Preview

Macbeth Essay How are the witches, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth held responsible for the tragic events in the play? Macbeth written by William Shakespeare

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1350 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Macbeth Essay How are the witches, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth held responsible for the tragic events in the play? Macbeth written by William Shakespeare
The tragedy Macbeth written by Shakespeare shows a man fall from the greatest pedestal, kingship. It is one of the greatest tragedies because it demonstrates how a once loyal and courageous man can diminish into an immoral 'butcher'. Macbeth receives a prophecy from three witches' stating that he would become King. This prophecy enkindled Macbeth's 'vaulting ambition' and after the prompting of Lady Macbeth, Macbeth commits regicide. Killing the King is the beginning of Macbeth's tragic fall. After Macbeth rises to kingship he begins to behave like a tyrant because he becomes obsessed with his elevated position. He becomes paranoid about Banquo's prophecy so he kills Banquo and tries to kill his son. He commits evil after evil, killing anyone who threatens his reign. Macbeth's monstrous behaviour ends with his death and the restoration of Duncan's royal line. In Macbeth there are many tragic events that are caused because of the involvement of the witches, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. These tragic events led to the demise of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.

The witches are the first to appear in Macbeth and this signifies their importance in the tragic events of the play. Their first appearance straight away categorises the witches as evil as their riddles show that they want to stir up trouble. 'Fair is foul, and foul is fair' (act1, scene1). The witches add an element of supernatural and prophecy to the play. Without the witches the prophecy which was the beginning of the tragic events would not have occurred. The evil portrayal of the weird witches in Macbeth was because of King James's views and interests in witches and the supernatural. James believed that witches were evil and there purpose was to kill the King. This certainly had an influence in Macbeth as the witches are partly responsible for the regicide of Duncan. The witches used Macbeth's tragic flaw to create something of their own doing. They prophecised that Macbeth would become King and this sparked up his

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The story of Macbeth, an inherently good man who is slowly poisoned by the evil acts he commits to further his ambition, is a classic Shakespearean tragedy. Macbeth is first seen as a loyal, brave man, but as the play progresses, he begins to be overtaken by his darker side, partly due to the encouragement of his wife, Lady Macbeth. As Macbeth rises to power and gains the title of King of Scotland, both he and his wife become increasingly unhappy and feel extreme guilt for the murders they have taken part in. The play culminates with both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth dying, showing that evil actions have their consequences. However, though both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth were responsible for evil in the play, the witches (who told Macbeth that he would be king one day) were the ones who initially planted the seed of ambition and violence inside Macbeth. The witches are most responsible for the evil in Macbeth due to the fact that Macbeth would not have committed the murders if the prophecy had not been told.…

    • 1412 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, is one of the greatest Shakespearean tragedies written in the 18th century, a drama full of murder and revenge. By these mysterious prophecies of the three mystical witches, Macbeth is prompted to kill his dear ruler, and friend, Duncan, in order to seize the throne. This leads to ghosts, hallucinations, more murders, and other unnatural events, eventually resulting in the downfall of Macbeth. Macbeth develops and changes greatly, from a loyal, trustworthy person to a corrupted and murderous man throughout the course of the play. Many factors affected the shaping of the character of Macbeth, including the witches’ prophecies and foil character, Banquo. This character…

    • 1625 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In the play Macbeth, Macbeth receives a prophecy from three witches that tell him that he will one day become king. Macbeth then sets out to make the prophecy a reality by committing regicide and taking the king’s life, then becoming king himself. After he becomes king, he begins to go mad with guilt and paranoia from what he has done, yet he still commits more murders in order to keep his throne. The country is thrown into chaos after the death of the king, and Macbeth does little to nothing to keep his country in order due to his own personal issues, which causes a rebellion, led…

    • 1362 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The prophecies that were given to Macbeth by the witches, Lady Macbeth's persuation and plans, and Macbeth's ambition, all contributed greatly to his degeneration of character. This also resulted in Macbeth's downfall, which was death. Lady Macbeth uses her husband's pride to manipulate him into killing a king to become a king. The consequences for both were not what they had planned. Macbeth show that he is a tragic hero when he kills King Duncan.…

