Essay Question: Who is to blame for the murder of King Duncan in Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’?
Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ is a play written between 1603 and 1606 which is based upon the ancestry of James the 1st. It is not historically true as it needs to portray James’s family as proud, righteous and honourable. Thus Shakespeare omitted the helpings of Banquo. The play starts with The Witches deciding they shall meet with Macbeth next and is a pathetic fallacy as witches are associated with evil. This sets the scene nicely for the play to continue on from. A scene on and we are in the middle of a fresh battlefield, where Banquo and Macbeth have just laid waste to the armies of Ireland and Norway commanded by the treacherous Thane of Cawdor. The king meets with his deputies and decides to give Macbeth the title Thane of Cawdor. During this occurrence Macbeth is riding along side Banquo in the mountains when they meet the witches. They know both men by their name and hail Macbeth with his title Thane of Glamis and then they hail him with Thane of Cawdor and then King of Scotland. This peaks Macbeth’s intrigue and shows an ambitious streak to Macbeth. They tell him how he is now Thane of Cawdor and will become King. When later at camp he is presented with the title Thane of Cawdor he becomes very excited, he immediately writes to his wife. His wife a very ambitious and determined woman plays a huge part in convincing Macbeth to kill King Duncan. In a few acts ahead King Duncan comes to Macbeth’s home. Macbeth is on the verge of killing Duncan when he decides it is not right. Lady Macbeth convinces him he must and poisons the chamberlains enabling Macbeth to kill King Duncan. From here on Macbeth goes on a wild killing spree killing any and all that stand in his way or challenge him. Inevitably he loses followers and is overthrown by his nemesis Macduff. In the following essay the blame upon the Witches, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth shall be weighed up and discussed.
The...