To what extent is it fair to place the main blame for the murder of Duncan on Macbeth?
JAMES MARSHALL 1/2/01
English Essay: Shakespeare
To what extent is it fair to place the main blame for the murder of Duncan on Macbeth?
It is obvious that Macbeth did actually kill Duncan, but is Macbeth really to blame for his actions? There are many other factors to take into account. One reason for Macbeth's actions is that he was under a lot of pressure from other people and changes in his life. Also there maybe a supernatural element to take into account for the killing of Duncan by Macbeth, which may have influenced Macbeth's decisions. There also maybe of coarse, no-body else that could have influenced Macbeth and just Macbeth himself. Or maybe all of the different pressures and influences combined together, making one mass attack on Macbeth's mind. The blame for the murder of Duncan could be placed on anyone's shoulders, but who do we blame specifically? Do we blame Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, The Three Witches, or was it the atmosphere and society of the 11th century?
The most obvious person to blame for the murder of Duncan is Macbeth. This is because he actually took hold of the knife and stabbed Duncan. Therefore he should be and feel responsible for the murder. His motives for the murder are that if he kills Duncan then he will be made king of Scotland. He believes strongly in the afterlife, but still doesn't care about what happens to him when he dies, may it be of old age, or of murder also. All he cares about is becoming king. He backs that up by saying:
'We'd jump the life to come.'
It is his high ambitions that drive him into murdering Duncan. But, surely Macbeth knows that killing Duncan is a treasonable offence, and he could also be killed for it. He would lose everything because it would be obvious that Macbeth killed Duncan. This is because no-body else would have the right motives. He would lose his titles of Thane of Glamis, and also when he became Thane of Cawdor, he would lose that too. So he cannot really afford to commit the murder. This is where the argument of whether Macbeth is mentally ill comes into play. A sane person wouldn't risk his life and livelihood like that.
His normal personality is that of a human being that hasn't got it in his personality to kill someone who hasn't done anything to harm him. Macbeth is able to kill a man on a battlefield, but that is a totally different situation. On a battlefield you don't know the person you are about to kill, and he is also prepared to kill you also, so it is like killing in self-defense. But by killing Duncan, it is killing in cold blood, someone that is asleep and has no defense. A split personality perhaps, where one minute he ...
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His normal personality is that of a human being that hasn't got it in his personality to kill someone who hasn't done anything to harm him. Macbeth is able to kill a man on a battlefield, but that is a totally different situation. On a battlefield you don't know the person you are about to kill, and he is also prepared to kill you also, so it is like killing in self-defense. But by killing Duncan, it is killing in cold blood, someone that is asleep and has no defense. A split personality perhaps, where one minute he is nice, and wouldn't hurt a fly and the next minute he is a cold-blooded killing machine. You could even say that he is slightly sycophantic towards Duncan. Even Duncan himself says that Macbeth is loyal:
'What he hath lost noble Macbeth has won'
The word 'noble' says it all in that line. Macbeth has the respect of the King, and so has won the position of Thane of Cawdor.
Lady Macbeth or The Three Witches could also have influenced Macbeth into killing Duncan. The Three Witches prophesised that Macbeth would become Thane of Cawdor, and then King. They say:
FIRST WITCH: All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!
SECOND WITCH: All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of
Cawdor!
THIRD WITCH: All hail Macbeth, thou shalt be King here-
after!
Macbeth was already Thane of Glamis, so that doesn't count as a prophecy, but he wasn't Thane of Cawdor when The Witches spoke to him, but then Ross and Angus came from the battle with the Norwegians, and told Macbeth that he was Thane of Cawdor because Sinel had been killed in battle. So the witches first prophecy had come true. That is when Macbeth fell into The Witches trap, or spell, or whatever you wish to call it. He decided to trust The Witches, so he expected that Duncan would die soon, whether it be of old age or by murder, but the prophecy did not come true. So Macbeth decided to kill Duncan himself, to make the prophecy come true. He was greedy, because the witches forced Macbeth into killing Duncan through temptation. But, Macbeth could have backed out at any point along the road to the murder.
