Who Was To Blame For Macbeth?s Downfall? Essay, Research Paper
Due to the
nature of Macbeth?s downfall it would be difficult to blame a single person for
his downfall. The main characters that were at fault in Macbeth?s downfall were
The Witches, Lady Macbeth and of course Macbeth himself but who is to blame the
most out of the three? The Witches played a big part in Macbeth’s downfall, as
they were the first characters who influenced Macbeth as they met him at the
start of the story. The Witches were determined from the start to influence
Macbeth?s way in life, they intended to meet with him from the start to begin
the downfall of Macbeth, ?There to meet with Macbeth?. Before they started
putting ideas into his head they had to make sure that he was willing to listen
to them so they waited until he was sure of his abilities, so they only started
influencing him after the battle against Norway where he shone. As Macbeth
would not normally listen to the telling of the Witches, they had to cleverly
mix the truth and things that had not happened yet to gain his confidence. They
influenced Macbeth?s first thoughts of killing Duncan as they first told him
that he would be Thane of Cawdor, and he already was but he did not know yet.
They then said that he will be King, that would have triggered his thoughts
later on when he found out he was Thane of Cawdor. ?All hail Macbeth, hail to
thee, Thane of Glamis, hail to thee Thane of Cawdor, All hail Macbeth, that
shalt be King hereafter?. Although they did not directly tell Macbeth to kill
King Duncan it gave him the idea. After Macbeth received the news that he was
Thane of Cawdor he built a trust with the Witches as he now thought they were
right about everything. Macbeth then thought about becoming King, he partially
expected Duncan to name him as King until he picked Malcolm ?The Prince of
Cumberland, that is a step I must o?erleap?.?
He then knew he was not within a chance of becoming King.. The Witches
are determined to let Macbeth complete his ?tasks? that they have set him, so
they indirectly tell Macbeth to kill Banquo by telling Macbeth that Banquo?s
sons will be Kings. This prevents Banquo stopping Macbeth when he might have.
The Witches also stop Macbeth from wanting to walk out on this by making him
overconfident by telling him that ?none of woman born shall harm Macbeth?. They
also tell him that ? Macbeth shall never vanquished be, until Great Birnam wood
to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him?. These predictions make Macbeth
overconfident, as he believes that these things are impossible realistically.
But he does not think of what they may really mean. This then leads to the
death of Macbeth in the final act as Macbeth prepares to fight the English army
lead by Malcolm. The English army camouflage themselves using branches from
Great Birnam wood so that it appears that the forest is moving up to Dunsinane
hill. Macbeth is finally killed by Macduff who was born by a Caesarean
operation and therefore he was not of woman born. The Witches played a big part in Macbeth?s downfall as they
kept Macbeth going but at the same time confused him into thinking that he was
invincible but he was clearly not.?? Unlike the Witches Lady Macbeth did not set out to ruin
Macbeth’s life, she did not contribute to Macbeth’s downfall until after the
meeting with the witches. But Lady Macbeth on the other hand has a more direct
influence on Macbeth, as she is closer to him. From the start we learn that she
is more powerfully minded than Macbeth is as she is more committed to Macbeth
becoming King than Macbeth himself. In fact she convinces Macbeth to kill King
Duncan when he starts having second thoughts about it. Lady Macbeth receives a
letter from Macbeth where he states he is having thoughts of killing Duncan but
he does not say that he will. Lady Macbeth decides to take the matter into her
own hands because she wants a better title for herself. She is stronger minded
than Macbeth as she knows that although Macbeth is an ambitious person he is
too noble to do such a thing as kill the King. But when she finds out about
King Duncan is coming to stay she straight away decides that this would be the
perfect moment for Macbeth to fulfil his predictions. But when she tells
Macbeth this he is not as willing to participate as Lady Macbeth is, in fact when
she mentions the idea of murder to him he replies by saying ?We will speak
further?. This means he had to think the whole thing over, as he was not sure
about the whole ordeal. But when he has considered the murder he replies ?We
