Macbeth has the idea of the murder put into his head by the witches, but he is hesitant about going through with it. He sends a message to his wife telling her what the witches have said and also communicating his misgivings. His wife, who has a poor opinion of her husband's initiative, immediately becomes a strong proponent of the murder. She overrides Macbeth's scruples (which were never very strong) and the two of them decide to murder the king while he is staying at their castle that night.
When the time for the murder comes, Macbeth is nearly paralyzed by his conscience, and has hallucinations of a bloody dagger in the air. His wife, realizing that there is no going back now, forces him to finish the deed and herself goes back to the murder scene to establish an alibi by smearing the king's servants with blood. Nevertheless, she is acting beyond her natural limits, as evidenced by her comment about how much the king’s sleeping form reminded her of her father.
After the murder is discovered, both the Macbeths manage to pretend it is a surprise to them. Macbeth kills the grooms to prevent them explaining their innocence, and Lady Macbeth faints at a critical moment to distract the onlookers. Through the close and interactive cooperation of both Macbeth and his wife, the plot thus attains a temporary success, with the king’s sons frightened into flight and Macbeth, for the time, secure on the throne.
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