A Dead Butcher and His Friend-Like Queen
Uploaded by 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:44b7ac9633][i:44b7ac9633]"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." [/i:44b7ac9633][/quote:44b7ac9633]
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:44b7ac9633][i:44b7ac9633]"First, as I am his kinsman and...