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The Murder Of King Duncan In William Shakespeare's Macbeth

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On the seemingly quiet eve of the 15th of August, King Duncan of Scotland was assassinated in his sleep. King Duncan was celebrating the death of the vulgar rebel MacDonald at the Thane of Cawdor’s Castle briefly before he was killed. MacDonald was killed by the newly appointed Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth, during combat against the Norwegians. Our sources suggest that as King Duncan was sleeping soundly in his room his ‘ professional’ guards were in an alcohol induced slumber. While they were asleep, on duty, two of King Duncan's very own servants allegedly stabbed Duncan multiple times with daggers as he slept. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth accompanied by Lennox the nobleman of Scotland and Macduff the Thane of Fife discovered the lifeless body of King Duncan the morning after. They also found King Duncan's servants asleep right outside his chamber grasping bloody daggers with royal blood streaked on their faces and clothing.When we questioned Macbeth about stumbling upon the assassinated king and his murderers he made a shocking revelation to us; “O, yet I do repent me of my fury That I did kill them (the King’s servants)”. When we asked Macbeth why he acted out so irrationally he attempted to justify his actions by stating “There the murderers, Steep’d in the colours of their trade; their daggers Unmannerly breech’d with gore. …show more content…

Who could refrain, That had a heart to love?”This sudden death of our noble King plunges our country into havoc and uncertainty and without a proper trial of the suspected murderers King Duncan and the good people of Scotland may never receive

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When ambition is overlooked, it has the ability to become extremely dangerous. Macbeth from Shakespeare is a clear example of this. As he rises to power, he becomes more and more of a threat to those around him, killing those he was once loyal to. Destruction when ambition goes unchecked is present throughout the play because of Macbeth’s strong desires that ultimately lead to the deaths of Duncan, Banquo, and nearly Macduff. The death of Duncan was the first corrupt act stemming from Macbeth’s ambition.

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The fact that Macbeth believes the witches’ prophecies are not evil nor good foreshadows how he will go on to kill any other person standing in his way to more power. His ambition blinds his mind to make him even think about ruthlessly committing a murder. This forceful way of gaining power will only lead Macbeth to become a “tyrant” in Scotland and his “fantastical” desires of killing Duncan and receiving the crown will lead Scotland to failure. Under Macbeth’s rule, Scotland seems to be in a terrible condition. With distrust among the people, there is tension all within the country, as Macbeth’s totalitarian regime had rendered the prosperity of Scotland.

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After the Macbeth kills Duncan, he has committed his first real murder. Though he has killed before, this is the first time he has ever killed someone he was supposed to be loyal to, the first time morality was not on his side. After the murder of Duncan, Macbeth is overcome with guilt causing him to lose his sense of what is real, of the real limits and properties of the world around him. To him his king’s blood spills in endless amounts from his hands. ““Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?

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After hearing from the prophecy from the Weird Sisters, Macbeth realizes his potential to become king of Scotland. His ambition and wife drive him to take action and kill King Duncan. “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself and falls on the other— (1.7.25-28)” Although Macbeth handled the murdered the of King Duncan very well, he did leave some holes in which people could figure out that he did kill Macbeth. For example he kills the guards which causes Macduff and the other

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Macbeth clearly distinguished himself as a great warrior, but his battlefield heroics did not carry over into heroic behavior off the battlefield. It is ironic that he, who had defended Duncan from traitors colluding with Irish and Norwegian armies, himself harbored traitorous thoughts. As he was contemplating assassinating Duncan, Macbeth was having trouble in justifying what he was about to do. “I am his kinsman and his subject, / Strong both against the

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However, she and Macbeth actually intend to kill Duncan later that night while he is sleeping. Lady Macbeth’s aura of kindness makes King Duncan feel safe and secure in their home. Second, Macbeth acts as if he had no clue that King Duncan was killed in his sleep when Macduff emerges from the King’s room from trying to wake him the following morning because Macduff had been ordered to come wake Duncan. “Macduff: Confusion now hath made

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In act four of Shakespeare's "Macbeth" Macbeth murders most of a noble man's family out of impulse and paranoia. He suspected said nobleman of plotting against him, and much like the murder of his friend Banquo, he killed him before he got the chance. But this murder is not like the ones before it, this one is much more sinister. The man Macbeth suspected, Maduff, was suspect because he refused to show up to any events that Macbeth attended, and when Macbeth went to ask the witches they warned him Macduff was to be cautioned. This time Macbeth decides right away that Macduff must go.

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I still can 't believe the day I first heard of Duncan’s murder. The stormy weather on Thursday the 14th in August of 1040 matched the feelings running through everyone 's head that day. The moment I found out, I began thinking of who could have committed such an act. I knew Macbeth, a great friend of mine, would be just as shocked as me, but for some reason I felt like I couldn 't tell him what I was thinking. I kept remembering the witches’ prophecies about how Macbeth would become king.

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King Duncan believes that the Macbeth’s are treating

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Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going; And such an instrument I was to use. ”(2.1.42-43) The bad thing about killing king Duncan was the prediction said he will be king in the future but he couldn’t wait so he killed the king. In the critic the author also mention of Macbeth was imagine killing king

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Macbeth shows that he is willing to kill King Duncan because he is interested in the witches prophecy, after they tell him that he will become ‘Thane of Cawdor’ and then the King.

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Macbeth’s impatience for power leads to drastic actions. He murders the king in the belief that “this blow might be the be-all and end-all” (1.7.5). This assassination could never “trammel up the consequence” (1.7.2-3), as Macbeth believes, but only leads to more trouble. Although Macbeth seizes the throne, Macbeth had to betray his loyalty to the king whose “virtues will plead like angels” (1.7.18-19), and his morality has paid the price. Macbeth has now lost all sense of what honor is by using such dishonest ways to become king.

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Macbeth was the Thane of Cawdor but he wanted to be king more than anything. The witches had told him that he would one day be king but he did not know how long that would take so when King Duncan had been invited to stay the night at his house he exclaimed that “My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical,/ shakes so my single state of man/ that function is smother 'd in surmise,/ and nothing is but what is not”(1.3.52-55). He felt that if he were to kill King Duncan that he would have a better chance of becoming king. Though the witches had never told him that someone would need to get murdered for him to become king, his ambition tempted him to quicken this process the only way he felt he could. This was the beginning of the murderer that the witches had created with the fortune telling.

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In the play of Macbeth, there are some characters that could be responsible for Duncan’s death. I personally think Lady Macbeth is the cause of Duncan's murder. She is the most ambitious to kill the king in the beginning of the play, pressuring Macbeth. Lady Macbeth was persuasive of driving Macbeth to commit the murder. She manipulates him to go through with the murder even though he was very doubtful about it.

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Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, is a dark play full of witchcraft and foreshadowing. Lady Macbeth showed scheming qualities throughout the play which had a lot of influence on her husband, Macbeth. Because of her controlling personality, Macbeth was scared to disappoint her. She was the one who positioned the idea of Duncan’s murder into her husband’s mind where he was succumbed by her supremacies and made the ultimate mistake. It was also her idea to place the blame of Duncan’s death on the soldiers.

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