Macbeth should be found guilty for the murder of King Duncan?

Question

Please give factors of why Macbeth should be founded guilty and not guilty for murdering King Duncan.

Please do this ASAP :)

Thanks alot!

Answer 1

Well, it can be argued that because Macbeth is a tragedy, it has to have a tragic hero, this maybe being Macbeth. He's insane and highly influenced by witchcraft and his lust for power, this leading to his downfall and his lust for power being his fatal flaw. So if he were found guilty, you wouldn't have the tragic flawed hero who dies at the end of the play - arguing that he needs to be able to continue his wrong path of decisions for the play to conclude in the way it does and in doing so conforming to the tragic genre. Also, if Macbeth were to be arrested there's the chance that Lady Macbeth wouldn't have gone mad either as she is also another tragic character. It's all a question of plot devices and genres.

In this sense, it's very similar to Othello, who murders his wife out of jealousy and blind rage, his jealousy wrongly founded. Therefore his death at the end of the play portrays him as a tragic hero who understands his wrong doing, and we do actually feel sorry for him. If Macbeth and Othello were found guilty right at the beginning of their crimes, the plays wouldn't be able to develop really.

Answer 2

At school for this years competition, i'm doing a soliloquy for Macbeth, and I can firmly say that Macbeth is crazy although it's his power hungry crazy wife that should be taught a lesson. She's responsible for the entire ordeal.