Macbeth's monologue in Act 1 Sense 7

[Zeyu Chen]

         There is no doubt that Macbeth is a brave soldier when he fought against enemies. But he has many obvious disadvantages. He didn't know how to judge the characteristic of various people. He thinks the witches ''have more in them than mortal knowledge."(Act 1 Sense 5, 2-3) He is really easily to accept others' persuasion and inspire his greed by blandishment. Macbeth's initial mind is greed, but the greed was tightly limited by his loyalty to Duncan firstly. Before he decide to usurp, he really hesitate because he is satisfied with the throne of Cawdor and concerned about his conscience. But there are his wife and witches utilize his irresolution, unlock his greed and to push him to corrupt.

[Chloe Coleman]

I agree that Macbeth's main mindset is that of greed. However in the beginning of Scene 7 you truly see how loyal he is to Duncan when he refers to himself as his "kinsman and his subject,"(14) and then goes on to say, "who should against his murder shut the door, not bear the knife myself." (15-16). These lines show how Macbeth cares for Duncan and shows his empathy. If he ends up killing Duncan to take his title of king that would further prove how horrible Macbeth could actually be. If he actually kills someone he cares about just because he thinks he will be able to take over his throne for that power, it shows he is worse than a person who kills out of hate for others.