Although the Witches initiated the thought of becoming King to Macbeth, they did not however suggest that in order to realise this, Macbeth had to act in the way which he did. The witches cannot be held responsible for Macbeth’s belief that in order to become King he must murder Duncan, nor for Lady Macbeths planning to do so. Banquo also heard of his family coming into royalty, and yet still disregarded it. This is clear from Act 2 scene 1 when Banquo explains to Macbeth “I loose none/ In seeking no augment it, but still keep/ My bosom franchis’d and allegiance clear/ I shall be counsell’d.” Also, unlike Macbeth, Banquo prays for Gods help, “merciful powers” against whatever “cursed thoughts” he has.
We can therefore deduce that the prophecy of the Witches needed Macbeths own interpretation in order to lead to the death of Duncan. Macbeth’s greed and sheer desire for power to become King which led him to believe and place his faith in the Witches prophecy. This therefore places a greater portion of blame onto Macbeth.
Macbeth must bear further blame for the death of King Duncan as he did indeed deeply contemplate murdering King Duncan at several intervals within Act I. Most of this takes part in scene 7 when Macbeth is alone in his castle, with nought but his thoughts to keep him company. In lines 0-28, he contemplates the act of murdering Duncan, but ending in “Vaulting ambition, which o’er-leaps itself/ And falls on the other”. This shows that he had strong intent and had planned this act. Although Macbeth has realised the extremity of the crime which he would be committing, he still decides to go ahead with the murder. This shown by his knowledge that he will be severely punished in the next life “the deep damnation of his taking off” and also by clearly avoiding the word murder, making use of phrases such as “bloody instructions, th’assassination, blow” and “the deed”. In addition to this, he also realise the moral wrongs of his thinking, being Duncan’s Kinsman, subject and host, he still commits the evil act nevertheless. His weakness and desire for the crown led him to be persuaded to kill Duncan on the pretence of proving his manhood. This clear self orientation and selfishness and also the fact that Macbeth is the direct beneficiary from Duncan’s death suggest that Macbeth may be the guiltiest party.
The main action of Macbeth also cannot be disregarded. The fact that it was Macbeth who did brutally, almost insanely stabbed Duncan, several times with two blades (Act.2 scene 2). In our society, as with most countries all over the world, people are made to take responsibility and held accountable for their own actions, no matter how great or small. In courts, magistrates and judges would always sentence the main guilty person more severely than any accomplices. As such the Witches and Lady Macbeth would receive a lighter punishment commensurate with their involvement in this crime. Murder, the taking of a life, with intent carries the most severe consequences. It is therefore imperative that the murderer is identified and that the parts of accomplices are also correctly established. Macbeth must carry the responsibility for his actions, killing Duncan in cold blood and therefore be charged for Duncan’s death.
However, although Macbeth did kill Duncan, there are mitigating circumstances. It cannot be overlooked that Macbeth had in fact previously made up his mind not to kill Duncan, before Lady Macbeth intervened. Lady Macbeth knew the good nature of her husband, as she reveals in her speech and chose to call on his manhood. I believe this was a very important factor at the time to every man, even more so than today, Macbeth was provocated and was forced to prove her wrong for fear of being completely shamed. It is likely that Lady Macbeth knew this as she uses it as her main motive by which to persuade him. She knew that by his good nature, after fighting and killing for the King so many times before, he would find it hard to kill Duncan himself. This is also show when she says “You are to full of the milk of human kindness”. So she had to find some other factor to overcome his feelings of loyalty. Attacking Macbeth’s pride proved successful. “At wakes it now, to look so green and pale/ at what it did so freely... And live a coward in thine own esteem/ Letting ‘I dare not’ wait upon ‘I would’”. To these words Macbeth cannot argue. Consequently it may be fair to say that if it had not been for Lady Macbeth’s unmistakable desire and need for the queen ship and deadly persuasion, Macbeth would not have murdered King Duncan at that stage. We cannot tell whether his desire to become King would have eventually consumed him, however in this case of events, Lady Macbeth must take immense responsibility for the murder of King Duncan.
Lady Macbeth must also take further responsibility for this evil act as when she attacked Macbeth with her cunning persuasion, it could also be argued that he was in a poor state of mind to reason or argue with her. Macbeth was in a state of mental exhaustion from contemplating whether to murder Duncan, an inner war inside his head and heart between his desire and his conscience. This is clearly visible from scene 7 where she destroys his motives for argument with her. She knows that her husband will not carry out the murder for fear of getting caught. She therefore cuts him off, not allowing him to argue with her: “we fail” (scene.7, act.1, line.61). This also demonstrates the clear power which she has over him. If in fact this is the case, Macbeth may therefore have diminished responsibility for this murder. This would therefore displace some blame onto Lady Macbeth for coercing him to carry out the evil act. Without Lady Macbeth’s participation it is extremely likely that Macbeth would have not had the will and courage to murder Duncan.
In addition to this, Lady Macbeth must accept further responsibility for Duncan’s murder as it is she who initiates the murder plan arranging for Duncan to be a guest in their home. We are lead to believe that Lady Macbeth is responsible for the death of Duncan as she makes up the details, remaining calm while Macbeth is unwilling to carry out the deed. She plays the perfect hostess and plans every detail getting Duncan’s guards to become drunk. She also teaches Macbeth how to behave to hide his true emotions and thoughts, planning out both their parts in the murderous plot. “Act like the innocent flower, but be the serpent underneath it”. It can be argued that the murder would not have been possible without her careful planning and cunning. In Macbeth’s ambitious, and also moral bound state of mind it is very likely that if he had acted on his own to murder Duncan it would have resulted in him getting caught before even getting to close Duncan.
In conclusion, although the three witches did initiate the thought, they did not act directly in any threatening way to give them significant responsibility in the murder of Duncan. However, both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth must take equal responsibility for the death of King Duncan. Although Macbeth would not have murdered Duncan without the persuasion of Lady Macbeth, the act of murder is too great to be overlooked. Macbeth did agree to go along with Lady Macbeth’s plan, although it required some persuasion. I believe that it is fair to say that it was Lady Macbeths and Macbeths, greed, and desire for the crown that led them to their final act of murder for which they are both responsible. Without either character, the other would have been unable to achieve the task alone, Macbeth needing a boost of his confidence, and Lady Macbeth, Macbeth’s strength to carry out the deed.
