After Macbeth killed Duncan, he started to change. Macbeth was in shock after he came out of Duncan’s chambers with blood all over his hands and with the dagger in one hand. He could not believe what he had just done, he was very shaken. Lady Macbeth told him to put the dagger back so it would seem like a murder, but Macbeth could not do it. She ended up putting the dagger back into the chambers herself.
The death of Duncan made Macbeth and his wife get even closer because they had a secret to keep. In order for Macbeth to keep the power he had gotten as being king, he would have to kill again, Duncan’s murder was not the last.
Macbeth’s relationship with Duncan was good. He was a nobleman of Scotland and was almost like a guardian, he protected him and obeyed almost everything that he was told. For these reasons Duncan trusted Macbeth very much. Duncan was very grateful for everything that Macbeth had done for him and for his courageous fights during battle. Because he was grateful for everything, he gave Macbeth the title Thane of Cawdor. He thought it was the least he could do for Macbeth. The night Duncan was killed, he had fun being and staying with a nobleman, whom he trusted.
Banquo was Macbeth’s best friend and they got along very well and went through many hardships together. The first time Macbeth started to turn against Banquo was after the three witches had told him that he would be very powerful because he was Thane of Cawdor. For Macbeth to become king he would have to eliminate Banquo because he knew all of his secrets. Banquo knew that Duncan was not murdered by Duncan’s officers but by his best friend. Macbeth ended up killing Banquo making it seem as if they had no intimate relationship with one another.
During this time in the play, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are becoming distant. They did talk a lot to each other before the murders but at this time in the play they both are going their separate ways. Macbeth is becoming more self centered, only thinking about his power and different ways to try and not lose the power he now with holds.
Another significant relationship that Macbeth had was with Macduff. Macduff was the character that found Duncan dead. He presumed that Macbeth might kill Duncan, but he really did not think much about it. Macduff and his son were heir’s to the thrown, but because Macbeth was Thane of Cawdor he got to be king. The third person that Macbeth wanted to kill was Macduff because the witches told him that Macduff was going to take over the thrown with his son. Macbeth did not like that idea, so his next step was to kill Macduff. He did not go himself to kill his rival, he sent a couple of men to do the job for him at Macduff’s castle.
When the murderer’s arrived to the castle, the only people there were Lady Macduff and their son, they were the first to be killed. When Macduff was told about the death of his wife and son, “His response to the disaster is complicated by his feelings of guilt about his contribution to it, and lacking a wholesome conscience, he is tossed between extremes of fury and despair,” as described by Charles and Michelle Martindale (Martindale 177). Macduff had lost everything, which was his family.
Lady Macbeth had committed suicide because she kept remembering the night when her husband killed Duncan. She also was shaken up from all of the murder’s, but especially Duncan’s because he reminded her of her father. Macbeth, after finding out that his wife was dead, did not mourn for her. Knight describes it as, “there is no sense of any communication, sharing of suffering, just of dissatisfaction in isolation.”(Knight 152)
At the end of the play Macbeth and Macduff had a sword fight. Macduff killed Macbeth, by cutting off his head, he then paraded Macbeth’s head around and Banquo’s son was crowned king.
All of these different types of relationships helped and destroyed Macbeth. It helped him sometimes because in the beginning of the play, all of the characters supported him by being his friend or his leader. By the end of the play Macbeth had already killed four people. Although Lady Macbeth’s death did not have a great impact on him, they had planned all of this together, to be powerful, and yet Macbeth felt lonely with not having her near. “Because he has succeeded, he cannot grieve for the one person he cared for absolutely, the person who was in a shut and behavior sense, ‘his life.’” ( Everett 103)
Macbeth’s pride was to overcoming which lead to his death.
