The Most Responsible For Duncan's Death In Macbeth

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A Study of King Duncan’s Death: Placing the Responsibility In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, a heroic warrior, Macbeth, returns from war and finds out from the three wyrd witches that he will be Thane of Cawdor and King one day. Macbeth then is caught between two decisions- killing the King, Duncan, now or waiting to be given the throne. Macbeth is extremely ferocious and violent in battle against his enemies, but when he wants to kill one of his close friends in King Duncan, he does not think he has the strength to do it. After some time though, he is able to go through with Lady Macbeth and his plan to kill King Duncan. Both of them wanted the King dead, and it is disputed on which character was the driving force behind the killing of King Duncan. However, the person most responsible for King Duncan’s death is Macbeth. Macbeth is the one who actually kills King Duncan. Macbeth states that he killed King Duncan when he says to Lady Macbeth, “I have done the deed” (Shakespeare 2.2.68). He says this to Lady Macbeth when she asks him if he killed King Duncan. Macbeth also says before he is about to kill Duncan: I go, and it is done: the bell invites me. Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell That summons thee to heaven, or to hell. (2.1.66)
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Lady Macbeth stated herself she was not able to kill King Duncan if she had the chance to because he looked too much like her own father. This is showing that Lady Macbeth does not have the ambition and will needed to kill the King. Macbeth, on the other hand, had the ambition and the will to kill King Duncan, and actually does it. He is the one who held the dagger and cut into King Duncan and got his hands covered in blood from the actual murder, and not just to place the daggers on the guards like Lady Macbeth. She only did that, while Macbeth physically killed King

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