Preview

Macbeth: Characteristics of Macbeth That Led to His Downfall

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
455 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Macbeth: Characteristics of Macbeth That Led to His Downfall
Macbeth: Characteristics of Macbeth That Led to His Downfall

Rickford Foo

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow..." Sometimes tomorrow never comes and as for Macbeth, tomorrow meant another day of inner torment and guilt. This victorious Thane literally got the better of himself as soon as he started to believe in the witches. After the prophesies, Macbeth's popularity seems to take a turn for the worst as well as his mental state. Even though the witches did tempt him with the idea of becoming king, and Lady Macbeth helped him with his natural hesitation of committing murder, Macbeth chose the crown over is honor. Moreover, I believe that Macbeth caused his own downfall. There were people like the witches and his wife who influenced him, but it was his choice to choose over salvation of the next world and material gain of this one.
Ambition is always good...to an extent. An overambitious person, Macbeth is too intrigued by the witches' prediction that he ignores all of the years of loyalty and ethics to his king for his own selfishness. And in the end, apparently,
Macbeth's ambition is stronger than his conscience. In addition, Macbeth's ambition caused him to do desperate things.
Desperation. in my opinion, dug Macbeth's own grave. When the subject of
Macduff arrives, I don't think that he would have been so bitter towards Macbeth if he hadn't killed his wife and children. Killing Macduff's family gains nothing for Macbeth and tries to get at Macduff indirectly. This act of desperation and spitefulness gives a good reason to now fear Macduff. Also, as Macbeth took the throne, he really didn't trust anyone except his wife, Lady Macbeth. Paranoid, due to King Duncan's murder, Macbeth let's his delusional state of mind get to him. Therefore, from his original guilt of murder causes Macbeth to become paranoid and kill some more. Killing Macduff's family was definitely an act of desperation. He also plants spies showing again
how

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    John Proctor, and as well knowing that witchcraft has taken place in his home. Due to that…

    • 115 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Macbeth is one of the greatest plays and most valuable lessons there is for the people who are overly ambitious. Macbeth’s downfall was all because of weakness, he didn’t believe in himself and he did not realize that he did not have to submit to his wife to be considered a man. Phony prophecies, overly ambitious wife, weak mind, insecurities and overall half of the ambition on his part was unwanted lead to all the atrocious acts done in the play. His wife was quite the manipulator and got him to do just about anything, many would say it is her fault for his downfall, although it may not be entirely her fault or the witches because somewhere deep inside of him he already had the burning sensation to be powerful, she played a big role in his…

    • 176 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    This impressed the King, and Duncan saw Macbeth as a brave and strong man, but Macbeth proved Duncan wrong when he allowed his wife to manipulate him into killing Duncan. Macbeths ambition and weakness are what caused the death of the king, he was ambitious enough want to become the next king of Scotland, but he’s weakness lets him give into to his wife’s evil wishes. Lady Macbeth suggests to her husband that they kill Duncan so Macbeth becomes the king, at first Macbeth doesn’t agree with his wife, he is happy to let things take its course.…

    • 602 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Downfall of Macbeth

    • 640 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In Macbeth, it is arguable which of three negative forces, be they internal or external, is the reason for Macbeth’s downfall (determined when Duncan is murdered). William Shakespeare, the author of this play, bids three disconfirming forces as follows: the evil Lady Macbeth, Macbeth’s own “vaulting ambition,” and the witches who are known as the “three Weird Sisters.” Superiorly, Lady Macbeth’s shrewd attitude toward becoming Queen of Scotland compels Macbeth to get to a point where he will do anything to own the title, King of Scotland.…

    • 640 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeths Downfall

    • 385 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In Williams Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macheth, Shakespeare writes about betray between friends and how one can go insane for power. Looking at Williams Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth, through the psychological lens where Macbeth goes insane by betrayal and power.…

    • 385 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    To be regarded as a great king involves many important factors such as being honorable, gracious, and fair. It is far more difficult to regard a king as being great than as being a failure. In Macbeth there are examples of great kings as well as failures as kings. Duncan is a fair and gracious king who is kind to all of his subjects, and Malcolm has the potential to be a great king through the way in which he fights to overthrow Macbeth. Macbeth, however, through his lack of noble qualities is another story. Through arrogance, actions, and cowardice versus bravery Macbeth emerges as the only true failure as a king.…

    • 1086 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    the prophecies of the witches, and Macbeths urge to become king have helped in his own…

