All the rest to me."
Lady Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 6
When king Duncan tells Lady Macbeth that he wants to stay at the castle Lady Macbeth welcomes him. She is more ambitious for Macbeth than himself. To go through with the murdering of King Duncan Lady Macbeth asks the spirits to defeminise her,
"Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts,
Unsex me here…"
Lady Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 5
Lady Macbeth also calls Macbeth a coward when he doesn't want to go through with the killing,
"And live a coward in thine own esteem, Letting I dare
Not wait upon I would…"
Lady Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 7
She mocks him and thinks he is less of a man, as he is a great warrior but he won't kill off the battlefield. She wants him to kill the king but feels he is;
"too full o' the milk of human kindness.”
Lady Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 5
Lady Macbeth is a strong powerful person and reacts violently when Macbeth acts cowardly about being afraid of the murder and what it would lead to. Not physically but mentally when she states
"I would, while it was smiling in my face
Have pluck'd my nipple from his boneless gums,
And dash'd the brains out, had I so sworn as you
Have done to this.”
Lady Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 7
This is one of her persuasive techniques and clearly puts her in charge of the two.
Her behaviour causes Macbeth to change his mind about the murder and she persuades him to agree to do it. At the beginning of the discussion Macbeth is in control, this changes and by the end of the discussion Lady Macbeth is in control. This all shows that Lady Macbeth has sexual power over him, and knows his weaknesses. She is the real head of the house.
The Witches
The Witches’ words to Macbeth were:
“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."
The Witches, Act 1 Scene 3
These prophecies are very important in the play as they make the witches most responsible at the start. These words first play on Macbeth's mind after he heard of being thane of Cawdor. If the witches had not told him about these prophecies the thought of being king may not have entered his mind. This incriminates the witches in my point of view.
Witches were known to have special powers such as psychic powers and were able to cast spells. But their spells and powers were known only to lead into evil things. This shows us a sense of irony because Macbeth imagines great things and is not scared off by the supernatural. Their message to Macbeth leads to a tragic ending. Their involvement in the play is crucial as they made Macbeth believe he can be king through their powerful influences.
Macbeth
My first impressions of Macbeth are that he is loyal to the king. He is also brave and is a warrior on the battlefield. He did the most work on the battlefield and was undeterred.
“but all’s too weak;
For brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name),
Disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel,
Which smoked with bloody execution,
Like Valour’s minion, carved out his passage,
Till he faced the slave;
Which ne’er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him’
Till he unseamed him from the nave to the chaps’
And fixed his head upon our battlements.”
Captain, Act 1 Scene 2
Macbeth’s relationship with the king was very close because they have known each other for a long time. The king thinks Macbeth is brave on the battlefield and is worthy and honourable. Their relationship grows when Macbeth is given the title ‘Thane of Cawdor’.
At the start of the play he doesn't seem disloyal to the king. However, there is a sense of irony because Macbeth is actually a great warrior, even though he is courageous in war when it comes to killing the king he doesn't have the power to do so. I think he only seems likely to commit murder for the right reason.
Macbeth's reaction to the witches’ prophecies was negative when he first heard them. However, as time passed and he became thane of Cawdor it grew more promising that he would become king. The Witches’ prophecies are proven right, this compels Macbeth to seek further predictions.
On his return to home Macbeth still does not have a plan to murder the king but his wife does. He says if he is going to be king he will not have to murder Duncan but it would happen naturally we know this from another aside
"If chance will have me king, why, chance
May crown me,
Without my stir.
Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 3
His soliloquy tells us he thinks of the murder now after the persuasion of lady Macbeth we know this when he says
"If it were done, when 'tis done, then 'twere well
It were done quickly".
Macbeth thinks of reasons not to kill the king. He says how the king is here on “double trust”, firstly he thinks Macbeth loyal to him and secondly Macbeth is the king’s host and instead of killing him he should protect and guard him. We know this when he says
“He's here in double trust:
First, as 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.”
Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 7
Therefore, he is more in two minds in the soliloquy not knowing which to choose out of the two.
