With the fufillment of his half of the propechy, Macbeth begins to
think about how the witches told Banquo he would father kings and
worries he just cleared a path to throne for Banquo saying, "They hail'd
him father to a line of kings: upon my head they placed a fruitless
crown, and put a barren sceptre in my gripe" (85). To ease his worries, Macbeth hires murders to kill Banquo and his son. Unfortunately for Macbeth, only Banquo is killed and Fleance escapes. Macbeth and Banquo appear to be close friends and allies but Macbeth hires killers to get rid of Banquo to ensure his power and get rid of any possible threat s to his position. His guilt, manifests itself as him seeing Banquo's ghost but it soon dissppears leaving Macebth even more paranoid and unstable. The once moral and loyal Macbeth has turned into a power obsessed king.
2
When Macduff flees to England to help Malcolm,
Duncan's oldest son, reclaim the throne, Macbeth
hears and creates a plan. He hires murderers to kill
Macduff's wife, children, and servants in hopes of luring Macduff back to Scotland and as punishment for plotting aginst him, "The castle of Macduff I will surprise; Seize upon Fife; give to the edge o' the sword, his wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls. That trace him in his line," (131). Once the murderers kill everyone, Macbeth doesn't show any feelings of guilt . At this point, he is too long gone. Although, Macbeth is not haunted by what he has done to Macduff's castle, his wife is. But he does not know this because he has drifted away from her. The once close spouses, are now are disconnected.
3
Macbeth starts off the play as a normal guy but once the witches tell him about the propechy of being king, his ambition is awakened which proves to be his undoing,in his struggle to not only get the throne but to secure it. Although the witches and Lady Macbeth influence him, Macbeth's demise can be credited to his ambition, insecurity, and gullibility. He kills the king and many others just to get and keep the throne. When he first hears the propechy, his wife pushes him to take action and instead of sticking with his morals, he caves and allows his insecuirty to take over after Lady Macbeth calls him a coward. Lastly, when the witches tell Macbeth the propechy for the first time, he automatically believes them. All of these traits lead Macbeth on his downward spiral. He kills innocent people for the sake of keeping his throne and by th eend of the play has gone mad with power, is paranoid, and a shell of his former self.
5
In the final act of the play, Lady Macbeth kills herself since she can't take the guilt of her husband her own actions. When told about her death, Macebeth simply says, "She should have died hereafter,"(177). He is too busy preparing for battle to mourn or react to his wife's death. He then goes on to say, that life signifies nothing. His pessimisstic view on life as well as his dinstrest in his wife's death is proof of how much he has changed
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myMagazine/February, 2014 5
Eliminating Banquo
The Macduff Estate
The Ending
In Conclusion