rst time he might even have considered murder is when the King appoints Malcolm as the Prince of Cumberland.
The Prince of Cumberland – that is a step on which I must fall down, or else o’erleap. For in my way it lies. Stars hide your fires, Let not light see my black and deep desires.
Now that Malcolm has been appointed the next King there is less chance of fate deciding whether or not he is to become King. “Let not light see my black and deep desires.” Was Macbeth considering killing Duncan or possibly Malcolm?
Lady Macbeth plays quite a large part in the first event of the play by persuading Macbeth to murder the King.
As soon as she reads the letter from Macbeth and hears from the servant that the King is coming to stay at their castle, she decides that Macbeth is to murder Duncan that night, “The raven himself is hoarse that croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan.”
This means that the raven itself, whose voice was supposed to foretell disaster and death, would be so certain of the death of Duncan that it would croak until it became hoarse.
After Lady Macbeth has told Macbeth her plans and told him to, “Look like th’innocent flower, But be the serpent under’t.” Macbeth still pushes away the idea of murder: “We will speak further.”
Macbeth’s fatal flaw is his ambition which drives him on to the murder. He is aware of this and wonders whether it could be his downfall, “Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself, and falls on th’other.” This could mean ambition like a rider who jumps over his horse and falls down on the other side, meaning if he did murder Duncan, afterwards it could all go horribly wrong.
Still Macbeth stays away from the idea of murder,
“We will proceed no further in this business.” Macbeth had decided to not go ahead with the murder, and: “He hath honoured me of late … Not cast aside so soon.” Macbeth would like to enjoy the honour and praise he was receiving from the King and others a little longer.
Lady Macbeth knows how to toy with Macbeth. She knows his weaknesses, so that she can make him do almost anything she wants by using them.
Lady Macbeth: “From this time such I account thy love.”
She is saying, if you really love me then you would murder Duncan.
Lady Macbeth: “Art though afeard to be the same in thine own act and valour as thou art desire? Wouldst thou esteem’st the ornament of life, And live a coward in thine own esteem.”
Here Lady Macbeth calls him a coward. But Macbeth is clearly not a coward – as shown in the first section of the play: “For brave Macbeth – well he deserves that name.” Lady Macbeth is questioning his bravery, and so Macbeth says “Who dares more is none.”
No man is as brave as Macbeth.
The last ploy Lady Macbeth tries is questioning his manliness.
Even afterwards, Macbeth is not totally convinced: “If we should fail?” Lady Macbeth then shares her plan for killing Duncan and Macbeth seems to have given in. Up to this point I think that Lady Macbeth is more responsible for the event of the play. Without Lady Macbeth’s persuasion, would Macbeth have killed King Duncan? Having said that, Macbeth was foolish to believe the witches’ prophecy. And the witches never told him anything specific to do. They speak in riddles and it is Macbeth’s interpretation of what they say that causes the trouble.
Macbeth actually kills King Duncan, so he is actually responsible for the first ‘event’ of the play. But Macbeth immediately regrets murdering him: “Wake Duncan with thy knocking! I would thou couldst.” He wishes he had never committed the murder and wishes that Duncan would be still alive and wake up to the knocking.
After the murder Macbeth takes control. Lady Macbeth hardly ever gets involved again (apart from when she helps him out when he sees the ghost of Banquo at the banquet). Macbeth plans the murder of Banquo himself. Macbeth thinks that Banquo suspects him of the murder, because Banquo also heard the prophecies, “and I fear Thou play’dst most foully for’t.” He suspects that Macbeth was the one who murdered Duncan.
“Our fears in Banquo stick deep.” Macbeth is afraid, because of the witches’ prophecy for Banquo’s children to become kings, “Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown.”
This time Macbeth fully responsible for this event of the play, it was his own paranoia that led to the murder of Banquo.
Macbeth is foolish to believe the witches’ prophecies a second time because of the trouble the first prophecies were to him.
The second prophecies Macbeth received caused him to try and kill Macduff. “Macbeth, Macbeth, Macbeth, beware Macduff.” But even when he hears that Macduff has fled, he orders Macduff’s household to be killed out of sheer spite, because he cannot get at Macduff, “The castle of Macduff I will surprise, seize upon Fife, give to the edge o’ the’ sword his wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls that trace him in his line.” This is without Lady Macbeth’s help, so again he is fully responsible for Macduff’s death. The witches’ second prophecy makes Macbeth feel confident and invincible.
The second apparition says: “for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth”.
And,
the third apparition says: “Macbeth shall never vanquished be, until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him.”
Great Birnam wood moving seemed impossible and Macbeth could not imagine or a man that was not born of a woman happening, so he thought he had nothing to fear.
I think that Macbeth had the biggest part to play in the events of the play, because he murdered Duncan and afterwards carried on killing others, sometimes out of sheer spite. But without the witches’ prophecies and Lady Macbeth’s persuasion, would he have ever killed Duncan, which resulted in him killing others because of his worry and to cover up his guilt?