The strive for power can appear to be true perfection, but one should be careful what they wish for, because as time passes that power could be the cause of their downfall. In William Shakespeare’s playwright, The Tragedy of Macbeth, Shakespeare follows the extreme rise to power and catastrophic downfall of the once honorable and loved King, Macbeth. The three witches, or “weird Sisters” play an important role in the downfall of Macbeth. They bring out the evil in Macbeth, which did not manifest itself until the Prophecy that was given to him became true. They also make him feel over confident and trick him with double meaning.
One way the witches contribute to Macbeth’s downfall is by using their supernatural and evil nature to bring out the evil in Macbeth himself. This all starts when they tell him
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Macbeth was nervous and felt uneasy about the murder, but was pressured into it by Lady Macbeth. She often tried coercing him by making fun of his masculinity saying, “When you durst do it, then you were a man” (1.7.55). Eventually Macbeth commit’s the murder but is overridden with guilt. Having Shakespeare write about the guilt Macbeth has is important, because it shows that he had morals and had realized his wrongdoing, Macbeth had never committed such a crime, that is, until he met the witches. Another way the witches bring out the evil in Macbeth is shown through his actions and the murders that follow. Each time Macbeth hears from, visits, or is reminded of the Prophecy the witches gave to him, something tragic follows. Shortly after Macbeth kills Duncan he goes after and murders Duncan’s guards due to the anger and violence that is now instilled in him. Macbeth has now shown the audience a completely different side of him, an un-loving and very violent one. After killing the current king and his guards successfully, Macbeth is
With attention to the murder of King Duncan, Macbeth struggles with the morality of his actions. Before the murder takes place, Macbeth begins to believe that the murder will “be the be-all and the end-all” to his clear conscious and would risk him to eternal damnation (Act I, line 5). Yet, the murder would bring him power over Scotland and he “shalt be kind” as told by the Weird Sisters(Act 1, line 50). Macbeth goes off of his ambition to murder King Duncan. The internal struggle of choosing mortality over motives brought forth an intense shift of loyalty to betrayal. The murder caused for Macbeth to turn on Scotland and only care for his own selfish motives. The betrayal causes for the play to become horrific and have a double meaning. Macbeth must put on a face to hide his murder to become the king. The double meaning is how Macbeth looks like a hero to all of Scotland, but only the people on the inside know of his horrific actions. He had to murder to to get the position of King, but the
In Shakespeare’s play ‘Macbeth’, Macbeth is seen to be the grounds of his own downfall. Macbeth’s actions bring upon his downfall, because it is he who eventually chose to kill Banquo and MacDuff’s family. These actions were due to his ambitious nature. Lady Macbeth is also to blame for her husband’s demise because she is the one who originally pushed Macbeth into killing Duncan; her actions cause Macbeth to eventually meet his own death. Lady Macbeth is not the only factor that cause Macbeth’s downfall. The three witches are also responsible because they heighten Macbeth’s confidence and put the idea that he cannot be killed by anything. Macbeth’s ambitious nature
Macbeth is a brave and strong warrior honored by those among him. But when the Three Weird Sisters told him of a prophecy that said he would be king, his mind was altered and his decent into madness began. Macbeth really wanted to be king and the same with his wife who wanted to be queen, so they invited King Duncan to stay at their castle, and as he slept during the night Macbeth butchered him, a man he honored and respected and a man who respected Macbeth. This is important because it is the first step that Macbeth takes to fulfill his ambition. This supports my thesis because it shows that Macbeth's ambition forced him to kill.
In Macbeth, a tragic play by William Shakespeare, there is much evil afoot through the main characters. Through the short five acts, many murders are committed by Macbeth himself. Commonly, Lady Macbeth is blamed for Macbeth becoming evil, and while she was no saint, she doesn’t deserve the amount of blame assigned to her. The witches were the first to entice Macbeth with their prophecy. Although Lady Macbeth encourages her husband to commit the original murder, Macbeth is ultimately to blame.
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.
