Macbeth

At the end of act one Macbeth has decided to kill his cousin Duncan, king of Scotland. In this essay I will be giving a full account of all the influences and personalities that led to this decision.

A strong influence in Macbeth’s life is Lady Macbeth as she is a very determined and dominant lady and her aim is for her husband to become king. She tells Macbeth in scene five that “It is too full o’ the milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great; art not without ambition…” showing that she realises although he has plenty of ambition he is too kind. She says to herself “The raven himself is hoarse that croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan…” she has already determined Duncan’s fate and Macbeth will succeed him. Lady Macbeth is also shown as being two faced regarding Duncan, “Look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t.” In line thirty-one of scene seven Macbeth no longer wishes to proceed with the murder of Duncan, however in the passage from line thirty-five to eighty Lady Macbeth manages to persuade him otherwise “Such I account thy love, art thou afeard.”

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The witches have an influence on Macbeth as the information they give definitely tempts Macbeth, although they do not actually tell him to kill Duncan. It’s Macbeth’s own interpretation of their words that make him decide upon this option. Initially they tell him that he will become Thane of Cawdor and also King of Scotland. When the prophecy of him becoming Thane of Cawdor comes true this fuels his ambition to know he will become king. Banquo warns Macbeth about trusting supernatural messages however Macbeth can think of nothing else. This suggests Macbeth is already under the witches spell as ...

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