Why has Macbeth decided to kill Duncan by the end of Act 1?
Macbeth has decided to kill Duncan by the end of Act 1 because his wife convinced him that they would get away with it and also, she accused him to be emasculate if he did not. “But screw your courage to the sticking place” (1.7.14). This is said by Lady Macbeth to encourage her husband to be “courageous” but it ends up being rather ironic because the fact that Macbeth falls for a simple luring from his wife makes him a weak person to persuasion. Then again, he meets the weird sisters and is easily convinced of his fate. “I would, while it was smiling in my face/Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed his brains out,/And had I so sworn as you/Have done to this” (1.7.57-59). This is also said by Lady Macbeth, and here she is convincing Macbeth that he should not rely on human kindness because she knows that how one likes to get attached to their good luck. Here Macbeth is convinced to remove his attachment to people’s kindness, meaning he should completely disregard any
