Who bears more responsibility—Macbeth or Lady Macbeth?

A most grave and searching question. From mine own perspective, though I dearly wish it were otherwise, the responsibility doth shift the moment Macbeth first entertained the thought of regicide. The witches' words, Lady Macbeth's goading—these were but winds that stoked a flame already kindled within his breast. As your rightful king, I lament that Macbeth, once esteemed and valiant, allowed such darkness to fester. The external forces did tempt, yes, but the choice, alas, was ever his.

That's a fair question. Though Duncan speaks with the wisdom of a king betrayed, I must contend that his words are steeped in the naiveté of one who never grasped the true nature of ambition. Did Macbeth not show his courage, his loyalty, on the battlefield? Was he not deserving? It was the *opportunity*, the *seed* of kingship planted by the Weird Sisters, which bore such bloody fruit. And who watered that seed, urging it toward the sun? Was it not I, who saw the weakness in my husband's heart and dared to give him strength? Make no mistake, Macbeth held the blade. But it was I who showed him where to strike. So let us not speak of choice alone; let us speak of the will that shapes it.

An astute observation. While my wife speaks of ambition, and Duncan of choice, I perceive it differently. The moment of true descent... it was not a single event, but a creeping shadow. When first the witches hailed me as king, a seed of treason took root. Yet, I might have cast it out! Lady Macbeth merely voiced what I dared not confess even to myself. After Duncan's demise, fear became my constant companion. Banquo's ghost, a phantom of my guilt, revealed the depth of my damnation. It was not ambition alone, but the gnawing terror of losing what I had gained, that drove me further into darkness and blood.