Analyzing the Cause of King Duncan’s Death in Macbeth

[Shay10825]

Hi. Am I allowed to post english questions? I had to write a paper on the cause of Duncan's death in macbeth. What do you think of my paper? What should I change or add? Please help. I need a really good grade on this. I'm not really good in english. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cause of King Duncan’s Death in Shakespeare’s Macbeth

In Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth, King Duncan’s death was caused by Lady Macbeth, Macbeth, and Duncan himself. All three of these things led to the eventual death of Duncan. Duncan made it easy for someone to kill him because he trusted everyone that was deceiving him. Lady Macbeth’s desire to be queen made her think of a plan for Macbeth to kill Duncan. Macbeth is the one that actually did the killing but was almost seduced into doing it by Lady Macbeth.

Lady Macbeth is one of the causes of Duncan’s death, by convincing Macbeth to kill Duncan. She says that she would love to be queen and reveals her evil intents to be so in her small soliloquy. In act I, scene V, she says, “That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan” (I.V.25). This foreshadows that Duncan shall arrive that night and something fatal will happen to him. This is ironic because Duncan is about to die but Duncan has no clue. Lady Macbeth has already planned what will happen to Duncan and she is full with evil intentions for him. In the same scene she also says, “That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here” (I.V. 39). She says she wishes she were a man so she could kill Duncan herself. Lady Macbeth also says to Macbeth, “O never shall sun that morrow see,” this alliteration foreshadows that Duncan will not be alive the following morning (I. V. 59-60). Lady Macbeth had planned for Duncan to be murdered by Macbeth early on in the tragedy.

After the commands from Lady Macbeth to kill Duncan, Macbeth doesn’t have a chance to speak. Lady Macbeth cluttered Macbeth’s head with images of killing king Duncan, and he can’t think of doing anything else because she won’t allow him to. In act I, scene VII, lines 58-59 Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth that she will be furious if he does not kill Duncan for her when she says, “And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you have done to this.” Now Macbeth has his mind set on killing Duncan because his dear Lady Macbeth will be infuriated if he doesn’t do it. Lady Macbeth starts directing Macbeth on how they will kill Duncan, and since Macbeth is brainwashed by her he complies.

After the witches told Macbeth that he was to be king, he decided that if fate had determined that he was to be king he should not try to reach the throne by his own actions, and let it eventually come. Macbeth said, “If Chance will have me king, why chance may crown me, without my stir” (I. III. 44-45). However, it was Lady Macbeth who convinced him to murder the king so that he could take the throne, “Hie thee hither, that I may pour my spirits in thine ear” (I. V. 23-24). Lady Macbeth was more of a cause to Duncan’s murder than Macbeth himself as she used her position as a wife and a woman to seduce her husband into the sin. Macbeth caused Duncan’s death because he physically committed the crime. Macbeth was persuaded by Lady Macbeth to kill Duncan even though he did not want to. He should have stopped Lady Macbeth but it is his own fault for permitting Lady Macbeth to tell him what to do. Macbeth reveals his thoughts on why he should not kill King Duncan in a soliloquy at the start of act I, scene VII. He comes up with all kinds of reasons why he shouldn’t kill Duncan but he is too cowardly to admit that he does not want to do it to Lady Macbeth. Later on in that scene when Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are talking about the murder, Macbeth tries to break his promise and not kill the king but Lady Macbeth convinces him to do it. He should have been more of a man to Lady Macbeth and not so soft. Because he was so soft with her he was persuaded to kill Duncan.

Finally, one last culprit for Duncan’s death is Duncan himself. His own sightless trust in the members of his court, even though one of them had betrayed him, is what condemned him. He is over confident with Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The young, valiant, cruel traitor, Macbeth serves as a foil to the old, venerable, peaceable, and trusting king. Duncan just observes the hostess (Lady Macbeth) and says, “See, see our honored hostess, the love that follow us sometime is our trouble” (I. VI. 10). He doesn’t even think to see any deception within Lady Macbeth. Ironically when Duncan refers to the original Thane of Cawdor after he was told of his execution, “There’s no art to find the mind’s construction in the face, he was a gentleman on whom I built an absolute trust.” He is mindlessly talking about the other Thane of Cawdor as well (Macbeth), as if this was what he would have said after his own murder (I. IV. 12-14). The crucial mistake Duncan made was to trust the same person twice, the Thane of Cawdor. This fault was fatal as it proved to be later on.

