Essay Sample on Macbeth Is Responsible For Duncan's Death

Macbeth is responsible for the demise of king Duncan. However, Macbeth is not the only one at fault as there were other factors at play such as the guards being drunk, the king himself as well as the three wayward sisters, and several others. 

The wayward sisters hold the most responsibility for the murder of King Duncan. The wayward sisters had told Macbeth that he shall be Thane of Cawdor and later on become king “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!”, had Macbeth not received this information he would not have committed such an evil crime. The wayward sisters could have told Macbeth any other fact as well as fulfilling the role of the king but the outcome would still end with the death of king Duncan and the downfall of Macbeth.

Macbeth is a well-known soldier and is familiar with killing. This information alone is enough to hold Macbeth accountable for the death of king Duncan. If the wayward sisters had not told Macbeth that he would be Thane of Cawdor and then later be king there is a possibility that the murder of king Duncan wouldn’t have taken place. As soon as Macbeth learns that the prophecy the wayward sisters had told him of him becoming Thane of Cawdor is true “He bade me, from him, call thee Thane of Cawdor,”  he immediately starts plotting and scheming his way into kingship. Once His wife lady Macbeth had learned of this she began to coerce Macbeth into killing Duncan and would even question his manhood as a way to convince Macbeth to commit the murder “That made you break this enterprise to me? 55 When you durst do it, then you were a man;

And to be more than what you were, you would

Be so much more the man.” 

Macbeth later on in the play orders assassins to kill Banquo “It is concluded. Banquo, thy soul’s flight, If it finds heaven, must find it out tonight.”, fleance, Macduff, and Macduff's family. this shows that Macbeth has doubts about killing King Duncan but he won’t let anyone get in his way.

Furthermore, the king's guards and King Duncan himself are responsible for King Duncan’s death, if the king forbade the guards from drinking and had the guards chose not to drink themselves drunk they would have been sober and would have been prepared and ready for what should have been the attempted murder of king Duncan however that did not happen and the result was King Duncan is murdered. King Duncan also knew how violent Macbeth was as the man covered in blood had told him of how Macbeth had brutally murdered Macdonwald “Disdaining Fortune, with his brandished steel, Which smoked with bloody execution, 20 Like Valor’s minion, carved out his passage”. This should have served as a sign to Duncan that Macbeth is a man is violence and should not be granted so much power.

However, king Duncan granted Macbeth more power than is necessary by giving him the title Thane of Cawdor, and because of the wayward sisters' prophecy confirming to Macbeth that he will be king eventually leads to the murder of king Duncan. 

Moreover, lady Macbeth contributed to the assassination of king Duncan as well. Lady Macbeth challenges her husband’s masculinity and his manhood to coerce him to kill king Duncan. She convinces Macbeth that if he was a real man he would commit the murder “But screw your courage to the sticking place 70

And we’ll not fail. When Duncan is asleep(Whereto the rather shall his day’s hard journey Soundly invite him), his two chamberlains Will I with wine and wassail so convince That memory, the warder of the brain, 75 Shall be a fume, and the receipt of reason A limbeck only.” Lady Macbeth's words had encouraged Macbeth to kill King Duncan had she not coerced,belittled and demoralized him so much Macbeth would not  have committed the heinous crime.therefore Lady Macbeth is as guilty as Macbeth .

Macbeth was a tyrant in terms of his ruling and how he reached the epitome of power after he killed king Duncan. )Macbeth spent most of his time removing any traces and evidence showing that he murdered king Duncan even if it meant killing his own men and friends rather than running a successful kingdom which makes him a tyrannical dictator.

Therefore, Macbeth is majorly responsible for the death of king Duncan as well as the other factors which contributed to the death of king Duncan. Macbethonly killed king Duncan to become king himself for his own benefit which makes him a tyrannical dictator. Macbeth had to get rid of any traces of evidence that he killed king Duncan by killing his own men and friends and because of this he could not run a successful kingdom. Had the wayward sisters not told Macbeth that he would become thane of Cawdor then king later on there is a possibility that he would not have committed the murder. If the guards were not drunk they would have been sober enough to defend king Duncan against Macbeth and if lady Macbeth had not questioned his manhood and coerced Macbeth to murder Duncan, Macbeth wouldn’t have killed Duncan.