Macbeth then writes to his wife explaining his meeting with the witches, and their prophecy. She then thinks of the idea of Duncan’s death to be wonderful and then automatically thinks that her husband has to kill Duncan in order to become king, “My thought whose murder yet is but fantastical.” This meant she had a determined fighting force, but she feared that Macbeth would not have the ruthlessness to do what is necessary to become king. Shakespeare shifts the blame from being entirely due to one man’s ambition to that of an accomplice which is wife Shakespeare links her to the witches by her invocations of spirits to unsex her and fill her full of cruelty. After Macbeth’s arrival, he expresses reluctance to commit murder, and so she urges him on and prevails. She had said in act 1 scene 5 that he “is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness.
In Lady Macbeths soliloquy on receiving the news of Duncan’s coming visit we see how powerful the motive which compel her to do violence to her own born child, causing her to summon to her aid the powers of darkness rather than forego her purpose. Nowhere, not even in her most confidential conversation does she so thoroughly unveil herself like she did here. Macbeth is at a crucial stage, before he is forced into action, while yet all is uncertain and all depends on his decision, as lady Macbeth could not bring it upon herself to kill Duncan, as he likened to her father asleep.
Regicide was a great worry to James 1st and there were a number of attempts on his life. Shakespeare seems to want to show conspiracy and apportion blame to a woman.
Lady Macbeth has a lot of control over Macbeth and she soon makes him feel unmanly as he was having second thoughts. Her use of words pressures Macbeth into going forth with the murder. Lady Macbeth’s influence upon Macbeth played a major role as if Duncan’s murder had not been committed the other murders would not have been necessary, and so Macbeth would not have felt so guilty, with no deaths of Lady Macbeth, Banquo and Macbeth himself.
The fact that he let his ambition make him commit evil things (i.e. murder the king) shows that he has a weakness and this weakness was another reason why Macbeth failed. If only he had been strong, and faced the fact that he may not be king, he would never have killed King Duncan. Therefore he himself may have been the driving force of the murder of Duncan. He did, however, try to overcome his ambition at one point in the play which was Act 1 Scene 7 where Macbeth decides not to kill Duncan but Lady Macbeth accuses him of cowardice and lack of manliness, she would kill her own child rather than break such a promise like Macbeth had done so. “Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out, had I sworn as you have done to this” the imagery here is meant to develop Lady Macbeth as a figure of taboo and the look of the pity and fear that the audience would feel as she describes her child. This change of heart contradicts the fact that he was the real driving force of Duncan’s murder.
Macbeth changed his mind on several occasions showing his determination to overcome his driving force. However speaking to his wife just once, he went ahead with the murders, this suggests that she plays a bigger role in his life, and has a large amount of power over Macbeth, as he wanted everything for her, making her a greater driving force. At the end of Act 1 Scene 7 he exclaims, “Bring forth men children only”. Macbeth himself going forth with the murder does not mean that he was a greater force only that he was easily led into thinking this was the best way around it.
Macbeth is guilty of the sin of ambition before the witches first speak to him; Lady Macbeth has bad dreams, notoriously caused by witches, as they were such hallucinations as the “mid air drawn dagger”. Although the witches can foretell the future, the general tenor of the play suggests that Macbeth bears responsibility for his own actions.
Fate fundamentally brings Macbeth his doom upon him self in being driven his sense of guilt into a fearful insecurity that causes him to commit further atrocious murders.
Lady Macbeth has good persuading means, such as telling Macbeth he had fearfulness and lack of masculinity, and she would rather kill her own child, than break such a promise that he has made to her. The witches were clever enough to pick Macbeth. He blames the witches later on for deceiving him with false promises.
The main downfall of Macbeth was his ambitions; so if he had no ambition, he would never have considered being king, let alone murdering his best friend, Banquo.
I think that Macbeth was driven by himself, the witches, and the love he had for his wife. Therefore not only was she the driving force but the witches as well. For if he had not met the witches he would not have had desire to become king, and so the king would not have been murdered. Macbeth already had some driving force within him, however the fact that he did not show his ambition before the witches foretold him his future, of becoming a king meant that they played a great role in the driving force of the murder of King Duncan as this was an inspiration of being a King and fulfilling his dream. Before the witches came Macbeth seemed loyal and not very ambitious, as the witches prophecy came true and he did become Thane of Cawdor, he realised that the third prophecy must come true but he did not realise the total consequences of his actions, which led to the death of his wife and himself.