Duncan’s murder was caused by Lady Macbeth’s want to be queen, which led to Macbeth listening to her to kill Duncan. But Macbeth’s ability to kill Duncan was caused by Duncan’s trusting of everyone. Duncan led to his own death because if he did not trust Lady Macbeth and Macbeth would have probably not been able to kill him. Since Duncan was weak Lady Macbeth knew that Duncan could be easily be killed which caused her to persuade Macbeth into doing it.

~Thanks

 

[TimothyRedburn]

Its a very well written paper but i think its missing a large pice. I believe that the biggest reason that duncan is killed is the witches which you mentioned but didnt really show their importance. If they had never made their prediction then macbeth would have never thought about murdering the king.

I don't think the play makes any points to say that Duncan is at fault for his own death because of his trusting, but that's just my opinion.

great paper though

 

[Shay10825]

Thanks . It seems like I have a bit too much plot summary and not enough analysis of the cause of his death. I don't know what to do about this though. What can I do?

 

[Shay10825]

Its a very well written paper but i think its missing a large pice. I believe that the biggest reason that duncan is killed is the witches which you mentioned but didnt really show their importance. If they had never made their prediction then macbeth would have never thought about murdering the king.

True I thought about making another paragraph about the witches. I might combine it with another paragraph.

 

[Shay10825]

How can I make it so it analyzes the cause and not so much about what happened in the story.

 

[vsage]

I'll make some random suggestions on what I think should be changed. I'll refer to which paragraph it's in by giving it a number

1. three people shouldn't be referred to as "things". Maybe deleting "of these things" would help.
2. No comma in the first sentence. I suggest getting rid of the state of being verb and change it to "Macbeth causes". There's a similar problem in other parts of the paper with that.
4. Although the middle of the paragraph does justify your assertion that Macbeth contributed to the death of Duncan, I felt like I was reading more plot summary than anything because a statements like "Macbeth was persuaded by Lady Macbeth to kill Duncan even though he did not want to" go unqualified. I see how he was persuaded but not why he would have a reason not to kill him from your paper.
6. Ending is weak. It restates the introduction but doesn't provide any real "oomph". Try creating a more clear cause->effect relationship between Duncan's flaw, Lady Macbeth's power-hungry nature and duncan's downfall. Really all you need to do is shorten it.

One thing that you MUST get in the habit of doing is flowing in an out of quotations. If you read it aloud to another person, he/she should not be able to tell when a quote begins or ends. "In the same scene she also says, 'That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here' ", for example, should look more like "In the same scene, she wishes for those supernatural spirts "that tend on mortal thoughts to unsex [her] [t]here" so that she could be free of her feminine disposition. (The part after the quote is really more my opinion than yours.. I didn't agree that she wanted to become a man so much that she didn't want to be a woman). I think you should look at each of your quotes and try your best to put them in a way that fits the flow of the sentences better.

More edits to come. Not a bad paper on the whole. I'm no english major but I did 5 both AP tests so I know how to BS (or write critically whichever you would like to call it

 

[Gokul43201]

Shay, it would help people to know what grade you're in so they can comment appropriately.

I've only read the first two sentences, so far, and if I were you, I'd skip the second one. Not only does is seem redundant, it refers to people as "things." Will read the rest when I find a little time...

 

[Shay10825]

I'm in 10th grade but it is a Pre-IB english II class (honors).

 

[Shay10825]

2. No comma in the first sentence. I suggest getting rid of the state of being verb and change it to "Macbeth causes". There's a similar problem in other parts of the paper with that.

Where? What do you mean?

 

[vsage]

There shouldn't be a comma in the first sentence of paragraph 2 (The last paragraph I denote by 6. and the first by 1.) I mean instead of saying "Lady Macbeth IS one of the causes", try "Lady Macbeth causes". Oftentimes state of being verbs will scream out to the discriminating eye of the teacher that you were not being careful enough when you went back and revised.

