Who is to blame for the murder of King Duncan?
As we all know Macbeth was the man who stabbed King Duncan. I am going to tell you what motivates Macbeth to ultimately murder King Duncan
Near the beginning of the play, Macbeth and Banquo win a great victory against Norway and a rebel named Macdonald in war which gains honor for Macbeth. Then three witches approach Macbeth and his best friend Banquo. “All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of Glamis!, “ the first witch says to Macbeth who is the current thane of Glamis. “All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of Cawdor!,” “All hail, Macbeth! That shalt be king hereafter,” the second and third witches call him the Thane of Cawdor and King which are prophecies that came true later in the play. Shortly after the witches left a messenger named Ross informs Macbeth that he is titled Thane of Cawdor for his bravery. This means the first prophecy of him becoming Thane of Cawdor has already been fulfilled and he has hope of the second prophecy of him becoming king to become true. In line 155 of Act 1; Scene 3. “If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me without my stir” Macbeth tells Banquo that if destiny will have him king, destiny can crown him without him lifting a finger. This means that Macbeth believes that he can become king without doing anything.
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King Ducan then goes to name his eldest son Malcolm his heir to the throne in line 44 of Act 1; Scene 4. “We will establish our estate upon / Our eldest, Malcom, whom we name hereafter / The Prince of Cumberland: which honor must Not, unaccompanied, invest him only.” This is the moment when Macbeth realized he had to do something unthinkable like murdering King Duncan because it was the only way for him to take the throne instead of Malcolm, his eldest son who he sees as a threat to the
Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter” (I.3.51-53). The witches' words are a catalyst, fueling Macbeth's ambition and setting him on a treacherous path.
The witches never said he would become king though. Macbeth started to plan out a way he could become king soon. His plans consisted of multiple lies. Macbeth was going to kill King Duncan. He was going to get away with it by getting the guards drunk and blaming it on them.
Once again, Macbeth is born into nobility just as Beowulf and Sir Gaiwan. The witches specifically state upon meeting Macbeth that, “All hail Macbeth, Thane of Glamis; All hail Macbeth, Thane of Cawdor; All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter” (347). Readers see that he is already of nobility, as he is the Thane of Glamis but are predisposed to the future of his rising status. Macbeth, although praised for his challenging tasks and accomplishments, falls to the wayside after learning of the witches prophecies. Macbeth at first believes that, “If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me without my stir(349) but in actuality by thinking this, it means that he has thought of murdering Duncan before hand to gain the crown.
I think that Macbeth is the real person to blame for the murder of Duncan for many reasons. I believe this because in the end Macbeth is the one who took his life away. He is the one who stabbed him(act 1, scene 3, page 21). Macbeth thought about what someone told him to much and has made himself feel like he had to do it. Three strong pieces of evidence that i have are very helpful.
Macbeth states, “They hailed him father to a line of kings,/ Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown/ And a barren scepter in my grip...”(3.1.65-67). Macbeth understands that he will have no heir to his throne. The witches’ prophecy for Banquo’s descendants generates feelings of jealousy in Macbeth. Macbeth believes that he has a useless crown and empty scepter because of the witches’ prediction.
One of the most quintessential points to the plot of Macbeth is the murder of Duncan. Prior to this murder of the king, Macbeth had many forces attempting to influence his decision on killing Duncan. Overall, the forces convinced him to kill Duncan in Act 1. Throughout act 1 of Macbeth, despite some of his attempts to withstand, he succumbs to many forces, both internal and external, that lead him to his decision to kill Duncan.
Who’s to Blame Essay Who’s to blame for Macbeth’s decision to kill King Duncan. In Act one of Shakespeare’s exciting drama Macbeth, Macbeth, the Thane of Cawdor is convinced by different characters in the book to choose to kill King Duncan. By doing this, this will make Macbeth become the king which would give a tremendous amount of power in Scotland. Initially, Macbeth did not want to kill Duncan, however different characters convince him to do so. It is right to say that Lady Macbeth and the Three Witches are ones to blame for Macbeth’s decision to kill King Duncan.
Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor, All hail Macbeth! Thou shalt be king hereafter” and to Banquo “… Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none” (Act 1, Scene 3). After Macbeth hears of his promotion to Thane of Cawdor, he quickly begins to believe the witches and prophecies
First, the three witches promised Macbeth three thing, “Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and Future king” as on page 15 Act 1 scene 3 lines 49-51. This is where the thought of being king was planted in Macbeth’s head. If this had never happened he probably wouldn’t
(1.4.55-60) At this point Macbeth doesn’t feel that he could wait much longer to become kind because nothing was happening. He also knew that Malcolm was getting in the way, so he decided to do something about it, which lead to the murder of Duncan. Earlier on Macbeth thought that if the witches were right, he might as well let fate take its course. According to the prophecies "If chance will have me king, why, chance may/ crown me/ Without my stir.” (1.4.157-159)
Macbeth knows that if he kills Duncan, he gets the satisfaction in being king. Once Macbeth receives the position of “Thane of Cawdor” for his bravery so easily. “If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me without my sir”(1.3.143-144). So he begins to think that since he received this higher position with doing nothing, then maybe doing nothing can crown him king. Although he was a very nice person, down deep he wanted to become king.
In the play Macbeth there was a lot of stuff that went on that could keep the reader interested. One of these things are all of the murders in the play. With all these murders happening, there has to be someone to blame. In the play Lady Macbeth is to blame for the murders because she called evil upon herself, influenced Macbeth to be a murder, and she wanted power.
Who’s believed to have killed Duncan? Duncan was the former king of Scotland in the short story The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare. He was seen to be one of the best rules throughout history. Duncan was a fair king and always wanted the best for his people and nation.
In the play of Macbeth, there are some characters that could be responsible for Duncan’s death. I personally think Lady Macbeth is the cause of Duncan's murder. She is the most ambitious to kill the king in the beginning of the play, pressuring Macbeth. Lady Macbeth was persuasive of driving Macbeth to commit the murder. She manipulates him to go through with the murder even though he was very doubtful about it.
They finally come to a conclusion that they should and they form a plan to kill him. After the king is killed by Macbeth he feels regret, but the person most responsible for king Duncan’s death is Macbeth.