In the play Macbeth, we can argue that there are three possible choices for who is most responsible for the murder of King Duncan. The first choice is the witches. In the whole of the play, they seem to embody evil and make a morally corrupt atmosphere. In Elizabethan times, they were regarded as evil so these prophecies would be thought to be evil.

Macbeth first meets them after the battle against the Norway and they predict that he will be Thane of Cawdor and then King. At first, he cannot believe this but when he finds out he is Thane of Cawdor, he and Banquo are surprised. Banquo says, 'Can the devil speak true?' in surprise. This shows us they did not expect the witches to be telling the truth. After this Macbeth seems to be astonished and Banquo points out 'Look how our partner's rapt', which shows us Macbeth is deep in thought about the third prophecy. Therefore, we could argue that the witches make him feel that he will be king and that it is his destiny. He is always thinking about the prophecies after this and drops hints to Banquo, for example he says, 'Let us speak our free hearts to each other'. He is trying to see whether Banquo would be interested in h

This stresses that he should not kill Duncan as he is relying upon Macbeth. Macbeth is his kinsman, one of the elite and one of his generals. He is his subject, and should not murder his ruler if he has done nothing wrong. He is also the host and should prevent someone murdering him and not do it himself. He also says 'He hath honour'd me of late' which is saying he has received the title of Thane of Cawdor. He says that he should enjoy all the praise he receives and not throw it away. All this shows us that Macbeth is simply too intelligent to be a puppet being used, he is aware of all the consequences and wants to be king.

She also organises the fine details of the murder. The main part is when she goes to put the daggers back. Macbeth has returned from the murder scene and brought the daggers with him. She is annoyed with him because he is being careless and is too scared to go back after the murder. She goes and puts them back herself. Lady Macbeth plays a key role as she removes her feminine caring feelings so she can push Macbeth to carry out the murder.

'Here in double trust; first, as I am his kinsman and subject, strong both against deed; then, as his host, who should against his murderer shut the door, not bear the knife myself'

This saying that often, to bring about our damnation, the agents of evil tell us truths, so that we trust them. Then they deceive us in important matters. This shows us Banquo can control his thoughts and that most people can. Macbeth, however, has a weak point and cannot control his ambition.

This suggests that no one will dare believe anyt

Some topics in this essay:
Lady Macbeth, Cawdor Banquo, Macbeth Macbeth, King Duncan, Thane Cawdor, lady macbeth, Cawdor King, murder king, king duncan, thane cawdor, , murder king duncan, ideas head, macbeth macbeth, responsible murder, tell truths, macbeth doubts, argue witches, responsible murder king,