At the beginning of Act One Scene 7, the audience witnesses an extended soliloquy by Macbeth in which he expresses deep doubts about carrying out the murder of Duncan. Fundamentally, he realizes that the murder of Duncan is a fundamentally unjust act, one which makes the throne of Scotland which he will receive a "poison'd chalice." Duncan is both Macbeth's king and his cousin, which makes the murder not just treasonous but a violation of...
At the beginning of Act One Scene 7, the audience witnesses an extended soliloquy by Macbeth in which he expresses deep doubts about carrying out the murder of Duncan. Fundamentally, he realizes that the murder of Duncan is a fundamentally unjust act, one which makes the throne of Scotland which he will receive a "poison'd chalice." Duncan is both Macbeth's king and his cousin, which makes the murder not just treasonous but a violation of the bonds of kinship. Macbeth says these facts alone should make him "shut the door" against his murderer, not "bear the knife" himself. Also, Duncan is a good man, much beloved of the people of Scotland, and indeed of Macbeth himself:
...this Duncan
Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been
So clear in his great office, that his virtues
Will plead like angels trumpet-tongued against
The deep damnation of his taking-off...
Once people hear of the murder, Macbeth realizes, their "tears shall drown the wind." Finally, after this bout of soul-searching, the title character comes to the conclusion that there is really nothing motivating him to kill the King except his own "vaulting ambition." This realization seems to have convinced him to abandon, or at least put off, his plot to murder Duncan. When Lady Macbeth discovers that her husband is vacillating, she mocks him, appealing to his masculinity and his courage to goad him into proceeding with the murder.
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