Chase Snyder

Ms. Zepp
English IV Honors
14 April, 2015
Whos at Fault?
In the play of Macbeth, many of the characters killed and all of their deaths are connected
back to Macbeth himself. Duncan, Banquo, and Lady Macbeth are all killed either literally or
figuratively in their hearts.
The first person to be killed was Duncan. Macbeth kills him only to become the king,
which sets up the entire play. In the play three witches come to Macbeth to tell him what he will
become. The witches tell him that he will soon become the Thane of Glamis, then Thane of
Cawdor, and eventually the king of Scotland.
First Witch: All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!
Second Witch: All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!
Third Witch: All hail, Macbeth! Thou shalt be king hereafter!
(Scene 3, Act1, Shakespeare) As the play goes on readers can see that the witchs
prophecies are all coming upon Macbeth. When the witches come to Macbeth to tell him his
destiny, he is already the Thane of Glamis. Along with Macbeth, readers may also be wondering
how he with become the Thane of Cawdor and eventually the king. As readers get further into
the story Macbeth decides to invite the king to dinner. As he is getting ready for the big event he

discusses how to kill the king with his wife, Lady Macbeth. And as the second scene begins the
king is killed.
Now that the king is dead, Macbeth is now the Thane of Glamis and also the king of
Scotland. In order to become Thane of Cawdor he must now kill his brother, Banquo. For
Macbeth, killing Banquo is going to be a much more difficult task because when Macbeth
received his prophecy from the witches; Banquo was with him. After careful planning, Macbeth
decides to hire three murderers to do his dirty work for him. The night of the killing, Macbeth
has a party which Banquo was invited to. As Banquo arrives the three murders set up the trap at
the front gate. They strike and bring Banquo off of his horse letting him bleed out. Before he dies
he tells Fleance, his son, Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly! (Scene 3, Act 3, Shakespeare) When
Banquo says this, he is telling his so to run far away ad to be sure that he has his revenge on
Macbeth. Even though it wasnt Macbeth himself that killed Banquo, it all leads back to him.
Macbeth has now killed two people and his destiny has been fulfilled. Even though
Macbeth hasnt taken her life, Lady Macbeth has been killed inside. At the start of the play she is
a very strong woman and supports Macbeth in all of his decisions. As the play progresses,
Macbeth begins to change because of his paranoia after killing Duncan and Banquo. One night
she begins to go on a rant because people are becoming suspicious of the way Macbeth is acting.
This play is a great example of how someone who changes can cause everyone around them to
change a well. This connected Macbeths wonders of what the witches had told him about
becoming the king. In the end Lady Macbeth decides that she couldnt take Macbeths way of life
anymore.
All of Macbeths actions lead him to realize that he had really killed his brother, his
cousin, the king, and also his wife. Little did he know his ambition and pride causes him to

become someone he isnt. He also had no idea that by doing all of these dirty deeds that his life
was becoming shorter and shorter each and every day.

Work Cited
Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Prentice Hall Literature: The British Tradition. Boston:
Pearson Hall, 2007. Print