Let us remember that Act II scene 2 is the scene in which
Macbeth emerges from Duncan's bedchamber having killed him in cold blood. You are right
to spot the contrast between Macbeth as we hear about him in Act I, where he is
described as being "Belladonna's bridegroom" and also when he kills people very savagely
in battle, but we must remember that there is a massive difference between killing
people in the heat of battle and then killing somebody whilst they are asleep. Let us
also remember that the crime of regicide, or the killing of a King, was thought to be a
terrible crime to commit, as the king of a nation was believed to have been appointed by
God himself. Killing a king therefore meant that you were defying God's will, and going
against God is never a good idea! I think we can also add a third reason, which is that
in this scene Macbeth commits a crime which could have massive consequences for his own
life and personal safety. When he killed enemy soldiers, that was sanctioned murder, as
it was in battle and they were fighting against his king's rule. Suddenly, he is killing
somebody without saction, and if he is discovered, his life will be ended very
quickly.
Hence we can understand why the aggressive and
belicose Macbeth is presented as being such a nervous individual, concerned about his
actions and why he couldn't say "Amen" in response to the prayers of the
grooms:
But
wherefore could not I pronounce "Amen,?I had most need of
blessing, and "Amen"Stuck in my
throat.
This is also why
Macbeth is perhaps unable to face the murder scene again, and sends his wife in to smear
blood on the grooms.
No comments:
Post a Comment