I didn't see you go off the wall with state of being verbs and nominalizations ("noun"ing something that could be more simply expressed as a verb), however, which does you a service. Keep with your style for the most part but try and change around those few unnecessary "Blah is blah" sort of lines.

Edit: Which IB do you go to? I had a lot of friends over at the ones in St. Petersburg and Palm Harbor just wondering if you were from the area.

 

[Shay10825]

How could I analyze the cause more? It seems like I'm only picking the surface and I need to go more in depth. What do you think?

I go to Suncoast High School. It's in Palm Beach County near West Palm Beach.

 

[vsage]

Suncoast? Is that the high school that has a college right nearby? (I know all the "good" schools in FL by how well do they do in mu alpha theta competitions :P) Consider what ideas you've developed about each of the three you've mentioned during the course of the paper and apply them to the main idea again. State in fewer (and probably a little longer or complex) sentences the cause->effect relationship between the two. It's not a big overhaul that needs to be made just be more concise.

 

[Shay10825]

Consider what ideas you've developed about each of the three you've mentioned during the course of the paper and apply them to the main idea again. State in fewer (and probably a little longer or complex) sentences the cause->effect relationship between the two. It's not a big overhaul that needs to be made just be more concise.

This is where i have problems. Should I just say something like: lady macbeth's want to become queen lead to macbeth killing duncan?

Suncoast? Is that the high school that has a college right nearby? (I know all the "good" schools in FL by how well do they do in mu alpha theta competitions :P).

The closest colleges to us is Palm Beach Community College, FAU (in palm beach gardens), and FAU (in boca). I heard that we do really good in the mu alpha theta competitions .

 

[vsage]

This is where i have problems. Should I just say that lady macbeth's want to become queen lead to macbeth killing duncan?

A little too short. Think about exactly what you've established Lady Macbeth as. To put it generally, you've proved her to be maniputalive and power-hungry. Think about how you've characterized Duncan and how Macbeth was guiled by Lady Macbeth. Try to write only a sentence for each. Try not to restate anything.

 

[Shay10825]

So could it be like this:
Lady macbeth's power-hungry maniputalive behavior seduced macbeth into killing the helpless king duncan?

I'm sorry. I really don't know what to do. English has never been my best subject. I'm better in math and science.

 

[Shay10825]

Lady macbeth's power-hungry maniputalive behavior seduced macbeth into killing the helpless king duncan. Duncan's sightless trust allows lady macbeth and macbeth to easily murder him.??

 

[vsage]

The two sentences say the same thing, essentially, but I like the message. Try using conjunctions; "Lady Macbeth's power-hungry, manipulative behavior seduced Macbeth into murderous thoughts and, because of King Duncan's sightless trust, he was easily killed." Of course your sentence will be a little different (and I used pronouns a little vaguely, you'll need to work on it a little) but a more complex sentence might make you appear more erudite (without making you appear as if you're just rattling off bombast). That would be an ideal last line so provide at least one more sentence before that in your concluding paragraph that you feel would best sum up your paper.

 

[Shay10825]

"Lady Macbeth's power-hungry, manipulative behavior seduced Macbeth into murderous thoughts and, because of King Duncan's sightless trust, he was easily killed."

Should I use sentences like this in all of my paragraphs?

 

[vsage]

The active voice, liberal use of conjunctions and conciseness probably aren't bad ideas. They're a easy on the eyes as well as please the little voice in your head that reads with you. Should you use them in all of your paragraphs? It's not necessary but definitely try and use them where you know the teacher is going to be paying the most attention (beginning and end)

 

[Shay10825]

The active voice, liberal use of conjunctions and conciseness probably aren't bad ideas. They're a easy on the eyes as well as please the little voice in your head that reads with you. Should you use them in all of your paragraphs? It's not necessary but definitely try and use them where you know the teacher is going to be paying the most attention (beginning and end)

Can you please give a quick example.

 

[vsage]

Hrm I think the best example I could give would be the one that I already gave when revising your last sentence. It uses a conjunction between two like ideas ("...and, because of...", has an active voice "Lady Macbeth's...seduced..." and I can't really explain how it's concise but it doesn't say any more than it needs to. Sorry about getting back so late to you.

