“All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis all hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!”
Macbeth is perplexed but is also extremely curious. Who are these creatures he thinks to himself, and why are they calling him the Thane of Cawdor? The Thane of Cawdor lives he thinks to himself. But most of all why are they calling him the King hereafter? He is only the Thane of Glamis. The witches quickly disappear before Macbeth and Banquo get tot question them further.
Soon after the witches’ departure, Ross, the warrior who reported back to King Duncan arrives on the same path where Macbeth and Banquo are making their journey back home. Ross, as was ordered by King Duncan gives Macbeth his new title, the Thane of Cawdor. Instead of being pleased with the new robes he is given, Macbeth is even more curious than ever, with the witches’ greetings to him still fresh in his mind. His curiosity gets the better of him and questions Ross.
“And, for an earnest of a greater honour, He bade me, from him, call thee Thane of Cawdor: In which addition, hail, most worthy thane! For it is thine.”…
“The Thane of Cawdor lives; why do you dress me in borrow'd robes?”
Angus, a messenger who came with Ross replies,
“Who was the thane lives yet; but under heavy judgment bears that life which he deserves to lose. Whether he was combined with those of Norway, or did line the rebel with hidden help and vantage, or that with both He labour'd in his country's wreck, I know not; But treasons capital, confessed and proved, have overthrown him.”
At this point Macbeth is worried, and believes something evil may be informing him.
“This supernatural soliciting cannot be ill, cannot be good: if ill, why hath it given me earnest of success, commencing in a truth? I am Thane of Cawdor: If good, why do I yield to that suggestion whose horrid image doth unfix my hair And make my seated heart knock at my ribs, against the use of nature? Present fears are less than horrible imaginings: My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, hakes so my single state of man that function is smother'd in surmise, and nothing is but what is not.”
When Macbeth and Banquo reach Duncan’s castle, Duncan greets both of them and treats them with total respect. Macbeth and Banquo however say they are just doing their duty to their King and country.
Later that evening, Duncan chooses the heir to the throne in front of everyone. Macbeth and Banquo are both in the scene. He chooses his own son Malcolm as the heir. As the play is set in Scotland, Duncan could have chosen anyone. It was not like the British where the eldest son of the King got be King. Therefore, Macbeth is extremely disappointed and begins to think evil thoughts. He wonders if the prophecies made by the witches would all come true. He had already become the Thane of Cawdor. He starts wondering how long it will be before he is King if the heir to the throne is Malcolm. He also starts to believe that maybe he has to actually do something in order for the prophecies to come true; like murder. In this scene Duncan tells Macbeth he will visit his castle that night.
“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: the eye wink at the hand; yet let that be, which the eye fears, when it is done, to see.”
In the next scene, Lay Macbeth reads a letter sent to her by Macbeth. She reads of the witches’ prophecies and hears how Macbeth is the new Thane of Cawdor. She is also just as ambitious as Macbeth, and evil thoughts starts to occur in her mind. She also reads about the Kings visit that night.
“Glamis thou art, and Cawdor; and shalt be what thou art promised. Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o' the milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great; art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it. What thou wouldst highly, that wouldst thou holily; wouldst not play false, and yet wouldst wrongly win: thou dost have, great Glamis, that which cries "Thus thou must do, if thou have it"; and that which rather thou dost fear to do than wishest should be undone. Hie thee hither, that I may pour my spirits in thine ear; and chastise with the valour of my tongue all that impedes thee from the golden round, which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem to have thee crown'd withal.”
Lady Macbeth however realises Macbeth has more virtue than her, and understands she will have to persuade him to commit the crime in order to fulfil her dream.
When Macbeth is alone, while the entertainment is going on at his castle, he realises King Duncan is a good King who is respected by many. He also knows Duncan thinks highly of him, and in the end decides not to commit the murder. However, Lady Macbeth sees Macbeth alone and goes to join him. Macbeth immediately tells her he has decided not to commit the terrible deed. Unfortunately, Lady Macbeth challenges his manliness and in the end manages to persuade him to do it.
“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.”
“What beast was't, then, that made you break this enterprise to me? When you durst do it, then you were a man… You would be so much more the man… 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.”
On the way to Duncan’s chamber, Macbeth visualises a dagger that really is not there. He is not able to touch the dagger, but it directs him to Duncan, just before the murder is committed.
Therefore, there are a number of reasons as to why Macbeth murdered King Duncan. Macbeth was extremely ambitious and desperately wanted to become King. The witches’ prophecies were also to blame, if it had not been for them, Macbeth may not have ever realistically thought about being King. However, as a result of the witches’ prophecies, Macbeth was extremely disappointed that Malcolm was elected by Duncan to be Heir to the throne and therefore believed he himself had to do something. Obviously Lady Macbeth had a big influence on Macbeth. She persuaded him to commit the crime even when Macbeth had decided against it. Finally, Macbeth was never really sure whether to Murder Duncan or not, but when he visualised the dagger directing him to Duncan’s chamber he followed and went ahead with it.