To What Extent Is Macbeth Responsible For His Own Downfall

Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!/ All hail, Macbeth! That shalt be King hereafter"(I.iii.52-57)  When Macbeth hears this prophecy, many questions instantly run through his head.  He begins to wonder, "What are they talking about and how will I become king?"  Macbeth does not entirely trust the witches, for he does identify them with evil.  The foretelling of the witches sparks the plot of the murder.  The sparks burst into flame when Lady Macbeth hears of the prophecy.

First, it is Macbeth’s thirst for power, coupled with Lady Macbeth’s manipulation of him, that drive the murder of KIng Duncan. As Banquo becomes suspicious and as Macbeth becomes increasingly troubled by the witches’ proclamation that Banquo will be the father of kings, Macbeth convinces himself that Banquo must be killed, proclaiming “For Banquo’s issue I have filed my mind [...] the seeds of Banquo kings (III.i.70-75).” Macbeth is paranoid of losing his new-found power to Banquo. This fear is so stout that it drives him to solicit the murder of his most loyal friend. As his morality devolves further, Macbeth senses disloyalty from Macduff, and he resolves to murder MacDuff’s entire family. In Act IV, Macbeth says, “But yet I'll make assurance double sure,/ And take a bond of fate: thou shalt not live; (IV.i.94-95).” Even though the prophecy seems to assuage Macbeth’s fears of losing power, he still plans to kill MacDuff, supporting his further descent into corruption and evil- all driven by his thirst for

William Shakespeare`s Macbeth tells audience a play of murders and sleepless nights. Macbeth is the thane of Glamis and a mighty general of Scotland. Macbeth is predicted to be the king of Scotland. However, the King of Scotland,King Duncan, is alive and is a good king to not to be murder by his people. Macbeth kills King Duncan and he becomes king with the fear of everyone killing him. Therefore, he kills anyone that is suspect to kill him. Macbeth becomes progressively more evil as the play continues.

A character’s tragic downfall is often influenced by other characters, but this is not the case in Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth. Macbeth conforms to the conditions of a tragic hero because in the beginning of the play, Macbeth is an honourable and trustworthy nobleman to King Duncan and all of Scotland. However, throughout the play, Macbeth commits evil deeds such betrayal, treason, and murder solely because of his ambitions to remain in power. Macbeth murders others upon hearing the witches’ prophecies and even proceeds to return to them to remain in power. Macbeth is influenced and manipulated by his wife Lady Macbeth and The Witches, but he is ultimately responsible for his own tragic downfall. Macbeth’s tragic downfall is caused by his ‘vaulting ambition’ to become king. Thus, Macbeth has no one but his ruthless, cruel, and greedy self to blame for his own tragic downfall.

Macbeth held his fate in his hands since the beginning, but the witches made an appearance and foretold his future which drove Macbeth insane by contemplating whether or not to kill King Duncan. In addition, the revolving thoughts of becoming king corrupted his mind and was quenching for power. Though there were others who helped convince Macbeth to murder Duncan, it was in his control to acknowledge his path in which would grant him the throne or loyalty to the king. Consequently, following others had an aftereffect which resulted in the death of his wife and his own.

The conclusion is that Macbeth was tricked by the witches into thinking he is invinceable. His wife influenced him into killing Duncan and called him to kind to seize the throne for himself. Macbeth himself caused his own downfall due to his own judgment which caused his own mind to be clouded to the point of no return. Macbeth is a victim that was influenced by the witches, his wife Lady Macbeth, and himself to take the

William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth,” illustrates that absolute power, can ruin one mans journey for truth. Absolute power can corrupt any man, but it’s not the power aspect, but the greediness of mankind. In essence, William Shakespeare shows us the greed of a human man, and how it can be uncontrollable. Was his uncontrollable greed truly worth it?

His paranoia got the better of him, and remembering the prophecy that the son of Banquo would become king after him instead of his own heir, he ordered their murder. Only Banquo was killed, his son Fleance escaped and this made Macbeth's situation worse. This led him to murder Macduff’s family for not being at his coronation, and suspecting him of disloyalty, which he was right to fear. Rational fear or not, the murder of Macduff’s family was the final nail in Macbeth’s coffin, and Macduff would return later to kill him, and restore the proper bloodline to the throne. If he had not murdered Macduff’s family out of paranoia, Macduff may have fought on his side during the battle despite their disagreements, and stop the last part of the prophecy from coming

Many kings and queens meet their downfall because they want more power and are extremely ambitious. In Shakespeare's Macbeth, Macbeth is more to blame for his downfall than his wife because he was cold-blooded, impulsive, and over-confident.

