When people find out that the king is murdered they accuse the guards. For this reason, Macbeth kills the guards because he is afraid that they would deny killing King Duncan. As Macbeth is crowned king, Banquo starts to suspect that Macbeth cheated to earn his title. When Macbeth knows that Banquo suspects him, he hires murderers to kill him and his son, Fleance. Not only was he terrified that Banquo would expose him, but he was afraid that Banquo’s line would all become kings in the future, as according to the witches’ prophecies.
The witches never told Macbeth to kill; they merely stated that he was to become king. Macbeth makes the choice himself. Their prophecies were believed by Macbeth and lead him with a tormenting need for power where he kills in order to achieve his goals. Macbeth falls on his own accord because of how he chooses to let the supernatural govern his actions. One can look at Macbeth’s actions as the play unravels and see that he is clearly headed down a path towards disaster resulting from one source: his ambition.
They were the driving force behind Banquo and King Duncan's killing. The witches prophesised that his life would completely change, by becoming thane of Cawdor, then king of Scotland. At first, Macbeth dismissed their prophecies, but after he was promoted to Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth wondered if he will be King, too. "If chance will have me king, why chance may crown me without my stir." Another prophecy made by the witches was that Banquo's son will be king.
Once he was crowned King, he became paranoid and ceased trusting anyone which had led him to killing several other lives. His paranoia was ambushed by his fear of losing the throne. Macbeth “fears in Banquo” for multiple reasons; he is naturally more superior, he had heard the prophecy and his sons were said to be Kings. In his paranoia, he sends murderers to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance. Furthermore, Banquo was murdered under Macbeth’s commands.
The tragedy “Macbeth” unfolds after three witches predict that Macbeth will become King of Scotland. In order to explore his inner conflict, the dramatist uses imagery, characterisation, soliloquies and dramatic irony. Throughout Act One Scene Seven, Macbeth is struggling to cope with his conflict. Macbeth was initially described as heroic and a kind man, but with various forces manipulating him, Lady Macbeth calls him a coward. “When you durst do it, then you were a man.” She is saying that, when you were thinking of killing King Duncan, he was a man and a brave soldier, but after Macbeth demands he will not continue with the plan, he would be a coward, hence she is taunting his manhood.
That all changes when he returns home after telling his wife what had happened. She says “ Make thick my blood/ Stop up th’access and passage to remorse” (1.5 33-34) Lady Macbeth is the one who encourages Macbeth to become King. Now that they both believe that Macbeth is going to become king, there is nothing that will get in their way. Soon after, Macbeth decides that one of the only ways that he is going to become king, is to kill the current king, Duncan. He realized that the plan might not be reasonable and he started to second guess himself.
Who do you trust, your king or your conscious? Many characters in Macbeth had to make this very choice as there kingdom was slowly deteriorating because of a tyrant of a king. Macbeth written by William Shakespeare is the story of a brave honourable soldier who ruins his life due to his own greed for power, respect and wealth. This play begins with three witches who inform Macbeth that he will become king. It is clear to all readers that Macbeth is not simply going to wait for these prophecies to come true, after the previous king Duncan is murdered.
With the witches’ prophecies mulling over in his mind, and knowing that he was not the successor of the throne, he knew he had to take matters into his own hands. With the support and persuasion of Lady Macbeth, he kills King Duncan and gains his kingship. When Banquo makes his vow to find out who killed Duncan, Macbeth knew he had to silence him. After Macbeth is named king, he seeks out hired murderers to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance. Macbeth does this because he is afraid that Banquo will get in the way of his new title and Fleance, because he is prophesied to be king.
Once he had his much desired position as ruler he killed anyone who could possibly take his place. There are speculated reasons as to why he did this, one of the reasons could be because he was paranoid that someone would try to kill him and take over as king. Another reason Alexander could have killed of possible suitors was because he wanted complete and total domination of the Empire. Although he was king there were a few details that Alexander didn’t check into when he became king. He though that with the death of his father he would gain everything that his father possessed but in reality he never got full possession of Corinthian League, which was created by king Phillip after Macedonia victory over the Greeks which establish control over the Greeks and to make them provide soldiers for the expedition to Asia.
The prophecy stated by the witches, that Macbeth would become king, prompted Macbeth to make that a reality. However, the witches never said that he would murder Duncan, or that he would become so paranoid and guilt-ridden that he would be his own undoing. Indeed, is not the point of fate that it achieves what is meant to be regardless of the path chosen? The witches also stated that Macbeth would rule, but Banquo’s descendants would rule Scotland. So, naturally, because man is a sinful creature, Macbeth sets out to destroy Banquo and his family, eliminating the possibility of Banquo’s descendants becoming kings.