Because of this, he decides he must kill Banquo, so that there will be no heir. “Macbeth plots the murder of Banquo, out of jealousy and insecurity.” (Hompi 1) This is obviously an absurd idea, and prior to Macbeth’s murder of King Duncan he never would have considered it as a solution. Shakespeare uses this to show how power corrupts even the best of people. It is obvious that this is still a problem in society today, as people start off with good intentions but slowly get sidetracked. Before long, their objectives have changed completely.
Macbeth’s ambition to become king, which is a position of great control over scotland’s affairs, causes him to lose control in his own life. In order to attain the throne, Macbeth commits murder, and the resulting guilt overwhelms and takes over his life. He becomes paranoid, and as he attempts to secure his throne by removing anyone whom he suspects to be a threat, he neglects Lady Macbeth, who had ultimate control over him so that he lost control in his life when Lady Macbeth distanced from him and died. Even at the beginning of the play, Macbeth had become submissive to the fate that the witches had prophesized for him, such that he did not account for the choices that he makes in life anymore and lost control. Macbeth becomes victim to guilt when he kills Duncan for the throne, and guilt then takes over his life, leaving him without control of his own behaviors.
In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth feels guilty after slaughtering King Duncan whereas Lady Macbeth is unfazed. To begin with, Macbeth feels that he is not honorable enough to have the title of Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth hears a voice cry “‘Glamis hath murder’d sleep’, and therefore Cawdor/Shall sleep no more” (2.2.46, 46). Here, Macbeth does not think that he deserves the title because he dishonoured the king who gave him the opportunity to succeed. It is quite ironic how the original Thane of Cawdor was a traitor and now Macbeth follows down the same path.
In scene 1 act 7, Macbeth leaves the table and attempts to talk himself out of killing Duncan. Macbeth gives himself many logical reasons as why not to commit the murder, such as Duncan just gave him a promotion, why kill the man who just promoted you. But then Macbeth states that if he knew he wouldn’t get caught then he would do it. Then, Lady Macbeth enters the scene, and this is where the murder plan materializes. Lady Macbeth challenges him, saying that he is not a man.
The vicious chain reaction of fear continues. After Macbeth kills Duncan, he is too scared to even carry the daggers back into the king’s chamber. He is completely surrounded by the immense fear which takes root in his mind and repeatedly reminds him of the fact that the regicide will eventually be discovered. In order to relieve this horror, Macbeth has no choices but to blame the murderous deed upon the two drunken chamberlains who are instigated by both Duncan’s sons. After he is successfully crowned as the king of Scotland, the prior fear fades away and begets another fear which forms images in Macbeth’ head with the previous scene of the day where him and Banquo listen to the prophecies of the three witches.
/ When you durst do it, then you were a man” (1.7.47-49).. She defines manhood as stark aggression to achieve power in any means necessary such as killing Duncan. Macbeth, had compassion for Duncan but due to fear of being demasculinized if he did not act on his ambition results in his submission into temptation. As said from a female, it makes the reverse psychology from Lady Macbeth even more potent due to the preservation of gender roles. As one progresses through the story, Macbeth becomes more emotionally numb and tyrannical, for he then kills Banquo for fear of his intelligence on the murder of King Duncan. Then he kills Macduff’s family out of anger.
Since Lady Macbeth set him up to this by insulting his manhood, Macbeth took a turn for the worst when he started experiencing fear and guilt. You’d think he’d put an end to all of this negativity by this point, yet it actually drags out and he continues with doing malicious, unlawful acts. Eventually this leads to more trouble for Macbeth; He begins to struggle with hallucinations and sleeplessness, causing him to become extremely paranoid. He began to lose his human qualities during this process of regaining his ‘so-called’ manhood, as his killing spree was pretty much a joke on his actual manliness. Macbeth’s decadence then led to his marriage to slowly fall apart.
After Macbeth kills the king, a bell rings and he says, “I go and it is done: the bell invites me. / Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell / That summons thee to heaven, or to hell” (2.1.62-64). Macbeth and Lady Macbeth also frame the guards for the dirty deed he has done. Malcolm and Donalbaine are so scared for their lives that they decide to stay with separate relatives. Separating where no one knows where they are will better insure their safety.
This prophecy backfires on him because when he encounters Macduff in a battle, he finds out that Macduff wasn’t born through natural birth but by a C-section. Macbeth finally realizes the inevitably of his fate and lose the battle and war. Nevertheless, superstition affects man because Macbeth was fully naïve to believe he could outwit the prophecies. He relied on the words of the witches, however, interpreted them incorrectly, ultimately degrading his name in
She becomes evil and ambitious before the murder of Banquo, and then she becomes fearful of her surroundings because of her guilt after Banquo's murder. Lady Macbeth develops her evil character by informing Macbeth about her idea of killing King Duncan and taking over the throne. "What beast was 't then, that made you break this enterprise to me? When you durst to it, then you were a man; and to be more than what you were, you would be so much more than a man...When Duncan is asleep, his two chamberlains will I with wine and wassail so convince that memory, the warder of the brain, shall be a fume, and the receipt of reason a limbeck only..." said Lady Macbeth (I, VII, Lines 55-77). Lady Macbeth is convincing Macbeth about her plan to kill Duncan when he sleeps.