In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, there are many factors that play into the fall of the lead character, Macbeth. The story illustrates that there is not just one sole person or quality that plays into his fall but numerous ones. Some may argue that Macbeth’s fall was forced by other factors then Macbeth himself and some may argue that Macbeth was the only one who was in control of his downfall and could have avoided his destruction. Macbeth’s ambition for power, his conscience, and the witches prophecies are just a few of the reasons for his fall. In Macbeth, ambition is presented as a dangerous quality to posses. Ambition has the ability to positively drive a character however for Macbeth it becomes a fatal flaw. Ambition is one of the leading …show more content…
In the beginning of the play Macbeth is portrayed as a loyal soldier, he was the epitome of loyalty compared to all the other soldiers who fought under the king. Loyalty was all Macbeth could really offer to the King, he states that everything else is just used for labour if it is not for King Duncan. That was Macbeth’s strongest conviction, until his encounter with the witches. The three witches tell Macbeth that he will be king which entices his strive for power. His mind started to change once he heard of his possibility to become king.When Lady Macbeth hears of the prophecy from the witches delivered to Macbeth, she almost made it her mission to help Macbeth and herself get the throne. Lady Macbeth mentions to him that he is “too full of the milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way”, meaning that Macbeth is too good to do anything bad to anyone. When trying to convince Macbeth to kill Duncan, Lady Macbeth tells he would be so much more of a man if he went on with the murder. Distraught at the testing of his manliness, this fuels his ambition and he then goes on to kill
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, as a play is a well-known tragedy that stills retains influence largely in the literary world but also the world as a whole. The issue of who the blames for the tragedy falls upon is a misapprehended topic, wrongly thought to be controversial at all. The blame falls solely on Macbeth for several reasons. He was the one to commit regicide and follow through on the actions incited by Lady Macbeth. He had complete trust and faith in what the witches said without even an inkling of suspicion that they might be using him and decided to take action rather than wait for the fulfillment of the prophecies. He made the decision to be a tyrannical ruler bordering on being a Megalomaniac. Macbeth is the only reason and cause that everything went awry.
In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, we discover that Macbeth is a tragic hero. There are many factors, which contribute to the degeneration of Macbeth. Macbeth is very ambitious and courageous, and is later portrayed as a moral coward. All of these qualities lead to his tragic death at the end of the play. There are three major points, which contribute greatly to Macbeth's degeneration. The first was the prophecies, which were told to him by the witches. The second factor was when Lady Macbeth influenced and manipulated Macbeth's judgment. The final factor was Macbeth's long time ambition, which drove his desire to be king. Macbeth's character degenerates from a nobleman to a violent individual.
As a matter of fact they begin the play with two of them, lady and Macbeth that Macbeth is too kind and soft, and in her thoughts of worry she has a soliloquy that states, "Yet do I fear thy nature, It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness"(1.3.3-4). Lady, feels that Macbeth is too king fulfill the deed of killing Duncan, and with this kind hearted personality he will crack under pressure, destroying their chance to hierarchy. Although after this occurs, Macbeth actually becomes quite the opposite of what he was. Macbeth went on a killing spree murdering anyone who he thought could affect his kingship. Another example of his brash ruthless personality was near the end when he was about to fight Macduff, Malcolm and their army, he states something to his soldiers that depicts his loss of kindness. "Go, prick thy face and over-red thy fear, Thou lily-livered boy. What soldiers, patch? Death of thy soul! Those linen cheeks of thine Are counselors to fear. What soldiers, whey-face?"(5.3.16-19) Macbeth is frustrated at his cowardly soldier. He has displayed an act of rude nature making it evident that Macbeth is ruthless.Which affected much more than his kind nature, it resulted in the King that the people of Scotland
In the play, written by Shakespeare, Macbeth has received prophecies about him becoming the thane of Glamis, the thane of Cawdor, as well as the future king. While he was already the thane of Glamis, it soon came true to him being crowned the thane of Cawdor so naturally he assumed that the second prediction would come true, but decided to rush the process instead of waiting for it to come his way. While Lady Macbeth, his wife, and the witches certainly play a significant role in Macbeth’s corruption and downfall, it is ultimately he himself to blame for his easy acceptance of his fate by the Witches, his vulnerability to his wife's manipulations, and his tragic flaw bringing him to his demise. “All hail Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Glamis…
Have you ever had that one moment where things just seem so great and then everything collapses onto you? You wonder, what caused that greatness to end? That very same concept is portrayed upon Macbeth in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. However, one thing’s for certain. From Macbeth’s peak of becoming king to his very own defeat, Macbeth is solely responsible for his own downfall.