Lady Macbeth influenced Macbeth by putting so much pressure onto Macbeth to kill Duncan, to give her and Macbeth a better life. Macbeth gets pushed around by her, and does whatever she tells him to. This may have caused Macbeth to murder Duncan, but again, Macbeth could have backed out at any point.
Lady Macbeth first finds out about The Witches prophecies when he writes her a letter. He writes this letter because he knows he needs somebody to push him to kill Duncan. She drives him to the crown, and therefore acts as a catalyst to Macbeth. She bullies his and uses emotional blackmail against him. She knows that he has good positive morals, and so she has to push him. She ridicules him by saying:
'When you durst do it, then you were a man;
And to be more than what you were, you would
Be so much more the man.'
This basically means that when he dared to do it, then he was a man. This is insulting towards Macbeth, because she knows he is a warrior and is mocking his bravery.
She also answers every objection that Macbeth has against the murder, and tries to motive his with her answer. Macbeth says this:
'If we should fail'
Lady Macbeth then immediately jumps in by saying:
'We fail?'
There is a hint of surprise in that reply, surprise about Macbeth, of him thinking that they will fail. But Lady Macbeth could also be implying that if they get caught, then Macbeth should get all the blame.
Macbeth also doesn't believe that they will be able to cover up the murder successfully. Lady Macbeth objects to this lack of optimism by saying:
'Who dares receive it other,
As we shall make our griefs and clamour roar
Upon his death?'
This suggests that no one will dare believe anything else (this is referring to the daggers planted on the soldiers), because Lady Macbeth and Macbeth will mourn so much that everybody will think that the couple is genuinely upset.
Lady Macbeth also organises the finer points of the murder. When Macbeth come back from the murder scene with the daggers, she is annoyed with him because he is being careless. She then has to plant the daggers onto the soldiers herself because Macbeth is too scared of getting caught.
The reason why Lady Macbeth is pushing so hard is maybe because she is possessed. She actually asks to be possessed by Demons or Spirits. She says:
'And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full
Of direst cruelty'
She is asking to be possessed because then she will be able to lose here feminine side and become cruel and greedy. These evil spirits may be connected to The Witches.
Macbeth first meets The Witches after the battle with Norway, and they predict that he will become the Thane of Cawdor and then King. When the first prophecy comes true, Macbeth and Banquo are extremely surprised. We can tell this because Banquo says:
'Can the devil speak true?'
This shows us that they did not expect The Witches to be telling the truth. Then Macbeth goes into deep thought about the second prophecy. Banquo tells us this when he says:
'Look how our partners rapt'
We could say that Macbeth is thinking that it is his destiny to be King, and therefore King he must be. After this point Macbeth is always thinking about the second prophecy and whether to do anything about it or not. The Witches made him fell like this and so must take some of the blame.
The Witches also may have contributed to the murder of Duncan because they were making some kind of spell onto Macbeth at the start of the play. There is obviously some kind of sorcery going on in this first scene because the First Witch says:
'I come Greymalkin!'
A 'Greymalkin' is a greycat, which is a spirit associated with the Devil. The Witches would not call to this demon if they weren't planning on evil spells, and in this context Macbeth is surely going to be involved. Also, The Witches obviously aren't bluffing about their power, because they then hovered off, which is a tricky thing to do if you aren't a witch. This proves their power and their strength for the rest of the play.
We fist get an idea of what the atmosphere is like in 11th century Scotland when Macbeth and Banquo appear. Macbeth says:
'So foul and fair a day I have not seen.'
There is a contradiction here, because a day cannot be foul and fair at the same time. But what he may mean is that the weather is bad, but because of the victory over the Norwegians, it has made his day good. Perhaps The Witches made the weather bad with their evil presence.
In the 11th century, it was not unusual for highly respected people to get murdered, so that other people could climb higher up the ranks. Macbeth may have just been following the custom of that time. The atmosphere of the 11th century is evidently that of an evil, brutal place.
I conclude that Macbeth should take the main blame for the murder of Duncan. He actually committed the murder and let ambition and greed rule him, despite knowing the consequences. I think that the other three factors are less important, but acted as catalysts, working alongside the main factor. If the other three factors were taken away, then the murder would have still occurred, but not as quickly.
