How is Macbeth persuaded to kill Duncan: Is his wife entirely to blame?

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How is Macbeth persuaded to kill Duncan: Is his wife entirely to blame?

Legend has it that Macbeth was written in 1606 and performed at Hampton court for King James I; although some historians argue that it was in fact premiered at The Globe theatre, as were most of Shakespeare's productions. Irrespective of this polemic, the play is littered with aspects, issues and ideas that would undoubtedly suggest that the play was indeed written to please King James, who was at the time, patron of Shakespeare's theatre group. One of these themes deals with witches who James was quite unashamedly interested in; so captivated by the supernatural in fact, he wrote a book on the subject; Demonology.

Macbeth begins by launching us into a meeting with the three witches. In terms of pure storytelling, this scene is unnecessary - it is only until scene three that we discover the true nature and role of the witches in this play. If one were to miss the first scene, one could follow the narrative still, without any difficulty. I felt that the logic behind the placement of the scene is twofold; to draw the crowd (especially James) in from the outset, and it also underlines the importance of the witches and the theme of darkness to the audience, as the first thing that the crowd see on stage will often be the most memorable. Witches were very much the scapegoat of the time, and much of the problems were blamed on them, and even in this play, all the problems can be traced back to the witches.

The following scene is where the story truly commences. It is the first time that the audience have the opportunity to learn about the man who shares his name with the play, Macbeth, as the captain gives his report to the King Duncan. The Captain's words paint a very positive picture of Macbeth. After Macbeth single handily saved the Scots by killing the enemy MacDonald by "unseaming him from the nave to the chaps" a fresh assault came.

Note that in the Captain's speech, he calls Macbeth "Brave," "Valour's Minion," and says that Macbeth scorns fortune and takes matters into his own hands when he says that Macbeth was "Disdaining Fortune, with brandished steel." All these points help to build the vision of a man who is a military genius and an efficient killer. Yet even with all this information bowing at Duncan's feet, Duncan is still forced to ask the question "Dismayed this not our captains, Macbeth and Banquo?" The Captain gives an ironic response, saying that they feared "As sparrows eagles, or hare the lion." This shows the courage and the loyalty of Macbeth, and the fact that the captain uses irony shows how obvious this is.

So if Duncan, even for a second, felt that Macbeth had been put in a position where he might forsake the king, imagine what he would have thought about the ordinary soldier, working solely for money and with no genuine heartfelt loyalty. Duncan's doubt in Macbeth may have been incorrect, but his sceptical view in the average soldier would inevitably be accurate. These men would be under the command of Macbeth, so to keep these men, who feared for their lives with this new line of attack, in total control and order would be a great feat. The audience would pick up that he needs to command a great deal of respect over these men, and he is an example to them when he "Doubly redoubled strokes upon the foe."

More so in the 1600's when the play was performed to Shakespeare's own audience, the visitor to the theatre would perhaps speculate that God was on Duncan's, and therefore Macbeth's side, as Macbeth had won this battle against astounding odds. This most certainly would have delighted King James I, as this ties in with the theme of the Divine Right of Kings doctrine by which James ruled.

The single line that encapsulates Macbeth's personality on the battlefield and the audience's perception of Macbeth is "Till he unseamed him from the nave to the chaps and fixed his head upon our battlements." The first part of this line ("Till…Chaps") would suggest Macbeth's superiority as a soldier, his courage and that he is a model for all men under his command. The second part of the line ("And…battlements") shows that he is loyal to the king and punishes traitors. Ironically, it will be Macbeth who becomes the biggest traitor of all, and it is his head that is pierced onto the battlements.

The material for the play was drawn from Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland; although in Shakespeare's story there are many fabrications and manipulations of characters and events. One aspect of the story that Shakespeare, surprisingly, did not create is the part played by the witches; Holinshed's account also contains the witches.