In drama, curiosity is often a trait that is undesirable in heroes, as now we know that curiosity is what can often lead to a downwards-spiral of ignorance. In Shakespeare's Macbeth the Weird Sisters were responsible for Macbeth's downfall, as they were the ones who sparked the ambition to be king all by teasing Macbeth by predicting his future. On the contrary, Sophocles’ "Oedipus Rex," is much different, as Tiresias tells Oedipus his fate in order to protect him, sending Oedipus on a journey to his own doom lead by his own ignorance. Minor characters in drama obviously have a great impact on the advancement of the plot; as in the case of Oedipus and Macbeth, their downfall was caused because they teased their tragic flaws such as ambition
Ambition is a strong desire to achieve great things. In Macbeth, three witches tell Macbeth his fate. In Act I, Scene 3 the witches say, “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! / All hail, Macbeth!
(p. 1)Wouldn't it be fun and entertaining to cause trouble yet receive no consequence.This happens Quite often in high school's. Usually the cause of trouble could be someone insignificant lying for his/her own entertainment. Macbeth, a play by William Shakespeare Acknowledges this possibility by using this to formulate a storyline. In my opinion the character’s most responsible for Macbeth’s downfall are the three witches because they are deceptive and have supernatural powers to use for their advantage.(p. 2)The three witches are the most responsible for Macbeth's downfall. Although there are others that seem to have more of an impact on Macbeth. The three witches have more of an impact when they first started this problem by saying”All hail
Merriam Webster's dictionary defines corrupt as “to change from good to bad in morals, manners and actions.” William Shakespeare's play Macbeth introduced Macbeth as a main antagonist whose actions mirror King Louis XVI of France. Macbeth is just as corrupt as King Louis XVI because their intentions could not be justified, both had deceitful wives, and they each had a tragic downfall. Macbeth and King Louis XVI’s actions led to the defeat that their countries both faced. In Act 2, scene 2 Macbeth said, “I have done the deed.
Prince Sado of Korea murder and raped people on a whim. These horrid act began after he recovered from the measles which some believed caused his insanity, but nevertheless he was fully responsible for his deeds though it wasn’t entirely his fault. In Macbeth, Shakespeare reveals that Macbeth’s downfall had the help of three witches, his wife and his own personal fear. [The influence of the world around Macbeth and the choices he made led him to his own destruction.]
In today’s society, a growing trend of the Me too movement has shared light on people of high influential power such as Harvey Weinstein. Individuals such as Weinstein are finally receiving consequences and ridicule for their actions. While successful because of their vision and passion, they unfortunately used their opportunities and accomplishments for dark unethical ambitions. The same fortune can be linked to William Shakespeare’s MacBeth; MacBeth’s ambition to become king, ultimately leads to his downfall. MacBeth built a lifetime of trust throughout the kingdom, through his passion to protect the crown; he was seen as noble and a thane, a close advisor to King Duncan.
Macbeth was dependably a devoted man to his King, however when he knew he had the opportunity to get the kingdom he generally needed, he realized that he needed to do all that he could to get it. In this play, Macbeth indicates how he was feeble, and let individuals control his activities. His activities prompted his demise, which left the general population who transformed him eventually considered in charge of his passing.
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a play where the tragic hero embarks on a dismal path leading to his destruction. He chooses this path through the lures of fate, however it is his overweening ambition and cold ruthlessness that seal his end. Macbeth’s death is confirmed not by fate, but by his hubris.
Audiences have been questioning and discussing who was truly responsible for Macbeth’s downfall ever since playwright William Shakespeare wrote another one of his renowned plays, ‘Macbeth’. The audience follows as Macbeth spirals away from his original self, a loyal and courageous soldier and turns into a reckless murdering king. The events that play out between these two different aspects of Macbeth is what has audiences conflicting as it has been argued that the witch’s prophecies, Lady Macbeth’s persuasion and Macbeth’s own ambition all play a significant role in his downfall.