Macbeth’s desire to become King is shown as he admits to killing King Duncan. Leading to, being so desperate to become king that he would stab Duncan. He was pushed into it by his wife. I can prove that he was unhappy or didn’t want to murder him “if chance will have me king, then chance may crown me without stir” meaning if fate says I will be king, well fate may crown me, without my help”, so Macbeth feels like if he is supposed to take the throne, then he doesn’t need to do anything to become king or to murder the present king, it will happen in its own time if he is supposed to take the thrown. The three witches tells Macbeth the prophecies, he doesn’t really take it seriously and makes himself sound like he doesn’t believe it, however, he is surprised and puzzled and like he has already thought about murdering the king and now he is lost in thought with what the witches have just told him. When Macbeth is told, Banquo is also with him and it comes across as Banquo is less scared than Macbeth. Lady Macbeth said that she would kill king Duncan herself as she wanted to throne so much, but the night that than Duncan came around Macbeth put a dagger to him, Macbeth forgets to return the dagger to the guards, so lady Macbeth does it herself, also getting her self covered in his blood.
Lady Macbeth is desperate to become queen and has a very powerful determination. She shows her ambition for it a lot and in some ways I don’t think she knows how much she shows it. The use of dramatic irony is so effective because it leads on; it just adds more tension and depth into the script. Lady Macbeth wants to become queen fast and she will take any short cuts towards it. I can prove this by the quotation “shout be, what thou art promised” act 1, scene 5, lines 14 – 15. This could mean that she was promised by the witches that Macbeth would be next in line and that is was she will get as she was promised it. You can tell easily how determined she is, through out the whole of the play she tells Macbeth to murder Duncan or she would. Lady Macbeth is a very strong character and I think that she feels like, without her, Macbeth wouldn’t be strong enough or ambitious enough. She calls upon the powers of evil to unsex her and make her cruel. At the end with the sleep walking scene she is caught out talking about the death of Duncan.
Macbeth says being unprepared, ours will become the servant to defect, which else should free have wrought. This could show concerned expressions as he says he is unprepared. Unprepared and not ready to kill Duncan. Meaning he is too nervous to or he is genuinely is not prepared to kill him. Lady Macbeth was concerned whether Macbeth would go through with it. Lady Macbeth takes control over the murder after it has been committed because Macbeth forgets to place the dagger with the guards so Lady Macbeth takes it for him , she is then caught talking about the murder when she is sleep walking. When she takes charge of the situation after the murder, it tells the audience that she likes to be in control and especially in her relationship with Macbeth. She shows a much stronger side to her. Who is not scared to get what she wants. This could also prove that she was the driving force because she did not let Macbeth finish the deed she wanted it done and wasn’t afraid of doing It herself, as if she wanted it to all go along to plan. In some ways, personally it comes across to me, that Lady Macbeth wouldn’t have gone through with the murder herself, the way she was talking was very persuasive, as if she was trying to trick Macbeth into it because she was saying that she would do it if he didn’t and Macbeth wouldn’t want to let his wife down or disappoint her, so he may have was pushed, tricked and talked into the murder without realising.
Actors may perform the play Macbeth, and they may make Macbeth seem less responsible for the murder because they might show his indecisive side, and lady Macbeths more ambitious side, who’s character has a lot of feeling and passion involved and isn’t shy to let people know. Where as Macbeth knows it is wrong and tries’s to hide his feelings.
My theory is that Lady Macbeth is to blame. Obviously she didn’t commit the murder, but she was the real driving force in which lead to the murder. Lady Macbeth was hungry and ambitious for the throne that she would go to any extremes and lengths to grab it. She and her husband had a strong relationship but Macbeth loved Lady Macbeth and she was able to persuade him into grabbing the chance. Macbeth had different thoughts over wise and was quite nervous about killing the king and kept having second thoughts, he didn’t really see why he couldn’t wait, and that fate would crown him when it was time and when he was ready to be crowned king. And I feel like Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth as the real driving force towards Macbeth.
