Concerning Shakespeare's Macbeth,
several possibilities exist for explaining Macbeth's killing the grooms even though
doing so wasn't part of the original plan.
First, Macbeth
is already sleep deprived, as he will remain for the rest of the play as far as the
reader can tell. Clear thinking is not an attribute of someone who hasn't slept.
That's a bit of a stretch, though, when one considers how quickly he rationalizes an
argument to excuse himself for killing the only possible witnesses, when he answers
Macduff's question a few minutes later.
Second, Macbeth may
have just reacted to the moment. An initial reaction against letting the grooms deny
their involvement in murdering Duncan is excusable. Their denials could have led to
other suspects being sought.
Third, Macbeth may have been
trying to demonstrate his independence, as concerns his wife. She manipulated him into
going ahead with the assassination, and from this point of the play on, Macbeth shuts
her out of all decision making. He rules alone, from this point on. Killing the grooms
may have been his first independent act.
Whatever the
reason, Macbeth makes a mistake here. His wife is the planner of the family, and he
should have let her continue to act as such. His killing the grooms makes Macduff
suspicious, and Macduff is the man who will ultimately cut off his
head.
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