Causes of Macbeth's Downfall
Summary:In theplay"Macbeth," boththe witchesand Lady Macbeth were responsible for Macbeth's downfall. Macbeth was at first a noble, loyal man who would never harm his king. However, the witches' foretelling gave Macbeth greater ambition and desire to become king himself, and Lady Macbeth's manipulation and insistence led him to commit the murders needed to fulfill this heightened ambition.
Macbeth was a noble and loyal man, who would never harm his King. If it wasn't for theinfluencesof the people surrounding him, he would have lived happily as Thane of Cawdor, an honourable title in itself. The downfall of Macbeth was ignited by the actions by those around him, mainlythe witchesand his wife Lady Macbeth, and eventually, his ambitions took over. Macbeth never had the intention of killing his king, but was ultimately persuaded that it was the correct thing to do.
The three witches planted the seed of ambition within Maceth. They werethe drivingforce behind Banquo and King Duncan's killing.The witchesprophesised that his life would completely change, by becoming thane of Cawdor, then king of Scotland. At first, Macbeth dismissed their prophecies, but after he was promoted to Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth wondered if he will be King, too. "If chance will have me king, why chance may crown me without my stir." Another prophecy made bythe witcheswas that Banquo's son will be king. Fuelled by paranoia,lack of sleepandvisions, Macbeth was thrown into a state of confusion and a belief that the prophecies were inevitable.
Lady Macbeth urged her husband to commit murder and it was this action that sparked Macbeth's downfall. When Lady Macbeth heard about the prophecies made bythe witches, and how one of them had already come true, she called upon evil spirits toguideher through her task - killing the king. .".. Fill me, fromthe crownto the toe, top-full of direst cruelty." This furthermore shows her obsession with having greater powers. Macbeth, on the other hand, does not like the idea of having to kill his king to take hisposition. Lady Macbeth becomes aware of her husband's weakness, allowing his ambitions get the better of him, and believed that it was her responsibility toguideMacbeth to being king. Macbeth becomes deeply troubled by the possible consequences of killing the king whom he had served so well, and within himself accepts that he cannot kill Duncan after all he has done for him. It's become evident that, through her manipulation, Lady Macbeth is ultimately responsible for Duncan's death and her husband's inevitable downfall.
Macbeth could not control his urges to be King. He followed his ambitions without regard to humanity or the affects his actions had on the people around him. Lady Macbeth only manipulated him to kill the king, but the decisions to kill Macduff and Banquo were his own.Writingthe letter to his wife informing her aboutthe witchesand their prophecies shows that becoming king was previously his aspiration before it was hers.
Macbeth was not weak, but merely made his ambitions and weaknesses obvious. At the beginning of theplay, Macbeth was described as a brave warrior who was loyal to his king, but like any other person, he had his weak points. When confronted by his wife by the idea of killing his king, he replied ."..as his host, who should against his murdershut the door, notbearthe knife myself." The thought had never passed his mind, but was planted bythe witches' prophecies and the false confidence given to him by his wife.
It was both,the witchesand Lady Macbeth that were responsible for Macbeth's downfall. If it was not forthe witches' foretelling, Macbeth would not have had the same ambition and desire to become king. Without Lady Macbeth's manipulation and insistence, he would have not had to commit the murders needed to fulfil this desire. The ambition to become king would not have been amplified as it had been and Macbeth would have continued his noble ways.
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