Macbeth

Macbeth

Throughout the play Macbeth Macbeth and Lady Macbeth go back and forth regretting the regicide and convincing the other that it has to be done. He has to deal with the pressure of his wife, and the pull of his conscience.

The initial instigator was, of course, the wife, Lady Macbeth. Who after finding out that her husband was destined to become king decided to speed up the process a little by murdering the current kind Duncan. The beginning of this tragedy shows Macbeth receiving a view into the future by a trio of witches. They say "All hail, Macbeth, that shall be king hereafter!"(Act I, III, 50) The witches were correct in their prediction that Macbeth will soon become king. Macbeth takes no heed to the witches' prediction until he tells Lady Macbeth about his meeting with the witches and she convinces him that it is his destiny to be king and he should pursue his destiny, no matter what it takes.

In her monologue at the beginning of scene V in act one Lady Macbeth lays out her plans, including her plan to convince her husband to commit the regicide. She says "Art not without ambition, but with out/The illness should attend It."(Act I, V, 19-20) meaning that he has enough ambition to make himself become king; he just needs the wickedness to back his ambitions. She also says that once he has done the deed he should not wish it undone, this statement is found to be false later in the play. Lady Macbeth tries to summon courage by asking the spirits to "unsex" her and "take her milk for gall". She uses her new found strength to tell her husband to look as the innocent flower but be the serpent underneath it.

The Macbeths begin their plan by allowing the servants to partake in the festivities of the night leaving no one with the capability to accurately witness the night's evil happenings to come. At the beginning of scene seven in act one Macbeth has a monologue in which he discusses the many reasons he shouldn't commit the murder. He talks about how good of a king Duncan has been, and how it is wrong to kill a guest in your home. He also mentions how Duncan is actually his kin. He says "as his host ,/Who should against his murderer shut the door,/Not bear the knife myself"(Act I, vii, 14-16) Just as Macbeth begins to talk himself out of killing Duncan Lady Macbeth come in and tells him everything on her part has been set in place. She then continues to talk to Macbeth, telling him that it is his destiny and that it is right for him to kill Duncan if he can become king. The final blow to Macbeth's ego is when she plays on his manhood, saying that he is not brave. Macbeth agrees and tells his wife to go out and let them mislead the world

In the scene directly before the murder of Duncan Macbeth is walking through a hall and sees a dagger floating in the air in front of him. Macbeth tries to grasp the weapon and fails. He wonders whether what he sees is real or a "dagger of the mind, a false creation / Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain" (Act II, ii, 38Ð'-39). Continuing to stare upon the dagger, he thinks he sees blood on the blade, then suddenly decides that the vision is just a symptom of his unease over killing Duncan. The thick night air is broken by a sharp bell toll in the distance. This bell is the sign from Lady Macbeth that the chamberlains are asleep, and to proceed with the murder.

As Macbeth leaves the hall, Lady Macbeth enters, saying that the festivities had made her bold. She imagines that Macbeth