Who Is Too Blame In Macbeth?

Too much ambition can lead to many bad things, including murder. In William

Shakespeare's play, Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, Macbeth, is told by three witches that he will

become king. This idea goes to his head and he kills the current king, King Duncan, so that he

can become king. Following this, Macbeth continues murdering people to ensure he keeps his

throne until he is eventually beheaded by Macduff. All of this brings up the question of who was

control in Macbeth. Who should be blamed for the events of the book? Based on the evidence

presented in Macbeth, Macbeth is clearly to blame for the events in the play because he killed

Duncan, planned the murder of Banquo and Fleance, and killed Macduff’s family.

The first point for Macbeth is that he killed King Duncan. After learning he will become

king, Macbeth has to kill Duncan so that he can become the new ruler. We learn that Macbeth

kills Duncan when he returns to Lady Macbeth and says, “I have done the deed.” (2.2.19). He is

admitting to killing Duncan. The “deed” he is referring to is the murder of Duncan. The only

person that can be blamed for the murder of Duncan is Macbeth, because he did it. This is the

event that starts everything that occurs for the rest of the play. Every terrible thing that happens

throughout the play can be traced back to Macbeth killing Duncan.

The second point for placing the blame on Macbeth is that he planned the murder of

Banquo and Fleance. After becoming king, Macbeth becomes aware that Banquo is becoming

suspicious of him. Banquo believes that Macbeth killed Duncan to get the throne (which is what

happened). Macbeth, to avoid Banquo spreading suspicion, hires murderers to kill Banquo and

his son, Fleance. This is shown in when Macbeth is talking to the murderers and says, “It is

concluded. Banquo, thy souls flight.” (3.1.161). This quote shows Macbeth concluding his plan

to murder Banquo and Fleance. The murder of Banquo (Fleance managed to escape) is one of the
terrible events that happens in the play, and Macbeth is the one who planned! No one else can be

blamed for this event, because Macbeth is one who gave orders for this to happen. Macbeth

directly cause this event, so no one else could possibly be to blame.

The third and final point for Macbeth being to blame is that he killed Macduff family.

After learning from the witches that he should beware Macduff, Macbeth decides to murder

everyone at Macduff castle, mainly his family. We learn Macbeth will kill Macduffs family

when he is talking to the witches and he says, “The castle of Macduff I will surprise.” (4.1.171).

This event is similar to the murder of Banquo and Fleance, because it is again Macbeth planning

to kill a group of people. However, rather than planning on killing two people, Macbeth has

planned to kill a castle full. Macbeth killing Macduff’s family is another terrible event to happen

in the play, and again Macbeth is the only who can be blamed. Its was his plan to kill Macduff’s

family, so no one else can be blamed.

Some people think that the witches are to blame because they planted the idea of

Macbeth becoming king in his head. However, that is not a valid argument because that is all

they did. Macbeth did every event after that on his own. All the witches did was tell him he

would become king. As one can see, killing Duncan, planning the murder of Banquo and

Fleance, and killing Macduff’s family are more valid reasons why Macbeth is to blame.

In conclusion, Macbeth is to blame for the events in the play. Macbeth caused more

terrible events to occur in than play than all the other characters combined. He killed Duncan,

planned the murder of Banquo and Fleance, and killed Macduff’s family, which have the most

weight of the terrible events that happen in book. After all of this, it should be asked, what would

the book have been like if Macbeth was not in it?