Initially Macbeth is hesitant and not completely confident that he should commit the murder of King Duncan. Lady Macbeth then makes him feel guilty that he does in fact desire Duncan dead and is reluctant and fearful of working towards achieving that. She uses the proverb “Like the poor cat i’ th’ adage? ” wherein Macbeth is like a cat that wants the fish but is unwilling to wet her paws, i. e. make a compromise in order to achieve what he desires.
Lady Macbeth then explains how she has “given suck”, that is having given birth a child, and has sacrificed a lot more in her past than Macbeth has. This somewhat persuades Macbeth to murder Duncan, but he is still hesitant due to fear of failure of not producing an obvious trace: “If we should fail? ” to this Lady Macbeth responds by saying. “But screw your courage to the wall/ and we’ll not fail.
By this, Lady Macbeth is telling Macbeth that if he musters all his courage and uses it to murder Duncan then he is effectively ruling out the possibility of failure, and that he won’t fail if he puts his mind to it and that once the murder has been committed he can place the knives into the hands of one of Duncan’s guards who would be asleep, who can later be framed for the murder of King Duncan: “What not put upon his spongy officers, who shall bear the guilt/ Of our great quell? ”
Eventually Macbeth is persuaded by Lady Macbeth’s encouragement of him, by saying that the possibility of his failure was very slim if he gathered all his courage and used it at once. Also Macbeth is significantly swayed by Lady Macbeth’s impeccable planning and the flawlessness of her plan. Section 2-Unsuccessful Persuasion of Banquo by Macbeth All quotations taken from Act II scene I lines 10-30. This section deals with the unsuccessful persuasion of Banquo by Macbeth, and unintentionally giving Banquo the notion that Macbeth is inviting him to be a part of a conspiracy.
When Macbeth enters the room, Banquo greets him, by expressing his surprise that Macbeth wasn’t yet asleep at the time, “What sir, not yet at rest? ” After a brief exchange of a few words, Banquo tells Macbeth that he had been dreaming of the Weird Sisters, i. e. the witches, and thinks their words might have had an essence of truth to them. To this Macbeth replies that although he hasn’t given much thought to the Weird Sisters, he would like to spend some time with Banquo talking about it.
Banquo thinks it is a good idea too, hence agrees to it. From this point onward, Macbeth appears to make Banquo suspicious: “If you shall cleave to my consent when ’tis/ it shall make honor for you. ” This quotation means that if Banquo follows Macbeth’s advice it will prove rewarding. This might have caused some suspicion in the mind of Banquo, because to it he replies that he will “cleave to his consent”, i. e. follow Macbeth’s advice, if he can keep his “Bosom franchised”, i. e. is heart free of guilt, and his “allegiance clear”, that is his faith and honor towards King Duncan. From this quotation, it can be inferred that Banquo thought, prior to saying this, that Macbeth’s advice may not be entirely honorable to King Duncan, and might differ from his will. In response to this Macbeth conveys his agreement and Banquo thanks him. This concludes Act II scene I, and following this act is a soliloquy wherein Macbeth’s subconscious is instigating his hallucination of a dagger.
Section Three All quotations taken from Act IV Scene III lines 1-138. Malcolm begins the scene by saying to Macduff: “Let us seek out some desolate shade, and there Weep our sad bosoms empty. ” This statement shows that Malcolm intends to convey to Macduff his sincerity and serenity with respect to the matter at hand, and expects no less than the truth from the both of them. The second line of the above quotation means literally to confess everything, or, as the modern phrase is used, to “spill their guts”.
Each new morn/ New windows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrows/ Strike heaven on the face” This quotation of Macduff is used as a juxtaposition of sorts, with the previous scene wherein Macduff’s son’s life is taken away from him by three hired murderers. Malcolm then agrees with the words of Macduff, and then says that Macbeth, a tyrant whose name still “blisters our tongues”, was once believed to be honest and innocent. Malcolm then says that he is still young, implying that he is innocuous and is not capable of or planning any sort of a treachery.
This provokes the response from Macduff, “I am not treacherous. ” Malcolm then begs Macduff’s pardon for sounding slightly patronizing and accusing Macduff of treachery. He continues to test and exact honesty from Macduff, by saying, “Though all things foul would wear the brows of grace, / Yet grace must still look so”. This means that traitors try to appear innocent, as do the innocent themselves.
Macduff then expresses his loss of hope. Malcolm says, “Why in this rawness left you wife and child,/ Those precious motives, those strong knots of love,/ Without leave taking? This insinuates Malcolm’s suspicious of Macduff’s role in the conspiracy alongside Macbeth, because Macduff shows no excessive concern for the safety of his family, and left them without even bidding them farewell. Malcolm then says to Macduff to not let his apparent suspiciousness of Macduff to be a cause for concern, for it is for Malcolm’s self-defense. This, as the readers are aware, is not true, but is in fact a way to exact the truth from Macduff. Later on, Malcolm speaks of how he possesses no “king-becoming graces”, such as perseverance, mercy, humility or fortitude.
At this point of time Macduff appears to be in a state of anguish. Soon after this, Malcolm is satisfied by Macduff’s response and is fully convinced of his vehemence and that his anguish is not fabricated. The response that is the one that most likely stimulated Malcolm’s persuasion was: “These evils thou repeat’st upon thyself/ Hath banished me from Scotland. O my breast,/ Thy hope ends here. ” On saying this, Malcolm admits that everything he told Macduff was merely a test of his loyalty and devotion.
