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Macbeth Transition Of Action Analysis

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The Transition of Action
A king can never truly be a king without a queen by his side. Shakespeare’s Macbeth tells the tale of Macbeth, a Scottish nobleman who is very satisfied with his role as Thane of Glamis until he encounters three witches who present him with a prophecy that tells of a future where he is king. Macbeth’s wife, Lady Macbeth, persuades Macbeth to be proactive in fulfilling this prophecy and assassinating King Duncan, so he can replace him as King of Scotland. She serves as the brains behind this operation, while Macbeth’s hands serve as the tools of the crime. The regicide that Macbeth perpetrates institutes him on a path of terrible sins. The ghost of Banquo, Macbeth’s friend whom he murdered, appears to Macbeth and marks …show more content…

Shakespeare portrays an exchange between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth after the death of King Duncan: “As they had seen me with these hangman’s hands/List 'ning their fear I could not say ‘Amen’/ When they did say ‘God bless us!’” (2.2.30-32). The use of the phrase “hangman’s hands” implies a situation where an execution occurs because of orders from a higher power. Macbeth is being ordered to put King Duncan to death by a higher force, which is his wife in this case. The fact that Macbeth is unable to utter the holy sayings “Amen” and “God bless us” demonstrates that he feels guilty about his actions. This further emphasizes the concept that Macbeth’s head and heart did not want to kill King Duncan, but his hands carried out the murder on behalf of his wife. “My hands are of your color, but I shame/To wear a heart so white,” is Lady Macbeth’s reaction to the intense emotional distress that Macbeth experiences after the regicide (2.2.64-65). The Lady implies that she is just as guilty as her husband when describing her hands as “of your color.” Lady Macbeth obvious disgust with Macbeth’s “white,” meaning weak, reaction is evidence that she feels no remorse, despite being involved with the act. She undergoes no shame because, although the outcome is seemingly positive for both of them, only she had the desire to remove King Duncan in the first

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