Imagery of darkness in Macbeth - Essay Example

Because of this, King Duncan made Macbeth the Thane of Cawdor (the former Thane is to be killed because he’s a traitor). This makes Macbeth think that what the witches said were true. He was inspired by the idea that he will be King and briefly considered “murder” but felt guilty and he says “My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, Shakes so my single state of man that function is smotherd in surmise, and nothing is But what is not..” (Act, 1 Scene 1). But when King Duncan announces that Malcolm, his son, would be heir to the throne, Macbeth began to consider murder again.

This he told his wife, the Lady Macbeth, who made a plan on how to kill Duncan. Because the King is about to visit them in their castle, Lady Macbeth thought it would be best to kill him there. Macbeth hesitates on this idea but his wife persuades him anyway, telling him to “act like a man”. That night, when everybody is asleep, Macbeth saw an image of a dagger pointing to the King’s room. When he was done with the deed, he heard strange noises and voices. His wife told him to stop thinking about it and move on, and she smeared blood on the guards’ faces to frame them up.

The next morning, everyone discovers the dead King’s body and Macbeth killed the guards. Upon hearing the news, Malcolm and Donalbain, the King’s sons, escaped Scotland to flee the murders. This is when Macbeth was named king. However, Macbeth gets reminded that Banquo was going to be the father of Kings, so he tells a servant to go and kill Banquo and his son. Banquo got killed but his son escapes. At a feast, he saw Banquo’s ghost on his dinner table and started raving fearfully. This alarmed the guests, who were mostly composed of nobles.

Because of this, Macbeth decided to visit the witches again for prophesies. There, the witches told him to 1) be wary of Macduff (he opposed Macbeth’s succession to the throne), 2) "None of woman born shall