will proceed no further in this business?. This angers Lady Macbeth so she puts
him in a difficult position to make him reconsider. She does this by
questioning his manhood, ?When you durst do it then you were a man?. She also
uses the most powerful imagery to persuade him, ?I have given suck, and know
how tender ?tis to love the babe that milks me I would while it was smiling in
my face have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums, and dashed the brains
out, had I sworn as you have done this?. These clever and powerful mind games she plays with Macbeth
finally convince Macbeth to kill King Duncan. Although Lady Macbeth was
stronger minded she still was not willing to kill Duncan herself. She made
Macbeth do the dirty work the only real part she played in the murder of Duncan
was that after Macbeth killed Duncan she went back with the daggers put them in
the hands of the grooms and smeared them with Duncan?s blood. Lady Macbeth does not play such a big part in Macbeth?s
downfall even though she convinces Macbeth to kill King Duncan. This is because
after this she influences Macbeth less and less. The only other thing she does
after the murder of Duncan that influenced Macbeth, was when she went crazy and
eventually killed herself. This would have especially affected his moral as after
her death everything went downhill for Macbeth. Macbeth starts of the story being a completely different
person to the one he is come the end of the story. At the beginning he is a
strong brave person who is well respected by his fellow countrymen. He has a
strong marriage and has many friends and therefore is loved by many. But this
is later shadowed by the evil inside, which is released by the Witches. Macbeth
is a good person but the Witches reflect the evil in Macbeth. When Macbeth
meets up with the Witches at the beginning Banquo dismisses what the Witches
have to say whilst Macbeth does the opposite and he listens to the preaching of
them. Macbeth takes into account everything the Witches have to say and acts on
what they have to say. Anything they mention to him he acts on with violence,
he becomes too alert with what could happen and he does not think he just acts
on instincts. They tell him to beware Macduff so Macbeth butchers ?his wife,
children, servants, all that could be found?. But the influence of the Witches
becomes less and less as the story progresses. ?From the start
Macbeth is not as committed to the murder of Duncan as Lady Macbeth is, this is
because Macbeth is too noble and loyal towards Duncan. But when he finally
kills Duncan his wife is driven mad by the guilt. You can tell he was weak
minded at the start of the story as he hallucinates on his way to kill Duncan
?Is this a dagger which I see before me??. Also when Banquo is killed he
hallucinates Banquo?s ghost coming to haunt him and makes a mockery of himself
in front of his guests. But after the death of King Duncan it only spurs
Macbeth on to more evil deeds. He is corrupt and slaughters all that get in his
way, he is told that Banquo?s sons will be kings so he kills his close friend
Banquo. He then tells Lady Macbeth that he has arranged to kill Banquo and he
comments that she ?marvell?st at my words?. This shows that Lady Macbeth
realises the sudden change in Macbeth?s ways. Hesitancy gives way to an
enjoyment of violence. He becomes a tyrant he is obsessed with killing he
instructs his soldiers to, ?hang those who talk of fear? and he threatens to
hang until he starves the servant who brings the news of Birnam wood to
Dunsinane hill if he is telling the truth. Macbeth is too ambitious to realise
that he will die in the final battle as what the Witches told him has given him
a strong belief in his personal abilities. But when he remembers what the
Witches said about Birnam wood and it actually comes true he nearly gives up hope
especially when his wife kills herself. The one thing that keeps him going is
that ?none of woman born shall harm Macbeth?, but when Macduff tells him he
?was from his mothers womb untimely ripped?, he realises he has no chance of
defeating Macduff and he is therefore killed. The Witches played a larger part in the downfall of Macbeth
than Lady Macbeth did, but Macbeth?s belief in personal abilities puts the
greater share of the blame on Macbeth himself. Macbeth?s ambition made him
blind to the other side of what the Witches had to say. As he was ambitious
when things went his way after the telling of the Witches he made himself
believe that he was invincible and refused to think of the consequences of the
things he did.?????
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