Downfall of Macbeth Essay

The tragedy of Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, follows the f t emerge ensemble of Macbeth from a man in a position of power with a contented life, to a man with zero but m knocked out(p)h honor and a corrupted soul. In this essay, I wish to show to what consequence Macbeths tragedy was his own fault. The downf in all of Macbeth begins early on in the play when he and Banquo (a swearing Scottish noble) meet the witches. The witches waylay Macbeth and Banquo whilst they were on their way to meet Duncan, King of Scotland. They decide to listen to the witches, out of sheer curiosity.The three witches greet Macbeth as Thane of Glamis, the title he already holds, and begin to enjoin the cardinal nobles of things to come, and prophesies that Macbeth leave behind reach Thane of Cawdor, and the King of Scotland. Macbeth asks how they know of his current title, and laughs at the following two prophesies. The witches ignore his questions, and tell Banquo of how he will not be king, but his sons will be kings. Instead of just ignoring the witches, the educational activity of his current title intrigues Macbeth and he follows the witches to try and impart them to tell him more than.Stay you imperfect speakers, tell me more says Macbeth, showing that he is indeed interested in what the witches have to say. The witches disappear, and Macbeth dismisses them, and he and Banquo ride off. The witches appearance, and Macbeth becoming intrigued whitethorn amount to his downfall, but I believe that they were besides the helping hand for Macbeth whos own anaemic will and other events where the catalyst for his eventual death. At this point, Macbeth is unflurried a highly respected man, and is somewhat to get more respect from Duncan, for defending Scotland from the invading forces of Norway.The messengers who tell Duncan of Macbeths deeds portray him as a man of great courage, who showed no fear in the battles. Duncan sends a messenger to tell Macbeth of his punish fo r his great deeds. Two messengers to greet Macbeth with the news of Duncans reward he is to be made Thane of Cawdor. wherefore do you dress me in borrowed robes? asks the startled Macbeth, as the messengers begin to explain how the last Thane of Cawdor was helping the Norwegians invade. Aside, he says, Two truths are told, as happy prologues to the swelling act obviously relating to the first two prophecies the witches made.He now asks Banquo, aside, whether or not he believes the witches now that Macbeths second prophecy has come true. Banquo says he is wary and that he really doesnt want anything to do with these witches, but he will merely sit back and let the prophecies run their course. Macbeth seemingly decides to follow Banquos idea, and machinates an agreement with himself If chance will have me king, why, chances may crown me, without my kindle. Macbeth decides to write to his wife and tell her of his new title, a fatal mistake in my opinion, since his wife reacts to t he letter in a totally unexpected way.All of a sudden, doll Macbeth decides to take on a push to get her husband to make the effort to fulfil the third gear prophecy. Meanwhile, Duncan names his son as the next king, and Macbeth becomes bitter, and looks towards the prophecies for his next move That is a step on which I must fall down, or else oerleap Clearly Macbeth has decided that he will now stir, and make some move to become king. Back with Lady Macbeth at Macbeths editle, she is reading Macbeths letter. She reads about his new title, and the mentions of the witches prophecies.Lady Macbeth first starts off by thinking about how she can get her husband to become a king, and concludes that shell have to make some effort to get her husband to do whatever it takes to get him to be king. A messenger, who brings news that Duncan wishes to stay at Macbeths castle, interrupts her thoughts. Lady Macbeth decides, nigh instantly, that she will persuade her husband to kill Duncan so h e can become king. Whilst in the kernel of her thoughts, Macbeth returns home. They talk, and Lady Macbeth brings up the subject of getting rid of Duncan so he can be king.Macbeth appears take aback although was secretly thinking the same thing, and tries to dismiss the idea. Underneath, however, he wants to go along with the idea so he can become king. His underlying motives become clear when he decides that he will do the sinfulness thing, and is going to kill Duncan. We will speak further, he says, making his intentions apparent to the audience. Although unsure, he will not totally dismiss the idea, and is even considering it.Lady Macbeth now knows that she has him