 

[honestrosewater]

While I agree that Lady Macbeth's ruthless ambition and Duncan's blind trust contributed to Duncan's murder, I must take issue with your assessment of Macbeth's role.

Duncan was killed because of Mabeth's weakness. Macbeth's weakness was in taking control of his fate, making decisions, and accepting responsibility for those decisions. It's been a while since I've read the play, so I can't quote specific passages, but here's a quick list of events which show his weakness:

1) how readily he entertains and accepts the witches' prophecies. (not in control of his fate)
2) his uncertainty about committing the murder. (self-doubt)
3) his guilt afterwards, embodied mainly in his hallucinations, from which he shrinks. (accepting responsibility)
4) his ruthless destruction of his competition/future enemies. (lack of confidence in his decision-making ability, though this would take longer to explain.)
5) his "tomorrow, and tommorow..." speech, which I'll go ahead and insert since every part of it testifies to his weakness,

To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.

Those are the words of someone who thinks his fate is not in his own hands.

If I haven't explained something enough, feel free to ask.

If you really want to impress your teacher, include the following reference. It occurs in Julius Caesar, as Cassius tries to convince Brutus to join the assassination plot.

Men at some time are masters of their fates:
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves.

This is the essence of Macbeth's weakness- that he does not believe it.

 

[arildno]

I cannot agree with you, honesttorosewater:
It's some time since I read Shakespeare's brilliant play, but what I found intensely moving about it, was in the different directions Lady Macbeth and Macbeth evolved as the realization of the fact that they were, after all, responsible for their own actions
(in particular, their joint act of murder of the king):
1) Lady Macbeth is gradually consumed by guilt, and is unable to maintain a sanity in the process (she becomes mad)
2) Macbeth DO remain the sane, but he does so at the EXPENSE of conscience; i.e, he takes the only stand in which he can remain sane:
Everything is meaningless and without value (hence, in particular,I need not feel guilt over King Duncan's murder)

That is, whereas Lady Macbeth gains conscience at the expense of sanity, MacBeth retains sanity at the expense of conscience.

 

[honestrosewater]

I'm not sure where you disagree with me. I say "making decisions & accepting responsibility", you say "conscience". I think the two are synonymous.

Unless this sentence was the problem (it is ambiguous):

Macbeth's weakness was in taking control of his fate, making decisions, and accepting responsibility for those decisions.

I'll rephrase it.
Macbeth's weakness was that he did not take control of his fate, make decisions, and accept responsibility for those decisons.

 

[Math Is Hard]

Hi Shay,
I think you did a great job presenting your argument for this paper. I am going to give you a few light edits and suggestions for the first 3 paragraphs. The ----- means I am suggesting removing a word. (I couldn't find a way to do a strike-through.)
-MIH
In Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth, King Duncan’s death was caused by Lady Macbeth, Macbeth, and Duncan himself. All three of these things led to the eventual death of Duncan. Duncan made it easy for someone to kill him because he trusted everyone who was deceiving him. Lady Macbeth’s desire to be queen led her to concoct a plan for Macbeth to kill Duncan. Macbeth is the one who actually did the killing, but was ----- seduced into doing it by Lady Macbeth.

I have suggested using "who" instead of "that" since you are talking about a person. You don't have to use my idea, but "made her think of a plan" didn't seem quite strong or sinister enough. I would eliminate the word "almost" because it weakens your argument.You might want to consider revising the first two sentences. You say in the first sentence that his death was caused by three people, but in the second sentence you refer to three things.

Lady Macbeth is one of the causes of Duncan’s death because she convinces Macbeth to kill Duncan. She says that she would love to be queen and reveals her evil intentions in her small soliloquy. In act I, scene V, she says, “That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan” (I.V.25). This foreshadows that Duncan will arrive that night and that something fatal will happen to him. This is ironic because Duncan is about to die but he has no clue. Lady Macbeth has already planned what will happen to Duncan and she is full of evil intentions for him. In the same scene she also says, “That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here” (I.V. 39). She says she wishes she were a man so she could kill Duncan herself. Lady Macbeth also says to Macbeth, “O never shall sun that morrow see,” this ----- foreshadows that Duncan will not be alive the following morning (I. V. 59-60). Clearly, Lady Macbeth planned Duncan's murder early on in the tragedy.

