A Change I Would Make

One setting in the play that made me uneasy was when Malcolm and Donalbain fled to England after their father’s death. I thought it was unrealistic that King Duncan’s sons ran away after his murder. A change I would make to the play would be that King Duncan’s sons would investigate the death of their father. I don’t wish to change the ending, but the investigation would add to the play.

Macbeth V.S. Lady Macbeth

Throughout the play, I think Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have always been contrasting characters. In the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth is much more ambitious and power hungry than Macbeth. She thinks her husband is a coward and encourages him to murder King Duncan.

In the middle of the play Macbeth is haunted by Duncan’s blood on his hands and sleepless nights. He is also followed by Banquo’s ghost. However, Lady Macbeth tells him what’s done is done. She doesn’t see the point in worrying about things that can’t be undone. She doesn’t want Macbeth to blow their cover. 

However, at the end of the play I see a shift in the two characters. Lady Macbeth’s consciousness catches up with her. She sleepwalks and admits her and Macbeth’s crimes. Macbeth on the other hand becomes so heartless he kills Macduff’s entire family. When his wife dies, he shrugs it off, stating it was going to happen anyways.

Destiny's Role in the Play

Destiny played a significant role in this play as Macbeth deeply believed the prophecies from the witches. Before he met the witches, he was fighting for King Duncan, however, the witches’ prophecies change his mind and lead him to murder Duncan and steal the throne. Destiny also played a huge role through the three apparitions. The three apparitions predicted what Macbeth’s downfalls would be. Interestingly, the first apparition also led Macbeth to retaliate against Macduff. 

I think this is interesting because if Macbeth never heard the witches’ prophecy, he might have never killed King Duncan. If Macbeth never saw the first apparition, the second and third apparition might never have come true. I question if Macbeth’s fate was already set in stone OR if Macbeth believed in destiny too much and just made predictions happen.

Another way I see it is that perhaps Macbeth’s destiny was always set in stone. HOWEVER, he made certain choices to get there. For example, he was always going to be king in some way, but he chose to kill Duncan as his way to become king.

My Overall Experience

I would describe my overall experience of reading Macbeth as a learning a moral lesson. I was taught that you have to put in effort to get a reward. Macbeth wanted power and glory. If Macbeth had continued being a loyal and brave soldier, he would have earned more and more recognition and titles. However, instead of putting in more effort, he killed King Duncan for the throne. His short cut method for power and glory failed him in the end.