    • 962 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A tragic hero “will arouse both pity and terror if he is neither thoroughly good nor thoroughly bad but a mixture of both” (Abrams 322). These types of characters have been around since the early days of literature. Greek philosopher, Aristotle, who shaped western psychology coined the term. The most well-known hero of tragedy is Sophocles' Oedipus, the mythical Greek King of Thebes. Oedipus fell right into his misfortune through a mistake and ended up unknowingly killing his father, and marrying his mother. This prominent character of literature, one of the first of his kind inspired the British playwright, William Shakespeare to create the ever so famous, yet remarkably infamous character, Macbeth. Through his actions, the brave, heroic man quickly turns into a murdering beast, taking the reader on a rollercoaster, evoking unparalleled emotion.…

    • 173 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    After Macbeth’s interaction with the witches, he was transfixed by what they had said to him. “You shall be king” (I.3.84). In his head he was already pondering how this prophecy would come to be. He wondered if the reign would simply fall to him or whether he would have to commit a “dark deed” in order to gain the crown. Macbeth’s immediate reaction to the prophecy emphasized his desire for power and prestige. That he was even considering conspiracy and murder to become king showed how fast his ambition was taking over his mind.…

    • 606 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth's Characteristics

    • 839 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In the film, the producers have used many different techniques to portray different characteristics of Macbeth. The scene where Macbeth kills King Duncan brings out Macbeth’s ambitious characteristics, but also shows how indecisive he is and how much he depends on Lady Macbeth. However, despite the fact that he kills the king, scenes such as the feast show that Macbeth does have a conscience with some good morals. Yet, Lady Macbeth is a constant thorn in his side that causes him to overcome his doubt in himself; unable to live by his conscience. The different ways that Macbeth is portrayed influence the audience in different ways as to his true nature, based on their varying beliefs. All of these characteristics lead me to believe that Macbeth is not a villain at heart.…

    • 839 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth and His Downfall

    • 1613 Words
    • 7 Pages

    People and decisions can greatly affect the outcome of a person's life determining whether the outcome will be successful or disastrous. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, there are two factors that contributed to Macbeth's ruin. One of them being more to blame: The influential character of Lady Macbeth displaying temptation towards Macbeth, or Macbeth's own ambitious and insecure nature. There are questions whether Macbeth's downfall might have displayed more for his own blame. In closer examination, it will be come apparent that Macbeth is more to blame for his downfall. By first examining the influential acts of Lady Macbeth that made Macbeth commit the murder to kill Duncan, and contrasting these with the ambitious and insecure nature of Macbeth's character that committed the murderous acts of Banquo and Macduff's family, it will become evident that Macbeth is more to blame.…

    • 1613 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In any literary tragedy, the protagonist always ends up in a bad situation through a series of unfortunate events. In the play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, the central character, Macbeth, is a good example of this. Macbeth has many forces behind him that lead him into events that eventually cause his downfall. The most important forces are supernatural influences, Lady Macbeth, and Macbeth himself.…

    • 929 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Family values over all

    • 874 Words
    • 4 Pages

    power hungry personality and his ambition. Lady macbeth pushes Macbeth to fulfill the prophecies that…

    • 874 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth: A Tragic Hero

    • 1447 Words
    • 6 Pages

    There is much debate to whether Macbeth is a villain or hero, but it truly is clear that Macbeth is a tragic hero based on that he has the fatal flaw of having too much ambition, he was doomed to make a serious error in judgment which was killing Duncan, and that he suffered greatly in order to accomplish what he believed was right. Macbeth’s flaw of his extreme ambition is demonstrated by how he kills Duncan, how he kills Banquo, and how he kills MacDuff’s family. He was doomed to make the serious judgment error that was killing Duncan, and he was condemned to do this because the witches prophesized it, his wife wanted him to, and he was unnaturally guided by a dagger to kill Duncan. Also he went through the death of his friends at his own hand and the death of his wife to achieve what he wanted to, and was willing to suffer for it.…

    • 1447 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald once said, “Show me a hero and I’ll write you a tragedy”. Decades apart, Fitzgerald did not know that he would be making a claim that William Shakespeare, the author of the play, Macbeth, had perfected before. According to Wayne C. Booth he would, “Take a good man, a noble man, a man admired by all who know him - and destroy him, not only physically and emotionally” (Booth 17). Shakespeare was shown a hero, Macbeth, and made his story into a tragedy resulting in Macbeth becoming a tragic hero. Macbeth is tragic hero because he has hamartia, hubris, and experiences peripeteia.…

    • 1319 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics