Question

According to Lady Macbeth, why doesn’t she kill Duncan herself? Indicate which lines in The Tragedy of Macbeth, Act II, pointed you toward your answer.

Answer 1

"Lady Macbeth did not kill Duncan herself because while he was lying there sleeping, he reminded her of her father. She says, "He could not mess 'em. Had he not resembled/my father as he slept. I had done 't" (2.2.1). Lady Macbeth says that she would have killed him, but because he looked like her father she was unable to. "

Step-by-step explanation:

Change wording.

(She could not kill the sleeping Duncan because in sleep he resembled her father. She expresses this reason in Act II, Scene ii, lines 12-13.)

Answer 2

The introduction of the Lady Macbeth in the play “Macbeth” highlights her ambitious nature that she possesses for her husband to achieve. Her actions reveal much about her steps and plans which she has pre-planned. She had the finest quality of being manipulative and influencing. She planned the murder of King Dunken and motivated her husband to commit the dead. To give encouragement to Macbeth she herself went to kill King Dunken. Though she was unable to kill him as she found her father's image in sleeping Dunken. She also gave her full support to her husband in attaining the position. She says that "Had he not resembled My father as he slept, I had done't" so as to encourage Macbeth to kill him.