Lady Macbeth receives a letter from Macbeth, telling her of what the witches prophesied and his new title. She becomes determined to help him become king. When Macbeth returns she talks him into killing the king, as he is at their home that night. When the dead king is discovered the next morning the kings sons Malcolm and Donnalblain flee, fearing for their lives. Macbeth is then made king.
Macbeth then remembers what the witches prophesied for Banquo and hires 3 murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. Banquo is killed but Fleance survives. Banquos ghost returns to haunt Macbeth.
Macbeth then returns to the witches to try and achieve some kind of consolation. The witches show Macbeth some apparitions, they tell him to be wary of Macduff, Thane of Fife. They then assure him that he cannot be harmed by anyone ‘born of woman’, and that he will never be defeated until great Birnam Wood moves across the valley to Dunsinane. Finally they show him an apparition of a line of kings (link to Banquos earlier prophecy). ‘Thou art too like the spirit of Banquo: down! Thy crown does sear mine eye-balls. And thy hair, Thou other gold-bound brow, is like the first. A third is like the former. Filthy hags! Why do you show me this? A fourth! Start, eyes! What, will the line stretch out to the crack of doom?
Another yet! A seventh! I'll see no more: And yet the eighth appears, who bears a glass Which shows me many more; and some I see
That two-fold balls and treble scepters carry: Horrible sight! Now, I see, 'tis true; For the blood-bolter'd Banquo smiles upon me,
And points at them for his.’
Macduff then goes to England to see Malcolm, which is against Macbeths wishes, so he orders that Macduffs wife and family should be killed. Malcolm and macduff build up an army of English men and Scots sympathizers and lead it against Macbeth.
Lady Macbeth goes mad due to the murder of King Duncan and kills herself.
When Malcolm and Macduffs army reaches Birnam wood they chop down some branches and their men use it as camouflage as they make their way up to Dunsinane (links back to witches apparition – ‘Macbeth shall never vanquished be, until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him.’)
Macbeths forces are easily defeated and Macbeth is killed by Macduff, this was so as Macduff was not born naturally from his mother – he ‘was from his mothers womb untimely ripp’d.’
Finally Malcolm is made king of Scotland.
There are three possibilities for who is most responsible for Duncans death:
- Macbeth
- Lady Macbeth
- The three Witches
Firstly I would like to look at Macbeth as it was he that carried out the murder. It was his choice and his actions that caused the event. On the other hand, he was influenced by the witches and by the pushiness of his wife. But you could say his wife’s pushiness is also due to him as he was the one who put the idea in her head by sending her a letter telling of the witches predictions. When he could have just kept it to himself (It took all of Act 1 Scene 7 for him to decide to go ahead with the deed, at the beginning he shows his doubts, ‘We will proceed no further in this business: He hath honour'd me of late; and I have bought golden opinions from all sorts of people, which would be worn now in their newest gloss, not cast aside so soon.’ and then at the end he is sure that he will go ahead, ‘I am settled...False face must hide what the false face doth know’). But he could have ignored them, and just stayed happy with what he had, and not even given the witches predictions a second thought. But he was not strong enough and was bent easily into going ahead with the murder. He was used almost like a tool not just for the witches enjoyment but to fulfill Lady Macbeths wants. His mind was twisted, bent, stretched and mutated by others until he was left a crazed and heartless wreck.
So this brings in the possibility that Lady Macbeth could be mostly to blame, as without her persuasive actions the murder may not have taken place. It was her greedy and power mad thoughts that she forced unto Macbeth, which caused his opinion on the matter to change. She tried to get him to carry her plan out by making him believe that if he did not he was not worthy of being called a man; ‘ 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.’, she carries on ‘taking the mick’ of him and comparing her womanliness to his manliness. Making him seem a wimp, not worthy of being called a man, breaking him down until he bends to her will; and decides to agree to the murder of Duncan. Eventually she succeeds and he carries out the murder. She dose not do it herself because she finds the king to resemble her sleeping father too much, so to her it would almost be like killing her father.
This brings me onto the case of the three witches, even though they did not carry out the murder of the king themselves they were the ones that first aroused the contemplation of murder within Macbeth. Also like Lady Macbeth using a form of persuasion to root ideas into his mind.
When Macbeth first met the witches it was after the battle (Act 1 Scene 3, Macbeth and Banquo enter at line 38). When Macbeth first met the witches he was with his friend Banquo. They witches told him that him he was thane of Glamis; which he was; then that he would become thane of Cawdor; which he did; and then that he would become King…
(‘All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!’)
And as the first two prophecies were true this instilled into Macbeth the idea that the third would become so; and he felt that he would do anything in his power to ensure this. And the witches seemed to realise this. Before the witches had spoken to Macbeth he was happy with his position and had many admirers and people looked up to him. And he would never of even had the slightest thought of killing the king, ‘I am his kinsman and his subject, strong both against the deed; then, as his host, who should against his murderer shut the door, not bear the knife myself’
It was the witches who turned this around for Macbeth. They used him like a tool, just as Lady Macbeth has done to get the results they want.
Overall I believe it is the witches that are most responsible for the death of King Duncan, due to the fact that it was they who first put the idea into Macbeths head. So if they had not talked to Macbeth he would not have told his wife, she would not have persuaded him into going forward with the murder and the king would still be alive.
Also it is then this act, the murder of Duncan, that leads to Macbeths downward spiral finally ending in his downfall. As before all this happened Macbeth was a brave, noble, kind and trusted soldier but after he became a cold, power hungry killer plagued and haunted by his crimes, ‘Thou canst not say I did it: never shake thy gory locks at me’ . And hated by his people, ‘the devil himself could not pronounce a title more hateful to mine ear’ ’hell-hound’ ‘thou bloodier villain’ ‘coward’ ‘We'll have thee, as our rarer monsters are, Painted on a pole, and underwrit, Here may you see the tyrant’ All this hatred finally ends in Macbeths beheading by Macduff at the final battle at Dunsinane.
