The prediction of Macbeth becoming the Thane of Cawdor had come true and believing that himself will become king, spurred him on to do something. His wanting for more than gratitude from Duncan won out and his ambition for the title of king had taken over. Since the title of king cannot be obtained honestly as he did for the Thane of Cawdor, he knew he had to do something to acquire the title. ‘Glamis, and Thane of Cawdor: the greatest is behind’ shows us that his ambition has been recognized since he contemplates how easy it would be to become king, having obtained the title of Thane of Cawdor.
‘A prosperous gentlemen and to be king stands not within the prospect of belief’ tells us that Macbeth knows he cannot be king therefore he will have to do an evil deed. At this point, Macbeth had failed to see sense therefore he was blind towards what was correct. When the prospect of murder crossed his mind as a way to obtain the title, he heart was beating hard from fear. He was appalled by the direction of his thoughts yet he wanted the crown.
Being unsure of his own motives, he balanced the positive and negative points of murder. He thought Duncan a kinsman and great king and wise ruler and also being his cousin, he saw no reason to murder Duncan but his ambition. “To prick the sides of my intent, but only/ Vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself’ tells us that he knows his ambition is the only reason to murder Duncan yet he wants the crown. King Duncan is depended upon by the people to hack down rebels and for other important purposes. ‘This Duncan/ Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been/ So clear in his great office, that his virtues/ Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued against/ The deep damnation of his taking off’ proves that Duncan maintained his duties as king well and people who serve him respect and love him therefore if he were be dead, the effect on the country and people would be devastating. However, Lady Macbeth had intervened and pressurized him and called him a coward to persuade him to kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth had questioned Macbeth, ‘Are you a man?’ and Macbeth had been shocked, being called a coward by his wife and frightened for not going on with the promise and would rather beat the brains out of a baby drove him to the point of committing murder.
He became so caught up by the idea of murder that he started seeing hallucinations. ‘Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible/ To feeling as to sight? Or art thou but/ A dagger of the mind, a false reaction,/ Proceeding from the heat oppressed brain?/ O see thee yet, in form as palpable/ As this which now I draw’ tells us that he had hallucinated the dagger leading him to Duncan’s chamber. Before Macbeth killed Duncan in slumber, he said, ‘Come, thick nights, and pall thee in the dunnest smoke o hell, that my keen knife see not would it makes, nor heaven peep through the blankets of the dark’ which shows his shame and guilt for doing such a deed. He is so ashamed of what he is doing he does not want to see what himself is doing.
When Macbeth sees Duncan’s blood on his hands, he immediately regrets it. Having thought someone had said ‘murderer’ and waking someone up, he tried to pray to the Lord to be safe but was horrified to find he could not speak the word, ‘Amen’. ‘God bless us!’ and ‘Amen’ the other,/ As they had seen me with these hangman’s hands./ List’ning their fear, I could not say ‘Amen’/ When they did say ‘God bless us’ meaning that Macbeth realized he could not say a word of religion. He had also ‘murdered sleep’ when he had murdered Duncan. Macbeth believed he had done a horrible deed that he will not be able to sleep when he said ‘Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor/ Shall sleep no more: Macbeth shall sleep no more’. He believed that he was so consumed by guilt that nothing will make him pure and clean again.
Macbeth cannot be described as ‘the dead butcher’ since he had contemplated on the fact that Duncan did not deserve to be murdered for his ambition but had been pressurized and mocked by his wife to the point where he had to kill Duncan. Also, he felt shame and guilt during the act of murder and regret after he had committed the crime. If Macbeth were a ‘butcher’ as Malcolm had called him, Macbeth should not have felt any emotion during or after the murder.
