Inner conflicts in Macbeth Macbeth was challenged by his inner conflicts throughout the whole play. He was unsure about the murdering of King Duncan and his best friend Banquo. Also, his attitude towards Lady Macbeth changed several times. King Duncan was beloved of his nobles and citizens because of his good qualities. He also entitled Macbeth the Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth should be the one who respected and supported him. However, the prophecy of the three witches that Macbeth was going to be the King of Scotland provoked Macbeth’s ambition.
He wanted to kill the king so that he could usurp the throne, but there were conflicts within him. He was Duncan’s kinsman and subject. He was also the king’s host. He should protect the king rather than kill the king. It was a mortal sin to kill one’s family member and his guest. What’s more, Duncan was a good king: He did good things in the government; he had great virtues and people loved him. And Macbeth would be judged if he killed the great king.
Many worries conflicted in Macbeth’s mind. However, his ambition eventually drove him to commit murder. The inner conflicts also took place when he was considering murdering Banquo. Banquo was his best friend. They allied and fought the rivals together; both of them heard the prophecy of the three witches. So Macbeth regarded Banquo as a threat because Banquo suspected that it was Macbeth who killed the king. And Banquo was a wise, valiant person, so he might tell everybody what he suspected.
Furthermore, Banquo’s son, Fleance, might become the king as the witches told, and Macbeth didn’t have any children. He was afraid that Fleance might take his throne. Considering those points, Macbeth decided to kill his best friend and Fleance. In the letter that Macbeth gave to his wife, he indicated that Lady Macbeth was his “dearest partner of greatness”. They plotted together to murder the king. Lady Macbeth taught Macbeth how to act like an innocent flower but be like the serpent that hid underneath the flower.
She also helped Macbeth to drug the guards and encouraged him a lot. It seemed like they got along very well, but Macbeth felt overwhelmed by his wife’s power. She dominated over Macbeth too much. So with the conflicts existing in himself, Macbeth decided to manipulate his own plan to kill Banquo. He left his wife” innocent of the knowledge” and drove her out of the plan. Above all, Macbeth had serious inner conflicts in the whole play. However, his ambition took over his apprehension and pushed him to all these evil deeds.
Author: Angel Bell