Even though the thought of murder has crossed his mind after listening to the three prophesies, by the end of scene 3, Macbeth has decided that he will let what is going to happen, happen.
“Come what may,
Time and the hour runs through the roughest day.”
(Act 1 scene 3 line 147)
But in the next scene his mind has changed.
“The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step
On which I must fall down, or else o’er-leap,
For in my way it lies.”
(Act 1 scene 4 lines49-50)
The thought of murder has again arisen, but he not only thinks of murdering Duncan, but also his son Malcolm, so he can become king.
In Act 5 we meet Macbeth’s wife, Lady Macbeth. When she first enters, she is reading a letter written by Macbeth, telling explaining what has happened and before she has talked to her husband, she has decided what will happen.
“ That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan
Under my battlements.”
(Act 1 scene 5 line 39)
Lady Macbeth has decided they will kill Duncan while he stays at their house. When she does talk to Macbeth, he tries to avoid the subject, which shows that he is again having doubts about the murder.
I think that this shows that Lady Macbeth is leading Macbeth, because without consulting him, she has decided the course of action they will take. Murder.
In Macbeth’s soliloquy, Act 1 scene 7 line 27, Macbeth says that his only motive is “Vaulting ambition,”
Without this motive, I don’t think Macbeth would go ahead with the murder. In fact, if he wasn’t being led by his wife, motive or not, I don’t think he would go ahead with the murder. As Lady Macbeth says:
“Nor time nor place
Did then adhere, and yet you would make both:
They have made themselves, and that their fitness now does unmake you.”
(Act 1 scene 7 lines 51-54)
Macbeth still has a conscience at this stage because he is very hesitant about killing the King but his weak nature over comes him and he bends to his wife’s wishes.
She is saying that when there was time or place to commit the murder, he was all for it. But as soon as there is a time and place, he is afraid – and no longer a man.
At the end of Act 2 scene 1 the Macbeth hears the bell that signals him to commit Duncan’s murder.
“I go, and it is done; the bell invites me.
Hear it not, Duncan; for it is a knell
That summons thee to heaven, or to hell.”
(Act 2 scene 1 lines 62 – 63)
Macbeth is saying that the bell is a funeral bell, which is signalling Duncan’s death.
Lady Macbeth exerts a lot of power over Macbeth in this part of the play and even calls him a "coward" and this shows just how determined she is and how much ambition she has for her husband. It is this confidence in herself plus the persuasiveness of her words that makes Macbeth act without hesitating.
At this point, I think that Macbeth is still under the leadership of his wife, but the way he say these lines, it sounds a little evil, especially for someone who was so loyal towards Duncan just a few days before.
After Macbeth has killed King Duncan, he regrets doing so, but that doesn’t stop him killing innocent people to maintain his reign over the people of Scotland. Therefore, it was Lady Macbeth who introduced the concept of murder to Macbeth, and so was leading him into the murder. If not for Lady Macbeth, Macbeth’s ambition would not have been strong enough to drive him to obtain and maintain his title of King of Scotland no matter what it took.
For the next few scenes he acts like any other grieving subject, but when he believes Banquo is on to his plan, he decides to kill him and his son, Fleance, so that his kingship will be safe.
“Fleance his son, that keeps him company,
Whose absence is no less material to me
Than is his father’s, must embrace the fate
Of that dark hour.”
(Act 3 scene 1 lines 135 – 138)
Macbeth is saying that when the murderers go to kill Banquo, they mustn’t forget his son, whose murder is no less important.
Macbeth doesn’t seem to care about anyone anymore, even a small, defenceless boy, especially if he thinks they are a threat to him and his crown.
In this next scene Macbeth and his wife are talking about how they are both worried that they will be found out.
“Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck”
(Act 3 scene 2 line 45)
When Lady Macbeth found out that Macbeth had killed the guards she fainted, "Help me Hence". I think this was to draw away the suspicion from Macbeth.
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth seem to be growing further and further apart, but at this point, he still seems to care for her. At the beginning, they both seem so close, when we first met Lady Macbeth; she was reading a letter that Macbeth has sent her, telling her about the witches’ premonitions.
Macbeth goes back to the witches because he wants to put his mind at rest about his future.
“I conjure you, by that which you profess-”
(Act 4 scene 1 line 50)
With each new vision, Macbeth falls deeper and deeper into an evil spiral. This is from the witches’ first prediction of Macbeth being king, which made Macbeth kill Duncan.
When he went back to see the witches he gained some more knowledge, well now that Macbeth has heard this, he believes that he must kill Macduff, however he learns that Macduff has fled to England, so Macbeth decides to kill his family. Next in the cave Macbeth is told any man born of woman can’t kill him, this gives him confidence that no matter what the English do, they will not defeat him. He is also told that he will not be defeated until the trees of Birnam Wood move towards his castle. He has put all his faith in these prophecies; he thinks what the witches say must be true because of the first prediction.
After he has seen the premonitions, he feels that he has nothing to fear, but it doesn’t stop him deciding that he will kill Macduff, to protect himself.
At the end of Act 4 scene 1 he explains what he is going to do to Macduff.
“The castle of Macduff I will surprise;
Seize upon Fife; give to the edge of the sword
His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls
That trace him in line.”
(Act 4 scene 1 lines 150 – 153)
Macbeth is beginning to show how evil he has become. He is going to have all of Macduffs family and servants killed, all because the premonition told him told to be wary of Macduff.
When Macbeth is told that his wife is dead, he shows no sign of sadness or remorse, which shows how his conscience has gone and how unremorseful he has become.
“She should have died hereafter;”
(Act 5 scene 5 line 17)
The three points which contributed greatly to Macbeth's downfall are, the prophecy which was told to him by the witches, how Lady Macbeth influenced and manipulated Macbeth's judgment, and finally Macbeth's long time ambition which drove his desire to be king. Macbeth's growing character deteriorates from a noble man who graciously served the King, to violent and evil character.
He has become evil and he shows no remorse whatsoever, or sadness, for any crimes he has committed, or if someone close had died.
Although Macbeth is physically strong he is very weak mentally and it is this weakness, also contributes to his downfall.
In the last scene Macbeth comes face to face with Macduff. Macbeth decides he will fight to the last, he has given up on everything, and he has lost everything, his wife, his sanity, and his soul.
Towards the end of the play when Macbeth’s wife has died and the battle is drawing closer Macbeth shows some good. He wishes for a normal life for which he would have lived to a honourable age but he recognises that he has denied himself of this.
Even when Macbeth hears that the prophecy has become true of Birnam
Wood coming to Dunsinane, he rejects this idea and fights on until he realises that Macduff wasn’t born in a natural birth but instead was
"Untimely ripped" from his mother’s womb. When Macbeth hears this he realises what he has done and how the witches’ have tricked him, but he also realises that it is useless and so he fights on only to be slain.
After the murder I think that Macbeth became more evil with every passing day. He ordered Banquo’s and Fleance’s death without any hesitation. He ordered the death of everyone connected to Macduff, all because they witches premonition told him to be wary of Macduff,
“...Beware Macduff; Beware the Thane of Fife.”
(Act 4 scene 1 line 72).
So in conclusion, the prophecies given to him by the witches, Lady Macbeth's influence and plan, and his intensified ambition, all contributed greatly to his degeneration of his character, which resulted to his downfall and death. Therefore I think that Macbeth is weak and easily led before Duncan’s murder, but after the murder, he seems to grow more and more evil.
