A Dead Butcher and His Fiend-Like Queen

"A dead butcher and his fiend-like queen"

Uploaded by puck_yu (54) on Sep 24, 2007

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth – "A dead butcher and his fiend-like queen"

Question: At the end of the play, Malcolm dismisses Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as "the dead butcher an his fiend-like queen", what is your judgment of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth based on your understanding of the whole play?

"The dead butcher and his fiend-like queen" is not an entirely accurate way to describe Macbeth and Lady Macbeth because even though there are some elements of truth there, in the end, they regretted their actions and regret is not something a "butcher" or a "fiend" might feel. A "butcher" and a "fiend" are the alter egos of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The starting point of Macbeth and actions is the witch's prediction, this is the cause of their actions because the prediction was already planted in their mind. Macbeth cannot be described as a butcher because he could not bring himself to kill the king because he felt it was his duty to protect his king. Although Lady Macbeth coaxed Macbeth into killing King Duncan, she was very drunk, and the next day she could not handle the guilt and started to go insane.

The starting point of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's actions was the prediction that was made by the three witches. As a result, a seed was planted into their minds, they expected the prophecy to come true by itself. When they found out that King Duncan had decided to make his eldest son Malcolm as his successor, this created a big obstruction and they felt they needed to get into action and fulfill the prophecy.

Quote:

"The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step

On which I must fall down, or else o'er-leap,

For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires!

Let not light see my black and deep desires."

Macbeth is deciding that he should murder the king in order to make the prophecy come true. This is again, because the witch's had already planted the idea into Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's mind. This shows us that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are not at fault.

Even though Macbeth would love to become king, he cannot bring himself to kill King Duncan because he is his king and he is his loyal subject. It is his duty to protect the king and Macbeth and King Duncan had a close relation.

Quote:

"First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,

Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,

Who should against his murderer shut the door,

Not bear the knife myself."

Here he states the reasons why he should not murder Duncan. He is letting his conscience take over. Therefore, at the start of the play, Macbeth is not an evil man, even though he has evil thoughts, he cannot bring himself to do such a cruel deed because of his duty to the kingdom.

Lady Macbeth knew that Macbeth's conscience would get the best of him, so she accused Macbeth of being cowardly and unmanly. Macbeth, who is used to being called brave and courageous, is very offended by these accusations so he promises to do the deed. These are the first signs of Macbeth being described as "butcher" and Lady Macbeth as "fiend". After Macbeth has done the deed, he is extremely guilty and worried