How Is Lady Macbeth Responsible For Killing Duncan

Lady Macbeth is more responsible for the murder of King Duncan than her husband, Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is also an eviller more cunning character than Macbeth. She was the one who thought to murder the King, and even convinced Macbeth to do it for her. She was also unphased immediately after the murder, going as far as to attempt to calm Macbeth down. At first mention of the witches’ prophecy, Lady Macbeth immediately assumed that they must murder Duncan, whereas Macbeth was simply confused on how it could be possible for him to be King. This is noticeable after Lady Macbeth reads the letter written by Macbeth and says, “Hie thee hither / That I may pour my spirits in thine ear / And chastise with the valor of my tongue,” (1.5, 14-16). She is saying she wishes to convince him to take the throne, and if she could, she would do whatever she needed to advance, including murdering the

Unlike his wife, Macbeth does not instantly assume he must do something as drastic as murdering the King of Scotland for his own political gain. In addition to this, Macbeth had serious doubt on murdering Duncan, as he held so much respect for him. His doubt is displayed in this quote, “But in these cases / We still have judgment here, that we but teach / Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return / To plague th' inventor: this even-handed justice/ Commends the ingredients of our poisoned chalice / To our own lips.” (1.7, 7-12). Macbeth knows that the King has trust in him and doesn’t believe that violence is the right way to gain power. In contrary, Lady Macbeth tells her husband to “Look like th' innocent flower, But be the serpent under ’t.” (1.5 56-57). If Lady Macbeth had not been a woman, it’s certain that she would have committed the murder