Lady Macbeth is the real driving force behind the murder of Duncan." Discuss this statement and decide whether you agree or disagree

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Macbeth coursework

"Lady Macbeth is the real driving force behind the murder of Duncan." Discuss this statement and decide whether you agree or disagree

The play "Macbeth" was written in 1606 by William Shakespeare and is a dramatic play. The play has murder, ambition, betrayal and destruction. From the start of the play there is a sense that something isn't quite right. The 1st scene has witches( in this period many people believed in witchcraft so this makes it a very good start) these represent evil. When Macbeth the main character is introduced he is said to be "brave" and a "noble" solider, however by the end of the play he is greedy bloodthirsty who betrayed his king. I believe that the murder was brought about by ambition because it is lady Macbeths and Macbeths ambitions that go so far that they kill Duncan, Macbeth seeks power, whereas Banquo who was with Macbeth when they meet the witches, doesn't think about what the have said. Lady Macbeth wants to become Queen. The other factors could be the witches, Fate Macbeth, L. Macbeth and Duncan.

The witches appear at the start of the play, this would have been dramatically very effective because in this period most people were scared of witches and believed what they said. They believed that witches could; Make people ill by spells and potions that could kill, even the strongest. They thought witches could fly though the air and make themselves invisible. Lastly Jacobeans thought that they used animals to hide evil spirits who served them.

James I was terrified of witches because he thought that a group of them made a storm to try and kill him, then have a wax statue of him melt and die. Consequently a Jacobean audience would instantly know they were witches by the way they would be dressed and most the time they would be standing around a cauldron to make them more believable, even though audiences knew that they weren't real witches they would still believe what the witches were saying.

The first time we meet Macbeth he is fighting for his country. He comes across as brave, this is shown when "brave Macbeth" is said, and strong. This is significant because it shows that he would fight for his country and doesn't seam like the person who would betray a king. Macbeth wasn't always power hungry , he only got the idea when the witches put it into his mind and lady Macbeth helped him along.

Macbeth very easily believes what the witches are saying because he is already thinking about killing Duncan because he wants to become King.

Macbeth has a connection with the witches

"So foul and fair a day I have not seen"

Macbeths 1st line echoes the one that the witches have said. This shows that they are connected in some way and are going to meet each other and something bad is going to happen. Also the witches know who Macbeths is so they must want him for a reason.

When Macbeth starts seeing things and is unable to pray its suggests that he is in a very insecure state of mind and is becoming weak, however when he was fighting he was brave and strong. The witches first gave the idea to Macbeth and made him become ambitious, however Macbeth may have already been thinking about becoming king but in a different way. The witches knew that Macbeth was ambitious so knew that they if told him he would be king he would do anything he could to become king, the witches ensure that he. Banquo reacts differently he believes what the witches are saying but doesn't get caught up in what they are saying this may be because the prophecies are not directly about him but about his children. Macbeth doesn't really want to think of the idea of murder at this stage, he describes it as "fantastical" this shows that although he thinks it mite be unthinkable it would be fantastic for him if he did. When Macbeth says "if chance will have me king, why chance may crown /without my stir" it seems that Macbeth has decided just to let it come if it was meant to happen but if It doesn't then it shouldn't happen and he will not change fate. Shakespearean audience would of thought that it was the worst thing to even think about killing a king, this is what makes the story even more griping for the audience seeing if he would really do it.
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It is within act 1 scene 4 that Macbeths character show signs of change and that he may want to kill Duncan.

He is unhappy when Duncan announces that his son will be king

"Our eldest, Malcolm whom we name hereafter ...

Prince of Cumberland."

Macbeth is very annoyed because he thought that he would be king because of the witches prophecies. Also he would be very envious of Malcolm.

Macbeth then feels left out of the group "Let not light see my black and deep desires" this tells us that he doesn't ...

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