Raj Patel
G.C.S.E Shakespeare Coursework
Why Does MacBeth kill King Duncan?
In MacBeth, Shakespeare tells a story of a man who’s mind is clouded with thoughts of the most intense ambition, along side a wife who feeds this ambition without any thought. This ambition is born in the first act, scene 3 where the witches predict that MacBeth shall be King. The question is if MacBeth is destined to kill Duncan, or if he was influenced by the Witches with the idea of doing so, if his wife pushed him too far or if he is just succumbing to temptation.
From the outset of the play, there is a theme of treachery. “Fair is foul, and foul is fair,” said by the witches, in act 1 scene 1 shows that throughout the play there is a setting for darkness, where looks can be deceiving, an onslaught of distorted values. The Witches in MacBeth are very important for they feed MacBeth with this ambition that is taken over by greed. Immediately after the witches prophesise that MacBeth is to become Thane of Glamis, Than of Cawdor, and ultimately King, MacBeth’s ambition rages and is almost taking over his mind. He imagines in his head that to become king he must kill King Duncan. “Present fears are less than horrible imaginings”, here he is saying that reality is less scary than what is going on in his head, for he is contemplating killing king Duncan. The scene is littered with euphemisms. At the end of his speech in act 1 scene 3, he re-iterates the theme that Shakespeare is running when he says “…and nothing is, but what is not.” He is saying things can be deceiving. This gives reason to believe that MacBeth is now already under control of the sisters. In the time of Shakespeare, witches were believed to be able to control destiny and curse, and in this case possess. Shakespeare gives a hint at the Witches turning MacBeth insane and controlling his thoughts, for after telling the prophecy to MacBeth, he echoes the words that they had said in the first scene (“So foul and fair a day I have not seen”). Banquo is already worried about what this mix of the influence of the witches, this new raw ambition and greed could lead to, “Look how our partner’s rapt.” He says this because he is worried about how entranced MacBeth is with the witches, and if he has right to be. “The instruments of darkness tell us truths; win us with honest trifles, to betray’s in deepest consequence.” This suggests that the ‘instruments of darkness’ play upon MacBeth’s weakness and secret desire (his secret desire is probably one of every man in that time: to be king). Banquo even goes as far as calling the Witches the devil (“What, can the devil speak true?”).