Opening Statement For The Defence Of Macbeth.

Your Honour, ladies and gentlemen of the court and members of the jury.

We are not here to prove Macbeth's guilt of the charges brought; high treason, murder on two counts and conspiracy to murder on six counts, as my client has admitted to these crimes.

However, we will hear evidence of Macbeth's appeal against the charges, on the grounds of insanity. We will discover how Lady Macbeth drove Macbeth to insanity through emotional blackmail, how she pressurised him and questioned his manhood, dominating him to the point where he had to prove himself in order to show his wife, the centrepiece of his life, that he would do anything for her.

The evidence will show this court how the noble figure of Macbeth was steered towards and pushed onto a path of evil by a wife who had driven herself insane through her obsessive, all consuming ambition.

Macbeth was a great warrior. Bloodthirsty in the destruction of national enemies, Macbeth's loyalty was not one to be questioned. Indeed, Macbeth, who also demonstrated hospitality and devotion, was the model subject for King Duncan, who describes Macbeth as "noble."

Macbeth also showed an unequivocal love of his wife: "Dearest partner of greatness." The picture we are painting of Macbeth is not that of a senseless murderer, but that of a man wholly in touch with the most humane of emotions, love.

Macbeth's social stature was also unquestionable, he was constantly praised with comments such as: "Brave Macbeth," and "valour's minion," and "valiant cousin." He had no reason to desire anything but the secure and highly honoured position which he had built over his lifetime. He had received accolades and awards too, for his exploits, the greatest honour that of being awarded the title 'Thane of Cawdor.' So why the path of evil? Macbeth's move is superficially incomprehensible. To find reasons we must first explore the role of Lady Macbeth.

Lady Macbeth had nothing but what she had gained from Macbeth. Even her title was gained from marrying the noble figure of Macbeth. She herself had no pain, but by living off Macbeth's stature and influence, she could achieve almost anything. Initially her ambition was for her husband, but she became so obsessed with the possibilities presented to them by their position that the ambition cruelly mutated into greed.

Lady Macbeth definitely loved Macbeth, and this would never be compromised, but the trust which Lady Macbeth gained from this situation was cruelly abused by her, to her advantage. She used emotional blackmail, which Macbeth was particularly susceptible to due to his love of his wife. She did this by questioning Macbeth's manhood (the foundations of his career as a warrior), by saying that he was too "full o' the milk of human kindness. Lady Macbeth also used flattery, pressure and persuasion to influence him, through the "valour of my [Lady Macbeth's] tongue, which had the effect of steering him towards the path of evil, which Macbeth was reluctant to take.

There is a major factor to consider in that Lady Macbeth was mentally unsound. This is proven by her visions, such as that of the "golden round," her belief in the power of the underworld, inviting demons and spirits to "unsex," her. This evidence, along with that of her sleepwalking surely indicate high levels of insecurity.

Macbeth was now under incredible pressure. He faced a two sided moral dilemma, of loyalty and love. Everything which he had held most sacred and assumed trust of was now under threat. He did not know what to do. He thought he may lose the love of his wife if he did not do as she liked, and when she questioned his manhood: "when you durst do it, then you would be a man," Macbeth felt threatened, and he needed to prove himself to his wife in order to recapture the trust he believed she had lost in him.

The weird sisters serve as proof that Macbeth had the odds stacked against him, because they had successfully predicted Macbeth's future before, and now they were predicting his downfall. What proved to be the trigger in pushing Macbeth down the path of evil he didn't want to take, but his wife had take, was when the weird sisters' prophecy came true and Macbeth was given the title of the 'Thane of Cawdor', which had previously been predicted. What could Macbeth do now that the supernatural seemingly had control over his fate, especially in the insecure state that the moral dilemma had rendered him in.

Previously, Macbeth had been his own man, but now, after being pressurised into a choice, he had lost his personal identity. Macbeth's state of mind was not improved by the unpredictability of an evil life. He became completely insane. Proof of this before Duncan's murder is seen in anxiety, (in the way he can only speak in staccato), confusion and apparitions (that of the dagger), and after Duncan's murder, evil has driven Macbeth's mind further astray. He sees ghosts (that of Banquo) and suffers hysteria, nightmares: "O full of scorpions is my mind," and fainting (at the banquet). Further evidence of Macbeth's insanity is derived from the incomprehensible change in ambition, from loyalty to treachery. His confusion, which could well be linked, is shown in comments such as "Nothing is but what is not." His state of mind could also be questioned in three other cases, one where he remarks on the insignificance of life: "Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more," which is a significant change in his views. Another is when he offhandedly dismisses the death of his wife: "She would have died hereafter," which demonstrates his altered state of mind, because her death is like the core of his life falling out, and to dismiss it as he does trivialises an event whose importance in his life is enormous. The third comes when Macbeth's long hardened war skills fail him, when he makes the tactical error of advancing from the safe haven of the castle into the clutches of the enemy, nullifying the chances of victory. This is not a mistake Macbeth would make when in a sound state of mind.

Macbeth was a gifted man who fell into treachery and crime. He became enveloped in the universal battle, whether to choose good or evil. However, his choice was greatly influenced by not only the real world (his wife) but also his fate, the supernatural forces (the weird sisters).

I put it to you then, that Macbeth was in fact no murderer, that he had been forced into evil by everything he valued highly, and his weakened state of mind. It is obvious that Macbeth was not a cruel, heartless man, for he tried to admit his sins through his frenzied delirium at the banquet. He was a reluctant murderer, with the mere thought of it, its "horrid image," making his hairs stand on end and his heart knock against his ribs.

On the other hand, Lady Macbeth was a most calculating murderer: she had it all worked out perfectly; the murders; and the rewards. It was her who called upon the supernatural to "unsex," her, in order so that she could commit a murder. But she was not in full control of the powers which she had gained control of; Before Duncan's murder, Lady Macbeth had accidentally driven Macbeth's emotions too far, and he murdered Duncan before she planned, and so she had to cover the tracks, by cleaning Macbeth and replacing the daggers. Therefore it was her quick thinking which saved her, but not just this time, at the banquet also when Macbeth attempted to purge his conscience. She was obviously totally sane.

Lady Macbeth also showed heartlessness in her fake concern when speaking of Duncan's murder the day after. Eventually the cowardice of suicide decided her fate, whereas Macbeth, always the noble warrior, faced his death like the true man he was.