49). Macbeth knows the ethics behind the murder of the King, and he knows that not only is his conscience going to suffer, but should he get caught he would lose everything. His family’s honor, his title as thane, everything he had worked so hard to accomplish gone blank at the instant his hand in the crime would be revealed. “Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires” (I. iv. 57-58).
However, Macbeth has the ultimate decision in whether or not to commit the assassinations, but he loves Lady Macbeth and wishes to please her. After Macbeth kills Duncan, he fairly disappointed in himself for doing it. After killing Duncan, murdering others appears to be the only solution to continue to cover up his terrible actions or lose all that he has driven for. Lady Macbeth is force on Macbeth that unleashes the wicked part of him. She has a forceful impact on him and is another key character to blame for his developing desire of killing others to get away with her master plan.
But have you ever wondered why are we still studying it? Why are we learning about something that is so old and has no use? Well we study Shakespeare’s plays today such as Macbeth because the stories are timeless, beautifully written and has been spent a lot of time on. It traces the minds of an ambitious and ruthless man and his wife, and what happens when the moral lines are crossed. Of course killing the king was a major problem, but Macbeth has the opportunity.
Murder is one of the seven deadly sins and a crime that most try to avoid. Murder taints the criminal with the victims’ blood forever. Macbeth is a man that understands what it is like to steal the life of another man, yet continues to butcher one victim to the next. In the play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Banquo’s murder plagues Macbeth’s innermost soul more profoundly in comparison to the murder of Duncan because of the relationship he has with him, his motive behind the murder and the immensity of the remorse following the murder. Banquo’s murder affected Macbeth more deeply than that of Duncan because the relationship Macbeth has with Banquo is that of a friend.
Scene 4 1. Macbeth says to the King, “... And our duties are to your throne and state, children and servants, which do but what they should by doing everything safe toward your love and honour.” He says that everybody should safeguard the king while Macbeth himself plans on murdering him. The character is a hypocrite and very clever. 2. The king is too trustworthy.
3. Diction Words such as “virtues”, “justice” and “trust” are all used to describe Duncan at some point in the soliloquy. Shakespeare purposefully chose these words to convey Duncan as a blameless, virtuous king in which Macbeth knows, but yet have to overcome his conscience and kill. Other words such as “plaque”, “damnation” and “poisoned” are utilized to portray Macbeth’s guilt insinuating that he is not naturally inclined to commit evil
However, it does not take long for Macbeth to question the matter, “If good, why do I yield to that suggestion,” (I, iii, 144), he says in a state of confusion. Macbeth is Duncan’s kinsman and his subject, and therefore should be constantly striving to protect him. He is also his host, and so should be closing the door in his murderer’s face, not attempting to murder him himself. Macbeth knows in his heart what is right, but is allowing his vaulting ambition to get the better of him. Again Macbeth’s conscience comes into play when he says, “We still have judgement here; that we but teach / Bloody instruction, which being taught return / To plague the inventor: this even-handed justice,” (I, vii, 8-10).
In the Elizabethan era, the would be the dominant figure in a traditional relationship, but in Lady Macbeth and Macbeths relationship, lady Macbeth is seen as the dominant figure and would bully, tease and mock Macbeth into committing things he didn’t wanted to do, but she thought was the best way to go. During the exposition of the play Macbeth is described as being a “heroic leader” and “a worthy thane” this made him feel proud and honoured; however when it comes to killing the Duncan to fulfil the prophecies, Lady Macbeth has to try to encourage him to do so by saying “you were a man...more the man.” Lady Macbeth constantly asks Macbeth this to question his masculinity and his authority as a man. We first see Lady Macbeth when she appears in i: v in this scene we see her reading Macbeth's letter telling her about the witches’ prophecies for his rise to power. This report pleases her, which encourages her to take pride in her husband’s
By gaining knowledge and understanding about the social situations that existed in the times of Shakespeare and that of the real Macbeth, you are providing yourself with an advantage, which entitles you to a deeper understanding of the metaphors and meanings in the play. “Macbeth” is often considered a cautionary tale; a once innocent and honourable man driven to kill his own king for the sake of power and greed then pushed to madness after his guilt overcomes him. By researching and taking into account the social realities of those times, we realise that an underlying message of the play is that the need to gain power through violence is not necessary but is a hard thing to stop once started. By understanding the philosophical situations and beliefs that existed in the times of Shakespeare and of Macbeth we know that the play itself is a metaphor; that choices have consequences and that its not always easy to live with those consequences. ‘The Great Chain of Being’ plays a powerful part in the story and having an understanding about the chain, where everyone has a specific rank, which God bestows upon him or her, and to try and change your position was considered a crime against God.
Thesis: Shakespeare did not have Macbeth kill Banquo with his own hands, even though he did with Duncan and the guards, to show that Macbeth is starting to learn how to use his kingly power to his advantage, but does have a guilty conscience on his hands. Evidence/Commentary: “Both you know Banquo was your enemy” (III.i.115-116), Macbeth’s convincing argument to get the murderers to kill Banquo for him, was a tactic he learned from his wife. After his wife had manipulated Macbeth into killing King Duncan, Macbeth used that same manipulation to his murderers. In both situations the arguments made were that deep down, they all truly wanted and knew if it was not for a certain person in their way, they would live a better life. Shakespeare starts to develop a more in depth personality to Macbeth, and showing how much his character has grown since the beginning of the play.