Richard Roderick

Cindy Rogers
English 12
10-29-15
A#10 Macbeth Response

1. Lady Macbeth is strong in how she is able to persuade people, has little fear, and is strong
willed. She will complete anything she sets her mind to and will let nothing get in her way,
not even love. Lady Macbeths role in the murder of King Duncan was to drug the Kings
servants that were placed to guard him while he sleeps. Her other role was to ring a bell
when the servants had been drugged and the plan was set in motion. Lady Macbeth also
framed the servants for the murder by using their daggers to kill the King, and covered them
in the Kings blood so that it would be more convincing. Lady Macbeth was jittery at the
sound of her husbands voice as she thinks that the murder of the King was unsuccessful
and that Macbeth has been caught. Lady Macbeth would have killed the King herself, had it
not been for one critical thing, when the King sleeps, he strongly reminds her of her father.
Her heart would be unable to cope with the thought of killing her father, so she uses her
powerful words to give Macbeth the strength to carry out the murder himself and allow her to
not see the evil deed that is being done to a the King the closely resembles her father.
2.

The most memorable mental image that I was able to form while reading this part of the
text, was the image of Macbeth killing the Kings servants that he blamed for the Kings
murder. One line that added the most detail, is the line; His silver skin laced with his golden
blood (William Shakespeare, Macbeth line 108). Another line that added to the picture, was
the line; And his gashed stabs looked like a breach in nature (William Shakespeare,
Macbeth line 109). These two lines were joined by many others in the description of the
Kings murder and how Macbeth describes it as if King Duncan is a god, or some heavenly
being. The description of the Kings body by Macbeth is that of a person that he looked up to,
was a good and almost heavenly person, and shows how he is angry with the fact that the
beloved king is no longer alive. The amount of lies in Macbeths words and actions are
disgusting, due to the fact that if he truly thought so highly of the King, he would have
silenced his wife, and left the King alive and in good health.

3. Macbeth has changed after the the events in this act, as he is much more calm and colder
than he was prior to the murder of King Duncan. Macbeth is now acting concerned for the
king, and is manipulating the others to believing that he had no idea, and that he will do
everything to find the one responsible. He also acts as if he is deeply worried for the Kings
sons well-being, and tells the group that he killed the two servants that were the killers out
of pure rage for taking the beloved Kings life. The deep fear and air of hesitation and not
wanting to hurt the king has now changed to a more mischievous and twisted Macbeth, and
is now close to the personality of Lady Macbeth and her dark and sinister personality. The
lines that show Macbeth trying to explain his deep anger and hatred towards the killers is
seen in lines 105-114, in which he explains how he was unable to hold himself back from
killing the kings servants because, he is unable to comprehend why someone would kill a
King as loving and giving as King Duncan. These lines tell the reader that Macbeth is putting
on an act and is telling a very twisted lie in order to cover his tracks. Another part of the text

that shows Macbeths changed behavior, is found in lines 86-91 in which he explains how he
wishes that he died an hour before finding out about the Kings death so that he would be
able to have a happy life, this implies that he is trying to play the role of the innocent and
that the news brings him great sorrow.
4. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are unhappy as King and Queen as they live in a constant fear
of death, and are paranoid that the secrets of their crime will be uncovered and they will be
overthrown. Lady Macbeth is more relaxed and forgets the dark deeds she has done to
easily and is able to relax instantly after the deed is finished. Macbeth on the other hand, is
able to carry out the dark deed that his wife pressures upon him, but is haunted by ghosts,
illusions, and the the constant feeling that he is going to be attacked. Macbeth is unable to
rest easy until Banquo and his sons are slain, due to him reminiscing about the prophecy
told by the three witches that he will be King, but Banquos sons and grandchildren will
become the next line of Kings. The prophecy makes Macbeth paranoid that Banquo is out to
get him, and sees Banquo as his one true threat to him and keeping the crown. Macbeth
also is haunted by the fact that he killed King Duncan and was one of the previous Kings
favorite Thanes.
5.

By Macbeth seeing a bloody ghost and floating dagger, it shows that Macbeth is being
haunted by the dark deeds that he has committed to his dear friends. The dagger was the
hallucination that he saw when he was about to murder King Duncan, which then turned
bloody to show that Macbeth was indeed about to carry out the murder. the second illusion
was the bloody ghost of Banquo that came to haunt him shortly after Macbeth had 3
criminals murder him in cold blood. these figures symbolize Macbeths grief and fear about
the crimes he has committed. Macbeth was best known for being a heroic figure that was
honest and noble. However, after killing King Duncan, Macbeth has become cold, hostile,
paranoid, fearful, and evil. Macbeth is being haunted by the people he cares most about and
who he has betrayed. His fear of being caught in the act of killing the people most loyal to
him drives him into a deep fear thus causing the illusions. Macbeth is also full of envy and
greed, due to the fact that he wants to end all of Banquos sons lives in order to guarantee
that he and his sons will remain the rulers of the land.