Essay Sample: Who Is Responsible For Duncan's Death?

King of Scotland is one of the most revered and valued titles. At least to a man named Macbeth. It soon becomes widely known throughout Scotland and beyond that Macbeth has killed King Duncan and is now on the throne. But is Macbeth really responsible for Duncan's death, or is someone else the mastermind? While some may believe that Macbeth is to blame for Duncan’s death, Lady Macbeth is the one who works harder to complete the plan and cares more about its success. 

Some argue that Macbeth is more to blame because he willingly made the decision to stab Duncan. One reason why Macbeth seems to be more to blame is because it was his idea first. Although Macbeth originally envisions a plan, only a few scenes later he is talking himself out of it. He goes on and on coming up with more reasons not to kill Duncan. He tells himself “[he has] no spur/To prick the sides of [his] intent, but only/Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself/And falls on the other”(1.7.25-28). He becomes so worried about the repercussions that he even tells Lady Macbeth that “[they] will proceed no further in this business”(1.7.34). It is only after Lady Macbeth tells him her plan and makes him feel effeminate for not following through, that he actually goes through with the assassination. So, Macbeth would have simply changed his mind and forgot the whole plan if it were not for Lady Macbeth's convincing words. Another reason is why some blame Macbeth is because he physically stabs Duncan, therefore being the one who kills him. Even though Macbeth may have been the one to “[do] the deed”(2.2.18), Lady Macbeth is the one who has to keep the plan in motion. Because Macbeth is slowly deteriorating, Lady Macbeth has to insist that he “give [her] the daggers”(2.2.68) so she can go put them where they belong -- framing the guards -- her plan from the start. Once the story is analyzed further, it becomes clear that Macbeth is only a pawn in the overarching plan that belongs to Lady Macbeth.

In spite of the fact that Lady Macbeth's plan needs Macbeth to succeed, she works harder to organize and execute it. When their victim arrives at their castle, Lady Macbeth is waiting with open arms to make him feel at home. She lies to him by saying “We rest your hermits”(1.7.23). When she offers Duncan hospitality, she is misleading him into thinking he will just be having a nice night with the new Thane of Cawdor. With the king's suspotions being non-existent, Lady Macbeth is able to continue her plan. While Macbeth is still having trouble committing to the deed, Lady Macbeth has taken the lead and “drugg’d [the guards]/possets” and does not care “Whether they live or die”(2.2.7-10). This ruthless woman is making sure that everything goes smoothly in the execution on her plan. When Macbeth comes back from the  slaughter of Duncan with the incriminating daggers, she jumps into action. When Lady Macbeth accuses Macbeth of “bringing [the] daggers form the place,” and tells him to “Go carry them, and smear/The sleepy grooms with blood”(2.2.62-63), he cowardly responds he dare not “Look on’t again”(2.2.66). With Macbeth slowly falling apart, Lady Macbeth is forced to finish the job; she must drive her plan to the finish.

Additionally, Lady Macbeth cares more about the plan's success. Right after Lady Macbeth receives the letter from her husband, she immediately fully invests in the triumph and benefit of the scheme. She demands the “spirits/That tend on mortal thoughts, [to] unsex [her]/And fill [her]...[with] direst cruelty”(1.5.42-44). Right from the beginning she is fully invested in this gambit, so invested that she calls upon the spirits to make her more manly and evil. Meanwhile, Macbeth is freaking out, and coming up with all the reasons he can think of to not follow through. He tells Lady Macbeth that “[they] will proceed no further in this business”(1.7.34). Someone who can not even commit to a plan certainly has no regard for the outcome. Although he may have hoped for it to succeed then, now he has completely relinquished the thought of it from his mind. But since Lady Macbeth has already devoted herself to the idea of murdering Duncan, she will not let Macbeth back out. She tells him she would never go back on her word, and he would “Be so much more the man”(1.7.57) if he were only to follow through. Her relentless endeavor to make Macbeth snap out of it, and rejoin the effort demonstrates how deeply she cares about the success and reward of her homicidal plan.

Macbeth's constant self doubt and second guessing is definitely not the work of an evil mastermind. Lady Macbeth has to keep convincing him to stay on track while she also forms and executes a fool proof plan. She may have not been the one who did the deed, but the plan would have burned out if she was not there keeping its flame alive. The people in the scottish tragedy Macbeth were more focused on the king and his undeserved achievements when they should have been marveling at the strength and clever leadership of their queen.