MacBeth’s ambition and vulnerability was his road to destruction. The prophecy never said how MacBeth would become king, only that he would become king. After receiving the title, Thane of Cawdor, he decided to take receiving the final title, King of Scotland, into his own hands. He hallucinated a dagger leading him to murder King Duncan. He murdered King Duncan in his chambers at his castle, Inverness. MacBeth brings back the bloody daggers, which shows his inexperience in the beginning of the play. His wife, Lady MacBeth, had to return to plant the daggers on the drunken, sleeping guards in a way to frame them. “After we have marked with blood those two sleeping guards, and used their own daggers for the crime, everyone will think they did it. (18)” MacBeth failing to plant the bloody daggers before returning to his wife, displays MacBeth’s inexperience and shows how MacBeth’s character transforms over the duration of the play. He is inexperienced, but calculating, though it is less so in the scene before committing the murder. In the beginning he is a valiant captain turned inexperienced murderer. Then, he becomes more sadistic. After he is crowned king, he hires murderers to kill his “best friend” Banquo. The fact that he is willing to have his friend and friend’s son murdered shows his true character. MacBeth’s ambitions lead him down the road to his
'As a result of Macbeth's unpredictable actions and thoughts the audience's perception of Macbeth changes a great deal throughout theses scenes. Shakespeare gives us a clear insight into how the witches' prophecies have consumed Macbeth, but also how ambition and power, two major themes of the play, affect human nature and corrupt a once loyal, highly respected and trusted nobleman. In the earlier scenes Shakespeare allows Macbeth to debate whether he should murder King Duncan thereby showing the audience that he still has a conscience. Macbeth understands that as Duncan's "kinsman" and "subject" he has no moral basis for regicide.
This proves that Macbeth already does not have the best moral compass. Throughout the play, his morals only get worse. Macbeth resorts to killing children and women that have any connection with someone that may suspect Macbeth murdered Duncan. He does not have to slaughter these people, but his ambition allows him to disregard any morals he may have left. Furthermore, Macbeth willingly seeks out the witches because of his curiosity about his future and if and/or how he will stay king. The witches symbolize the devil. Therefore, Macbeth has sided with the devil and all things evil. Even knowing this, Macbeth does not think twice about going to the witches. In continuation, his downfall was compounded by his overconfidence
Has one ever witnessed a nation show such great hatred towards its leader? Well, in the play Macbeth; it is very prevalent. From a respected man due to his dignity to a tyrannical ruler that was greatly hated; this is the evolution of Macbeth throughout the play. Macbeth was truly a ruthless and terrorizing man that ran a despotic regime over Scotland. These acts caused great turmoil economically and politically. Three main subjects that attribute to Macbeth’s immoral behavior as king: Assassination of any doubters or people who he thought were suspicious, disrupted the chain of being, and he put all his trust and fate in the hands of the witches’ perplexing words. One may say King Duncan is at fault in this situation, but all these
The witches played an undoubtedly important role in Macbeth’s downfall as they revealed that they foresee him becoming king. The prophecies provided by the witches begins Macbeth’s quest for dominance. “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth! That shalt be king hereafter.” (A1S3, 50-53). Their
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
Has anyone ever wanted to do something even though you haven’t considered it until someone recommended it? Everyone must have had that feeling once whether it would be about choosing classes or trying for a sport. If you are one of those people then don’t worry because in “Macbeth” a play by William Shakespeare shows how someone with pride and honor can transform into a power-hungry dictator and tyrant. I believe that the character most responsible for Macbeth’s downfall is himself, because he had become ambitious and power-hungry to stay as a king and rule Cumberland. Admittedly, people might say that the witches were the reason why Macbeth had become such a monster and evil king because they planted a seed on him .
Lady Macbeth and Macbeth plot their evil scheme and it is their ill-will, greed, and lust for power that ultimately leads to the corruption and downfall of Macbeth. Therefore, the witches did contribute to the downfall of Macbeth by supporting his idea of power and being a king, but cannot be blamed for his actions and the actions of his wife that corrupted his thoughts and caused his
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!
This is ironic because the witches appear fair and “help” Macbeth however their help turns Macbeth foul and cruel enough to commit parenticide. The line “double,double toil and trouble”(4.1.10-11) also shows that what the witches say can have a double meaning which is how Macbeth is fooled into Killing king Duncan.(p. 4)The witches are shown to have numerous powers throughout the play”What can the devil speak true”(1.3.112) this quote shows that the witches can tell the future which is shown when they tell what will happen to macbeth to him and banquo.The witches are also shown to have supernatural powers when they conjure the three apparitions “ Macbeth shall never vanquished be until great birnam wood to high dunsinane hill come against him”(4.1.106-7)The Pure impossibility of this happening gives macbeth a false sense of security that the witches prophecy takes advantage of.(p. 5)William shakespeare challenges his viewers to remember that a few words can cause a devastating amount of trouble. However the cause of everything can be when someone hears and idea or prophecy they believe and want to make it come true by any