Blood Will Have Blood

Blood will have Blood

In Shakespeare's play, Macbeth, there is an aspect of violence and bloodshed. In fact, the whole book revolves around it. From the murder of Duncan to that of Macbeth, it seems that there is always a dark aura present in the atmosphere. The question is whether the whole play has been controlled by evil forces that cause Macbeth to wrong himself or if it is his own lust and desire that transform him into a ruthless monster. By committing the most heinous crimes, Macbeth must be deemed responsible for the bloodshed .Even though Lady Macbeth and the Witches may have had some part in it, it must be remembered that they only tried to persuade him. Macbeth was the one who gave in to those desires and committed those atrocious crimes.

Lady Macbeth only tried to persuade Macbeth but never tried to force him. She tries to convince

Macbeth of killing Duncan by reminding him of his oath "I have given suck, and know How tender 'tis to

love the babe...Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums And dashed the brains out, had I so

sworn..."(1.7.53-58). This eventually convinces Macbeth to murder the king. Some might argue that Lady

Macbeth caused him to commit the murder by emotionally black mailing him but this is untrue as

Macbeth was fully aware of the sin of the crime he was about to commit. In fact, he had even decided

not to kill his king as he feared he was going against the laws of nature, "...this Duncan Hath borne his

faculties so meek...that his virtues Will plead like angels... heaven's cherubim...Shall blow the horrid

deed in every eye..."(1.7.16-24). Therefore, killing a good king was like killing a representative of God.

Hence, no one could rightfully 'blackmail' him into killing the king unless he himself wanted to do it.

Secondly, it is important to note that although she has some part in the violence and chaos, she

cannot be attributed to all of the blame. All the other murders Macbeth committed were not because of

Lady Macbeth. It was because of his own evil desires. After ordering the murderers to kill Banquo and

Fleance , he hides knowledge of the fact by saying, " Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck till

thou applaud the deed."(3.2.45-46). This shows how Macbeth has become independent of her.

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Similarly, the witches cannot be given all of the blame as they merely conveyed prophecies

to Macbeth. It is Macbeth who takes violent action. The prophecies make him proud and ignorant.

The witches merely prophesized a future event, they never informed him how to fulfill those

prophecies. By taking the example of Banquo, it becomes evident that, unlike Macbeth, he did not act

towards making his prophecies come true and let time play its part, "Thou hast it now: king, Cawdor,

Glamis...played'st most foully for 't...myself should be the root and father Of many kings. If there come

truth from them...Why, by the verities on thee made good ,May they not be my oracles as well,