Macbeth meets these witches upon the heath with his friend Banquo. Banquo's initial reaction to the witches is confusion about their strange appearance and to some extent mocks them with his speech by asking them if they are beings of the earth. This questioning of the witches also shows that he is doubtful of their authenticity. The witches immediately intrigue Macbeth and he is the one who summon them to "Speak, if you can." The rhythm of the language also indicates that Macbeth is getting to be very restless with Banquo’s questioning of the witches because he interrupts Banquo's iambic pentameter:

Banquo

And yet your beards forbid me to interpret

That you are so

Macbeth

Speak if you can: - what are you

The first line of Banquo's that I have quoted has the full ten beats, which proves that the second line is unfinished. Therefore, Macbeth's intervention of Banquo's line is deliberately crafted by Shakespeare to give Macbeth the air of impatience, and eagerness to know what the witches have to say; and possibly an annoyance with Banquo's disbelief. Banquo tends to ask direct questions to them, which indicates to the audience that he has less respect for the witches than Macbeth, who speaks to them in minimal proportions.

Macbeth is very startled by the weird sisters' famous three "All Hails." The line "Good sir, why do you start." is effectively a stage direction. Macbeth is instantly entranced and "rapt withal" by the witches; because he believes them. In contrast, Banquo doubts them very much on introduction and tells them that he "neither beg nor fear your favours nor you hate." Banquo has no reason to believe in them, and nor does Macbeth. However, it is made clear to the audience that Macbeth is not incredulous about their information, especially when he begs or orders (depending on how the line is played) them to "Speak, I charge you," and is most disappointed when the disappear, and utters "would that they had stayed" This would indicate that perhaps Macbeth has thought about being crowned before this incident, and this is the first step towards his dreams being realized. The audience will be able to sense Macbeth's curiosity, because almost certainly everyone has had a point in their life where someone seems to know something about them or their nature, and the audience will want to know exactly how much they know; Shakespeare understood this to be a human characteristic.

The second step towards his dreams being realized comes with the title, Thane of Cawdor, as the witches had prophesised. As soon as the news of this title comes into Macbeth's knowledge, he whispers aside "The greatest is behind," which can be interpreted as Macbeth saying that two of the three prognoses have been fulfilled, and only one is left to be accomplished. At this point, the audience will be shocked by the twist in the storyline, and this will certainly intrigue them as much as it intrigued Macbeth. Somehow, Banquo remains pessimistic and warns Macbeth that often "The instruments of darkness tell us truths, win us with honest trifles, to betrays in deepest consequence," and of course, this is what exactly the witches are doing! Macbeth ignores this advice (in his glee of finally being told he will be king?) and moves onto his soliloquy. He cogitates thoroughly and indicates to the audience that he is already thinking of killing Duncan "Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair…whose murder is yet but fantastical," which should surprise the audience, as so far they have only seen Macbeth to be a loyal subject of the king. Even though he follows this with the flipside to the argument "Chance may crown me, without my stirring," the audience will not redeem him for the earlier thought. So very early in the play he is in two minds about killing the king, without Lady Macbeth even appearing on the stage. This vacillation of Macbeth is an aspect of him that is present throughout the entire play. For example, just after he has talked himself out of killing Duncan, another vision of killing comes to him when Malcolm is named heir to the throne. The audience know this because Macbeth says, "This is a step on which I must fall down or else o'erleap," referring to Malcolm. This will confirm to the audience about what Macbeth is capable of in terms of treachery, though I can imagine the audience trying to scream at him "Calm Down Macbeth, Murder isn't the right course of action!" There is an interaction between the audience and Macbeth, and hopefully by now the audience will realise that Macbeth's ambition is the flaw in his character.

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The first time the meet Lady Macbeth, she is reading the letter that Macbeth has written to her about the predictions of the witches. The letter itself it tells us something about Macbeth when he says "I have learnt by the perfect'st report, they have more in them than mortal knowledge," which means that he has conducted some type of research into the validity of the witches predictions, and what he has found out would suggest that the witches are telling the truth. This has confirmed for him his initial thoughts of his future role in the country, giving him ...

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