Before Macbeth enters King Duncan's chamber to assassinate him, Lady Macbeth drugs his chamberlains so that they will not interfere with the crime. Both Macbeth and his wife plan on blaming Duncan's murder on both of his chamberlains, who would be completely unaware of their actions when they awake from their drug-induced sleep. However, Macbeth ends up stabbing and killing both of the chamberlains after he assassinates King Duncan.
In act two, scene two, Macbeth informs his wife that one of Duncan's chamberlains yelled "Murder!" while he was in the king's chamber and the other servant cried out "God bless us!". One could assume Macbeth feared that Duncan's chamberlains would wake up and witness him in the king's chamber, which is why he murdered them. If the chamberlains would have awakened to find Macbeth in Duncan's chamber, they would have surely blame the murder on him and ruined the couple's plan to usurp the Scottish throne.
After killing King Duncan and his two chamberlains, Macbeth carries the bloody daggers out of the room. Macbeth then refuses to return to Duncan's chamber and is immediately overwhelmed with guilt. Lady Macbeth then takes matters into her own hands by placing the bloody daggers back into the room and smearing Duncan's blood all over the servants. When the Scottish lords arrive to discover that Duncan and his two chamberlains have been murdered, Macbeth confesses to killing the chamberlains in a fit of rage to conceal his role in the king's death.
Just a short time earlier, Macbeth killed the king while the king was actually asleep in the same room as his chamberlains, who were quite intoxicated (Lady Macbeth added liquor to their drinks so as to get them so drunk that they would pass out and have no memory of the night). However, Macbeth tells her that, while he was in the king's room, committing the murder
One cried "God bless us" and "Amen" the other,As they had seen me with these hangman's hands,List'ning their fear. (2.2.37-39)
In other words, then, the chamberlains were not completely passed out and seem to have had some awareness of Macbeth's actions in the room. Why else would they suddenly ask for God's blessing in the middle of the night? It seems to imply some fear on their part. Therefore, it is not terribly surprising that Macbeth would kill them because they likely witnessed at least a portion of the murder. Macbeth tells the others that he killed them out of "fury" and implies that a truly loyal servant of the king could hardly be "reason[able]" when faced with the king's murderers (2.3.124, 130). He says that his "violent love" for Duncan made it impossible for him to remain calm in the moment (2.3.129). Of course, this is a convenient excuse for him to have killed them! Lady Macbeth helps to draw attention away from Macbeth by pretending to faint. It is also of note that Macbeth does not consult his wife in this— they never discussed killing the chamberlains—and he already begins to act on his own.
In act 2, scene 3, Macbeth tells Macduff that he killed Duncan's bodyguards because he saw them covered in blood, realized that they had murdered Duncan, and could not stop himself. In other words, he says that he was so overcome with grief over Duncan's death that he felt it necessary to kill the guards as an act of revenge:
For ruin’s wasteful entrance; there, the murderers,
Steeped in the colors of their trade, their daggers
Unmannerly breeched with gore. Who could refrain,
That had a heart to love, and in that heart
Courage to make ’s love known?
Macbeth claims, therefore, that this crime was one of passion. It was borne out of love for Duncan and that anyone who feels love would have done the same.
However, this is not the real reason for killing the guards. As the reader knows, it is Macbeth who killed Duncan. Killing the guards is, therefore, a necessary step in covering up his crime. Macbeth could not risk having any witnesses to this murder because it would ruin his chances of becoming king.
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