within her grasp, nd she will now make sure that she wins him completely over. In my opinion, not making his mind up creates a chance for Lady Macbeth. She sees this uncertainty and later exploits his unwillingness to make decisions. A short while later, Duncan arrives, accompanied by all of his Thanes. They all fea st, and drink to the success of the battle against Norway. As the night wears on, Macbeth has to time to contemplate the consequences of killing Duncan. Macbeth makes the deterrent example decision not to proceed saying We will proceed no further in this business.He (Duncan) hath honoured me of late, and I have bought golden opinions from all sorts of people, which would be worn now in the newest gloss, not cast aside so soon. Macbeth attempts to give excuse for not proceeding, but fails to give any strait-laced reasons for it. The only advantage he sees for not killing Duncan is that he respects him, and by killing him it would be disrespecting him. I believe that this is not a valid reason for committing murder, and shows Macbeths underlying ambition to become king. By putting forward pithy excuses Macbeth makes his ambition very clear to the reader.Lady Macbeth is not swayed by his pathetic excuses, and she knows that secretly, Macbeth wants the same things she does. In an atte mpt to convince Macbeth to continue with the plan, she first insults his manhood When you durst do it, you were a man And to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the manand accuses him of being yellow for not sticking to the plan. She then attacks his ego further by saying From this time such I account thy love and accuses him of not loving her. For Macbeth, this is the final straw, and he gives in.Lady Macbeth plans the murder. When Macbeth goes to murder Duncan, he still doubts himself, and even starts seeing things as he approaches Duncans room. Upon committing the murder, Macbeth finds himself in a state. Lady Macbeth attempts to clean him up, and make him appear well, but now Macbeth has lost all control. This murder of Duncan leads to the destruction of Macbeth. Aware of any viable opposition, Macbeth begins spying and murdering people. There are also psychological problems that Macbeth has which lead to his destruction.This is shown by his brief madness af terwards Banquos murder when he sees Banquos ghost. The tragedy ends when Macbeth is slain by Macduff who, with many others, find out about what horrific things Macbeth has done. Macbeth begins to get paranoid about Banquo, and feels that he should be killed so as to inhabit him from being exposed. So is he mine and in such bloody distance that every bite of his being thrusts against my nearest life Macbeth says, aware that the only way to truly silence Banquo is to have him killed.At the banquet scene, Macbeth sees Banquos ghost, showing that he has indeed gone mad. Even in insanity, he feels guilty. Avaunt, and arrest my sight Let the earth hide thee he says, his conscience acting on him and showing his sorrow. Macbeth has in the long run gone mad, and it was all due to his ambition and want to be king. He goes on to become unaccompanied evil, as he visits the witches again and again, seeking solace for his crimes, and answers to his impending doom. He begins to stop savor remorse and guilt for his actions, and eventually becomes a cruel, twisted man.His wife falls ill, and he shows no compassion towards her, kind of saying everything would be better once she is dead. This is near the end of the play and where Macbeth slowly returns from his evil side, feeling remorse for his actions finally. When the English army and Macduff advance on his castle he becomes the courageous Macbeth once again, and when he finally comes to fight Macduff, he is back to the brave and bold Macbeth at the start of the play. With his wife dead, he feels more able to do what he wants.The main people to blame for Macbeths tragedy were his wife, and Macbeth himself, and this is shown all the way through the play (Lady Macbeth willing him to murder, Macbeth being easily convinced etc) there some poor circumstances that contributed to Macbeths downfall, such as Duncan making his son king instead of Macbeth, and Duncan putting his effrontery in Macbeth by coming to his castle, but none were as major a cause as Macbeths personality fault and his manipulative wife.To conclude, the blame for Macbeths tragedy should be placed on his head and his wifes, due to his personality defect (ambition and a weak will) and her persuasiveness (pushing him to fulfil his ambition). The cabal of these two defects and Duncan staying at Macbeths castle caused the entire play and tragedy to unfold.