Just some tightening up of structure here. Also, I removed the word "alliteration". Alliteration is pleasing to the ear, but it doesn't "foreshadow" an event. I added the word "clearly" in the last sentence to emphasize that an argument has been made.

After the commands from Lady Macbeth to kill Duncan, Macbeth doesn’t have a chance to speak. Lady Macbeth clutters her husband’s head with images of killing king Duncan, not allowing him to think of anything else. In act I, scene VII, lines 58-59, Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth that she will be furious if he does not kill Duncan for her when she says, “And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you have done to this.” Now Macbeth has his mind set on killing Duncan because his dear Lady Macbeth will be infuriated if he doesn’t do it. Lady Macbeth starts directing Macbeth on how they will kill Duncan, and since Macbeth is brainwashed by her, he complies.

In the "Lady Macbeth clutters her husband's head..." sentence, I rearranged this a bit to keep it from ending with a preposition. There were a couple of places where I thought names were overused and that's why substituted "he" or "she" or "her husband" instead of the actual name.

 

[BobG]

Lady macbeth's power-hungry maniputalive behavior seduced macbeth into killing the helpless king duncan. Duncan's sightless trust allows lady macbeth and macbeth to easily murder him.??

Pretty good paper.

In Word's grammer check, it came up with 10% passive sentences. That's not a bad number, but you normally don't want anything much higher. Passive sentences should be used sparingly and for a reason.

Readibility index was 66.9. 60 to 70 is good in the workplace. How that rates for school work depends on the teacher (some teachers like a more scholarly style that shows you know how to structure complex sentences, but I think more are moving towards emphasizing a writing style that will actually help the average student in their future).

The Fleish-Kincaid grade level was 9.0. That's fine. In the average workplace, you'd want to keep that down to an 8th grade reading level. In practice, some subjects just can't be simplified to that level.

The wording sounded slightly weak in places. If you're putting a thought in your paper, it's yours, so don't water it down. This is one reason passive sentences should be avoided unless you intentionally want to water a sentence down (stating the opposing viewpoint in a pro-con paper, for example). Good adjectives can strengthen the statement you're trying to make, but make sure you're aiming at the right target. The quoted example is better, although "the helpless king" part is unnecessary (who's the emphasis on in this sentence - Lady Macbeth or Duncan). "Easily" can also be deleted. The emphasis is on Duncan's trust, not the fact he was murdered.

 

[Parth Dave]

First of all, I am generally not going to help you on syntax and diction. Others have already done so. Instead ill help you analyze this.

Let's take a look at Duncan. It seems to me like you are putting the blame on him for being so trusting. But i wonder why he was so trusting. I think you need to concentrate more on the why. Why was Duncan so trusting? In order to see it as a fault, there have to be oppurtunities where you can see him as blinded. You have to find places in the text where you can say that "right now he should realize Othello isn't trustworthy." If they are non-existent, then it is unfair for you to criticize that point. Personally, I don't remember whether Macbeth gave Duncan any reason to not trust him. I haven't read the text for a couple of years now. But if it is in there, you need to find it and show it. If you can prove that there was ample oppurtunity for Duncan to realize how untrustworthy Macbeth then you have to show and explain it.

Also, I think there are many places where you can integrate textual evidence a little more. For example, when you say the bit about Macbeth's soliloquy, you can use quotes from the soliloquy.

For now, I just took a quick look at what you wrote. When I get some more time I'll try to find more places for you to go for analysis. I guess I'll bring out my text and refresh my memory abit.

 

[Dooga Blackrazor]

I'll just provide some explanations and possibilities to why Macbeth killed Duncan. If you don't have to create a thesis supporting a single idea then you can work from multiple angels.