In act 2 scene 1 while his speech is going on he is so nervous he does not know if it is reality or hallucination when he says
"A dagger of the mind, a false creation
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain”
Although he is confused and afraid about being caught, he does not stop. His desire to please his wife and his own ambition has taken over his loyalty and friendship to the king. He is the host and should prevent an attempted murder. He also says
'He hath honour'd me of late'
Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 7
Which is saying he has received the title of Thane of Cawdor. He says that he should enjoy all the praise he receives and not throw it away. All this shows us that Macbeth is simply too intelligent to be a puppet being used, he is aware of all the consequences but still wants to be king. Also, he could have backed out at any point. There are many times when he allows Lady Macbeth to push him around. When he first meets her he could have said to her that he was not prepared to take extreme measures or right until the end he could have backed out. So an important point is about Macbeth says he could wait and gain the crown in an honourable way
“If chance may crown me then doves may have me king”
I think that Macbeth was responsible the most for the murder of King Duncan as he committed it and let ambition rule him despite knowing the consequences. Macbeth uses euphemism to talk about the murder because he cannot handle what he has done. Macbeth refers to the murder as “the deed”.
Duncan
Although King Duncan himself obviously didn’t want to be murdered he played quite a big role in his own murder. He was naïve and trusted people too much.
“He was a gentleman on whom I built
An absolute trust”
Duncan, Act 1 Scene 4
This is Duncan referring to the previous Thane of Cawdaw, who turned out to be a traitor.
He could not see through Lady Macbeth. An example of this is when Lady Macbeth greets Duncan at Dunsinane. This is use of dramatic irony. He didn’t have any idea he was going to be assassinated. He also trusted Macbeth. He thought that Macbeth wouldn’t be annoyed by the fact that he didn’t reward him as much as he would have liked but did make his son Prince of Cumberland and consequently heir to the thrown.
“The prince of Cumberland! – That is a step
On witch I must fall down, or else o’erleap,
For in my way it lies. Stars hide your fires!
Let not see my black and deep desires;
The eye wink at the hand, yet let that be,
Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see.”
Macbeth, Act 1 Scene 5
King Duncan also went to the castle just when Macbeth was thinking of murdering him, which seems very coincidental, and so if King Duncan hadn’t done this maybe he would not have been murdered. In making Macbeth the thane of Cawdaw, Duncan gave him a cursed title as the previous thane of Cawdaw was a traitor also.
Conclusion
I have come to the conclusion that not only one person is responsible but every one is in a chain some more Influential than others.
Firstly, it was the witches putting the words into Macbeth’s head. They at first are not responsible but when Macbeth gets the message of being thane of Cawdor it gets him more exited to become king. This is where the witches now are responsible.
After this Macbeth sends a letter to his wife which gets her involved. If I were to choose who was responsible Lady Macbeth is at the highest position because she persuaded Macbeth to change his mind.
Macbeth is also responsible because he was really forced by Lady Macbeth against his first view that it would happen naturally. But he is responsible as he did commit the actual murder.
Duncan could not see through Lady Macbeth and he didn't have any idea he was going to be assassinated. He also trusted Macbeth too much and let him get too close to him and if he did not give Macbeth the title of Cawdor he would still have a negative view on two of the prophecies.
Banquo is quite responsible because he was with Macbeth when the witches gave their predictions, Macbeth told Banquo that he believed them, but Banquo said that he didn't believe it.
“Were such things here, as we do speak about,
Or have we eaten on the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner?”
Banquo, Act 1 Scene 3
Banquo indicates his suspicions yet he doesn't act on them if he had told Macbeth that he thought it was a bad idea maybe Macbeth might not have gone through with it.
Least responsible are the guards, but still a little, because they allowed Lady Macbeth to get them drunk even though they knew they had to protect the king. Although she was the lady of the house and it would have been very hard to say no.
Although everyone is responsible one way or the other, I think that the Witches are most responsible as they started of the chain of events.
