Read the passage from act 3, scene 1 of The Tragedy of Macbeth.Macbeth. Upon my head they plac’d a fruitless crown,And put a barren sceptre in my gripe,Thence to be wrench’d with an unlineal hand,No son of mine succeeding. If ’t be so,For Banquo’s issue have I fil’d my mind;For them the gracious Duncan have I murder’d;Put rancours in the vessel of my peaceOnly for them; and mine eternal jewelGiven to the common enemy of man,To make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings!
Answer
A
Macbeth’s conscience, which makes him feel guilty for having killed Duncan to become king
B
Macbeth’s childless state and the fact that he has no children to inherit his title
C
Macbeth’s marriage to Lady Macbeth, which has become strained in the wake of the murder
D
Macbeth’s desire to attain power at all costs, even if it means committing a crime