The witches gave Duncan the opportunity to see into the future. Macbeth's choice to kill Duncan could be intepreted as a desire for power; however, it could be furher extrapolated into a dissatisfaction with Elizabethian(sp) society. The social hierarchy of Shakespeare's time was one in which strict social guidelines are inforced by providing all individuals with someone to condemn. Since Macbeth clearly contains a conscience, the war could be looked at as providing him with a way to satisfy himself. With Macbeth's opportunity for power gone, his conscience, which has been confused(bad word choice) by the witches, naturally guides him to destroy Duncan in order to provide himself with a chance to execute power.
The witches justify his actions by saying it is the future and I believe fate was something taken serious during ss' time. I just kind of threw ideas out, I wouldn't trust the top paragraph that much.


(I have to go do some homework. Some of that is just making up possibilities, they would have to be backed up better than what I did.)

Witches themselves would foreshadow trouble. Macbeth becomes a villian for the natural progression of one of the play's themes. The fact that Shakespeare is writing in a way that is almost directed at an English monarch, he usually makes sure to include something to satisfy his superiors. Many of Shakespeare's plays portray a moral message and in Macbeth the reality of what will happen to conspirators is shown. As in another of Shakespare's works, Richard III, the individual who attempts to rise in the social heirarchy by violence and treason faces a death that is foreshadowed throughout the play.

Most of what is written above in that paragraph is fairly accurate to my knowledge.

 

[Parth Dave]

1) how readily he entertains and accepts the witches' prophecies. (not in control of his fate)
2) his uncertainty about committing the murder. (self-doubt)
3) his guilt afterwards, embodied mainly in his hallucinations, from which he shrinks. (accepting responsibility)
4) his ruthless destruction of his competition/future enemies. (lack of confidence in his decision-making ability, though this would take longer to explain.)
5) his "tomorrow, and tommorow..." speech, which I'll go ahead and insert since every part of it testifies to his weakness,

I think to understand why Duncan was killed, we need to look at events prior to Duncan's death. Everything that happens after it is a consequence of that death. Some of his weaknesses may have developed after he committed the act. So I am mainly going to focus on 1) and 2). It terms of his uncertainty of committing the murder, i think the cause of it is because of the prophecy. He appears (as everyone of the time was) to be a strong believer in fate. If fate will have him king, why should he force it? He accepts the witches prophecies because of the events that happened directly afterwards. The witches told him he would become thane of cawdor, and low and behold he finds out he has. If that came true, what reason does he have to believe that the rest of the prophecy will not? ("If chance will have me king... 1.3.145) Then he remembers what Duncan had promised the previous thane of cawdor: kingship. Why is he now to assume that he will not get the kingship? (thats about 1.3.120ish - "When those that gave the Thane of...")

Let's move on to his self-doubt. Inside of him he has a burning desire to become the king. As an aside - after Malcolm has been given the position of prince of cumberland - he says:

The Prince of Cumberland; that is a step/ On which I must fall down, or else o'er-leap,/ For in my way it lies. Stars hide your fires,/ Let not light see my black and deep desires,/ The eye wink at the hand - yet let that be/ Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see."
(1.4.48)

It seems to me like he has always had a deep desire to become king. He is never uncertain about what his goals are. The uncertainty of the murder comes because of what fate has told him.

 

[honestrosewater]

Yes, of course, there are different interpretations. You could also make the argument that the witches' prophesies only reinforced Macbeth's belief that he would succeed in becoming and staying king; He only heard what he wanted to hear. And he was killed as a result of it. But Shay isn't writing a book and already has an argument underway.

My subargument easily corrects the biggest flaw I saw in Shay's argument: that Duncan is killed because Macbeth is "soft" and "brainwashed by his wife".
The first thing we hear about Macbeth is what a brave and worthy career soldier he is, and he behaves ruthlessly throughout the play- soft and brainwashed won't work.
The easiest way to correct this is to explain exactly what about Macbeth's character is soft and why Lady Macbeth is able to persuade him. I think my subargument accomplishes this well.

Also, a character's behavior throughout the play must be taken into account because, whether they change or not, in part or in whole, their actions at one time can reveal their character at other times.

Happy thoughts,
Rachel

 

[Shay10825]

Thanks Everyone! You all really helped me out a lot.