Anessa Rodriguez

Cindy Rogers

English 12B

March 31, 2017

Assignment 11: Macbeth

Act 4: Despite the hardships that Macbeth goes through, by Act 4 I do not feel any

sympathy for Macbeth at all. One of the primary reasons I no longer feel any sympathy

for Macbeth is that he no longer acts with any remorse. When the witches confirm that

Macduff should not be trusted, Macbeth then orders for him to be killed. This is a stark

contrast in comparison to Act 2 when Macbeth had agonized over killing King Duncan.

Furthermore, when capturing Macduffs castle, he orders the death of Macduffs wife

and children with little thought even though he could have easily held them prisoner or

simply expelled them from the kingdom.

Act 5: Overall, though the play ended very dramatically and with great symbolism, I was

not satisfied with the ending. This is mostly due to the fact that there were many loose

ends left by the end of the play. For example, the witches originally prophesied that

though Macbeth would become king, it would be Banquos children who would sit upon

the throne. Yet, by the end of the play, it is King Duncans son Malcolm who becomes

the king, not Banquos son Fleance. Furthermore, what exactly happened to Banquos

missing son is something Shakespeare does not reveal. In fact, very little is known

about Fleance after Banquos murder except for the fact that he had been blamed for it.

Act 5: By the end of Act 5, the final days of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth differ greatly.

For example, during Macbeths final days he is consumed with a lust for power and
rages at anyone who questions him. He kills Macduffs wife and children and is

remorseless towards his actions. This contrasts greatly with Lady Macbeth who begins

to suffer fits of sleepwalking where she bemoans Lady Macduff and Banquos deaths.

However, their final days are similar in that by the time each of them dies, they both

suffer from madness; though both of their psychoses manifest differently. Lady Macbeth

suffers from delusions and thick-coming fancies, whereas Macbeth suffers from

paranoia and delusions of grandeur.

Though I find that both characters are generally unsympathetic by the end of the

play, the character I feel the most sympathy for is Lady Macbeth. This is mostly due to

the fact that Lady Macbeth feels remorse for her actions. Unlike Macbeth, Lady

Macbeth spends her final days lamenting the deaths of Lady Macduff and Banquo and

her involvement in them. In addition, Lady Macbeth dies alone knowing she had played

a huge role in her husband becoming a murderer and tyrant. Though this does not

make her actions forgivable, it does make her a more sympathetic character.

Alternative ending:

As the battle rages, Macduff searches for Macbeth, thoughtlessly slaying any soldier

who comes near him. This, this here, this battle was what Macduff had been born for. It

was here that he was always meant to be, where--if he had been in the right place

during the right time and asked--the witches would have prophesied his death. For

Macduff had entered the world at the wrong time, ripped from his mothers womb before

either were ready during a night where the sky screamed in fury and the wind beat at

the walls of their home. And so Macduff would leave the world like this, the wrong time
and under a furious sky (the universe is funny like this, it does not like being disrupted;

and it will always find a way to fix it). So when Macduff sees Macbeth slay the son of

Lord Siward as if he were batting away a fly, Macduff is consumed with rage. He makes

his way recklessly through the melee, only pausing when he is a meter away from

Macbeth to think of his wife and children. This, in the end, is his mistake (it is, after all,

the ones we love most who kill us in the end). For as he pauses, consumed

momentarily by his grief, he is struck by an arrow squarely between his shoulder blades.

It had not been aimed at him, nor even had it come from Macbeths archers. It is one of

their own, young and inexperienced and raring for battle; mistaking Macduff for

Macbeth. Macduff falls and dies, and so ends his story.

Meanwhile, Macbeth continues his carnage, fueled by rage and helplessness. He

is in agony, his soul torn between surrender (at finally resting, seeing his wife once

more) and righteous fury at having his throne stolen. It is mine, he thinks, his sword

slicing through a soldiers shoulder. I fought for it, I killed for it, I alone deserve it. But as

he arcs his sword once more there is a flash of light and then his hands burns as if

stung by many bees.

He drops the sword cursing, his eyes closed in pain. When he opens them, a boy

wearing Banquos face is standing before him--but its not quite right. Instead of the

creases in his forehead drawn by time and laugh lines around his mouth, there is only

smooth skin and dark eyes and trembling hands gripping his sword. There is a slingshot

on his belt, and as Macbeth catches his eyes, the sword is leveled at his chest.

Macbeth clutches his bleeding hand and stares at the apparition, at his friend

returned from the dead, his mouth dry and heart trembling. Banquo?
 The boy says, I am not Banquo. and slides the sword through his chest.

Macbeth falls, sword in his chest and hits the ground like thunder. The boy

stands to one side of him, Banquos ghost, pale and incorporeal, to his other.

Banquo stares at him, frowning. What have you become?

Macbeth finds his eyes drifting to the clouds behind Banquos head. Im afraid to

find out.

The boy watches the kings eyes dim, and when he is sure that Macbeth is dead

his shoulders slump and he hangs his head, relief trembling through his body. Rest

now, Father.

You! A voice says, and the boy jumps to attention as a man on a horse

approaches. He dismounts and runs to the kings side, exhaling in surprise. Then he

turns to the boy, Did you kill Macbeth?

He killed my father, the boy says quickly.

The man stares at him for a long time before something shifts in his eyes, he

pulls off his helmet. My name is Malcolm, what is yours?

Fleance, the boy says warily.

Fleance, Malcolm says, carefully resting a hand on the boys shoulder. you

have done a great thing.

And so the war ends, Macbeths death leaves his army in shambles and so what

soldiers remain surrender. As rightful heir, Malcolm is crowned king and serves for many

years, though, oddly enough, he does adopt a peasant boy soon after the war. (The

boy, Fleance, is the only child Malcolm ever calls his. He grows up to be a fair and just

ruler and leads the kingdom into a golden age). Macduffs body is found later, much to
Malcolms despair. He is buried with his wife and children in the royal cemetery, under a

dogwood tree that blooms every spring.