth or Macbeth?

Intro

Witches

Lady Macbeth

Macbeth

Conclusion

It is obvious that Macbeth killed Duncan, but Macbeth can not be held completely responsible for the murder as other main characters can be held responsible for motivating him to do that deed. The three main characters I will explore are the witches, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. All three of these characters had something to do with the death of Duncan. Two of these were due to betrayal against him. From this essay I will find out who was actually responsible for the death of Duncan.

This play is linked in many ways to its historical background, it was written at a time of treachery and murder, this was often how Scotland was ruled, and Scotland is also where this play is set. It was written when Queen Elizabeth of England died and James VI of Scotland became James I of England as well. The betrayal was resembled in real life as when Shakespeare wrote this play James I was in power, James' father had been assassinated and there had been plans for the death of James, the most well known is the one of Guy Fawkes where he tried to blow up the parliament and James I. James was fascinated by the theories of kingship and drama, which are some of the themes included in this play. Shakespeare wanted to impress James I, as he was king; this was one of the reasons why Shakespeare wrote this play. Shakespeare impressed James I so much that the Chamberlain's men were changed to the King's men.

From the three characters mentioned I am going to firstly look at the witches as they set the opening scene in Macbeth. Going back to the play you see that the witches mention Macbeth even though he hasn't been introduced by Shakespeare as they quote "There to meet with Macbeth". This shows that something is not right because why should they meet with Macbeth if he is good and they are evil. They do not target Banquo, but specifically Macbeth. This shows that they have chosen Macbeth for a reason, probably to do something for them. They confuse 'Fair is foul, and foul is fair' this means that foul things are desirable and fair things are not. It could also be interpreted as Macbeth and his wife seem fair, but as we find out they are not. This shows that the witches can prophesise the future. The first time we see Macbeth and the witches meet, they give the predictions of the three things that Macbeth will become, but they do not imply how, which leaves him on a cliff hanger. 'All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!' Banquo realises Macbeth's shock and questions him 'Good sir, why do you start, and seem to fear things that do sound so fair'. Foul is fair is confused again because Banquo says fair, where as in Macbeth's mind it is foul. They speak openly of his ambitions; He is shocked because they are both the same - to become king. This shows that the witches already know of his ambitions and they could be using him as bait to kill King Duncan, because as we saw they have limits to their power. They couldn't kill the fisherman but they send him into a storm 'Though his bark cannot be lost, yet it shall be tempest-tossed'. But they never actually tell Macbeth to kill King Duncan; he could have died by natural causes. As they can prophesise the future, they would know of Macbeth's weakness of ambition and take advantage of him. The three witches could have known that if Macbeth knew about him becoming king, he would want to be king. Shakespeare must have included the witches because James I was interested in witchcraft, he had also written about witches and thought they were the agents of the devil.
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Lady Macbeth has a major part to play in the killing of King Duncan. Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as the very person Macbeth loves and trusts they are equal; Macbeth loves her so she has the power to influence him. She ensures his temptation is thorough and complete. She is introduced first reading a letter sent by Macbeth. In the letter Macbeth doesn't even say anything about killing King Duncan. But straight away she says 'shalt be what thou art promised' which means that no one will get in the way. She knows that he is a bit ...

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