Alongside his wife’s fiendish greed is how influenceable Macbeth truly was, dooming him from the very start. His morals change rapidly throughout the play, starting as a heroic soldier and ending as a treasonous tyrant. Swayed easily by the witches and his wife, Macbeth’s desperation to prove himself and control his fate transform into a numbing sense of entitlement. Macbeth becomes blind to his arrogance- and the subsequent consequences. When Macbeth first spoke to the witches, he is horrified by violent thoughts and vows that “if chance have me king, why, chance may crown me without my stir”, intending to let whatever happens to happen. Instead, after speaking to his wife Macbeth decides to take fate into his own hands, killing King Duncan and launching himself towards madness. Perhaps with a stronger sense of self Macbeth would have stood up to his wife, or realized taking advice from witches was unwise. Ironically Macbeth only starts making his OWN decisions out of paranoia of losing the throne, a situation he would not have been put in should he have made wiser decisions from the very beginning. In the same token, after getting a taste of power both Macbeth and his wife are

Macbeth was king and had killed several people to get this far, even killing his friend to stay king. Macbeth was afraid that Banquo’s son was a threat to his throne. He went to the witches so that they could inform him on what was going to happen in the future. The Witches told him to be aware of Macduff, that no one born of a woman can harm him, and to not be weary until the forest comes to the palace. This makes Macbeth think he is invincible. This also makes him a bit arrogant since he does not comprehend how the forest can just come to the palace. Though he is still a bit weary of Macduff, this was his breaking point. This is when you see him fully loose his conscious. He decides without hesitation to kill everyone in Macduff’s castle without remorse. His thoughts were “from this moment the very firstlings of my heart shall be the firstlings of my hand. And even now, to crown my thoughts with acts, be it thought and done: The castle of Macduff I will surprise; seize upon Fife, give to the edge o’ the sword his wife, babes, and all unfortunate souls that trace him in his line” (Shakespeare, Act IV Scene II) This is when Macbeth’s descent is fulfilled, but there is still another influence to this

Although the ideas are given by the witches and Lady Macbeth, it is still Macbeth own decision to either act on these ideas or just wait for the fate to just let it happen eventually. Macbeth pick the first choice and start to act his future on his own and will overcome any one who will stop him to achieve the title of “king’. However, his ambition, becomes his only motive, not thinking about the effects of his own actions. As the play flows, Macbeth is slowly getting impaired and controlled by his own ambition. He become more aggressive and act his actions as soon as possible, destroying anyone on his path to becoming the King including King Duncan, his leader and Banquo, his best friend. He does not realize that his actions are actually leading

Macbeth will become king. The three witches told Macbeth that he would be the thane of Cawdor. Lady Macbeth wanted all the power and wanted Macbeth to kill the king. Macbeth wanted fate to make him king but his wife convinced him into killing the king and not waiting for fate to bring him to become king. “All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter”.

Macbeth decides that he wont murder the king. Lady Macbeth’s determination to become queen influences Macbeth’s decision.

The witches cannot be blamed, nor Lady Macbeth, for Macbeth himself acting on his ambition and making his desires become reality. When the witches tell Macbeth of his future, his first thought is how murdering Duncan would be "fantastical". This shows that Macbeth is prepared to kill simply to climb the hierarchy. Although the witches give predictions and Lady Macbeth persuades him, neither have actual control over Macbeth. He recognises that he is "so far" in blood but instead of changing his ways, he decides that it would be "tedious" and pointless. He realises after killing many people, he can never go back to the man he was before. His ambition continues to drive him forward and he embraces evil. Macbeth chooses not to tell his wife about his plans and slowly begins to cut off connection to her. Even when she dies, he shows little remorse by saying "she should have died hereafter". This demonstrates that he has little human emotion left. By the end of the play, Macbeth has fallen from a hero to a