An Unfit Ruler from the Start
One cannot rule by being crazy or belligerent; one must have courage and at least try to do good for others, which obviously Macbeth cannot do. Machiavelli has distinct rules in which a Prince – in this case King – should live and abide by and if Macbeth were compared to those rules, he would fail so miserably; Macbeth has received advice from Lady Macbeth which he didn’t ask for at all and also with Macbeth going crazy proves he’s unfit to do anything. Lady Macbeth believed the prophecy for told by the sisters right away, in doing so when she became evil she helped Macbeth to achieve the goals of the prophecy; Lady Macbeth gave Macbeth advice/help when he did not ask for it, Machiavelli has a distinct rule in which a Prince shouldn’t be given advice unless he asks. “then, That made you break this enterprise to me? When you durst do it, then you were a man; And to be more than what you were, you would be so much more than a man. Nor time nor place Did then adhere, and yet you would make both. They have made themselves, and that their fitness now.” (Shakespeare, 1.7. 55-61) Lady Macbeth is questioning Macbeth’s man hood, for when Macbeth sent Lady Macbeth a letter that for told the great prophecy that he was supposed to gain and now it seems like Macbeth wants to in a sense “back out,” and just remain the Thane of Cawdor to not kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth wants Macbeth to do anything to gain this power that he deserves and this is what she craves. “When Duncan is asleep (Whereto the rather shall his day’s hard journey Soundly invite him), his two chamberlains Will I with wine and wassail so convince That memory, the warder of the brain, Shall be a fume, and the receipt of reason a limbeck only. When in swinish sleep Their drenched natures lies as in a death, What cannot you and I perform upon Th’ unguarded Duncan? What not put upon His spongy officers, who shall near the guilt Of our great quell?” (Shakespeare, 1.7. 62-72) Lady Macbeth has created a plan to kill Duncan. First off, what’s going to happen is that Duncan is going to fall asleep since he’s had a long journey getting to the Macbeth’s house. Secondly, Lady Macbeth will make sure that guards get so drunk they fall asleep and when they awaken, they don’t know what’s happened. Thirdly, Macbeth can then go into the chamber in which Duncan is asleep and kill him with a knife to the heart. Lastly, when the guards wake up, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth can then blame the guards for what’s happened to Duncan; since they guards were so drunk they won’ t know if they killed Duncan or not which creates a great escape route for Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. Machiavelli statesm “…he ought rather to discourage every one from offering advice unless he asks it…” (Machiavelli, 23.) This states that a prince should discourage the advice anyone else gives him unless he asks for it. Macbeth had not discouraged his wife’s advice when telling him to kill Duncan to fulfill the prophecy that the three Weird Sisters had told him. This proves that Macbeth is an unfit ruler if he cannot Macbeth goes crazy from the sight of Banquo at dinner with his worthiest of friends; this puts an idea into everyone’s brain that maybe it was Macbeth who killed Duncan and Banquo make decisions for himself. When not following set rules that a prince/king should abide by makes Macbeth unfit to fulfill the prophecy that the three Weird Sisters led him to believe. “And above all things, a prince ought to live amongst his people in such a way that no unexpected circumstances, whether of good or evil, shall make him change…” (Machiavelli, 8.) Machiavelli explains that in Chapter 8 of the Prince shouldn’t change himself no matter if it’s good or bad. Well, Act 1 through Act 3 shows that Macbeth is changing himself, in an evil way because when first hearing the prophecy from the Weird Sisters, killing Duncan and Banquo made the circumstances for Macbeth to unrealistic and outlandish. : “…for