    • 414 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The witches, also known as the weird sisters, in Tragedy of Macbeth had a major impact in Macbeth life. In the beginning of Act 1, Scene 1, they started to plan how they would encounter with Macbeth. When the witches meet Macbeth they shared to him his fate that showed him becoming the king. Macbeth started to believe what the witches showed and was telling him and formed his ambition, king of Scotland. All Macbeth needed to be king was…

    • 773 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Shakespearean tragedies are known for the downfall of a tragic hero. The protagonist in a play of this sort is affected by a flaw, which causes a tragic conclusion. Macbeth is the noble protagonist in the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare. His tragic flaw is mostly his ambition, which appears when the witches gave him the prophecy that he would one day be king. Due to this, it can be said that the witches are the reason for Macbeth’s fatal downfall. However, it can be inferred that Lady Macbeth is more responsible for various reasons. In the play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Lady Macbeth is to blame for his downfall because she is equally as greedy, she encourages him past his doubts, and she teaches him how to be evil.…

    • 738 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Greed In Macbeth

    • 696 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The play Macbeth is about a man who meets three witches who tell him about his future. He doesn’t really like what they tell him, so he kills people who get in his way of becoming King. His actions end up catching up with him which results in his death which was a tragedy. Lady Macbeth is responsible for the tragedy of Macbeth because she was convincing, manipulative, and greedy.…

    • 696 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Act I of The Tragedy of Macbeth written by William Shakespeare, King Duncan gets murdered. The characters in this play are trying to figure out who is to blame for his murder. There are a couple characters that could be blamed, Lady Macbeth, Macbeth, and the Witches. I feel that the witches are to blame.…

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare is about an ambitious general named Macbeth who meets three witches that tell him he will become Thane of Cawdor and eventually, king. He believes them after he is made the Thane of Cawdor by King Duncan. His ambition leads him to kill the king and several others for power. His paranoia and guilt causes him to go insane, which makes his men lose faith in him and Malcolm and Macduff to fight against him. This leads to Macbeth’s bloody death. All of the events in the play were Macbeth’s fault. If Macbeth had not let ambition rule his decisions, the deaths would have never occurred.…

    • 514 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth Essay

    • 643 Words
    • 3 Pages

    * The witches and their predication play a significant role in Macbeth’s downfall. Throughout the play, the witches causing someone to believe a un truth and fooling Macbeth by giving knowledge of the future, bringing out his inner desire for power and swaying him to take evil action.…

    • 643 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth was a noble and loyal man, who would never harm his King. If it wasn't for the influences of the witches and his wife, Lady Macbeth, he would have lived happily as Thane of Cawdor, an honorable title in itself. The downfall of Macbeth was ignited by the actions by those around him, mainly, and eventually, his ambitions took over. Macbeth never had the intention of killing his king, but was ultimately persuaded that it was the correct thing to do. With his wife’s cajoling, and the three witches’ foretelling of his future Macbeth, will stop at nothing to gain position as King of Scotland.…

    • 737 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many would not murder people they honor or love. Macbeth is one of William Shakespeare’s most popular tragedies that includes horrendous acts just like this. It tells the story of a Scottish general, Macbeth, who is on the hunt to become king. His character changes slowly throughout the entire play. Macbeth goes from being a courageous warrior and role model, to a regretful killer, to a murderer who will kill anyone who gets in his way of becoming king. In the end, his greed and selfishness prove to be his undoing and lead to his eventual death.…

    • 610 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Truth In Macbeth

    • 725 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Macbeth is a play that follows Macbeth, a Scottish general, who encounters three witches who predict that he will become Thane of Cawdor then later King. Later, Macbeth receives news that he will be named the new Thane of Cawdor - this leads him to believe that the witches were telling the truth and that he could potentially become king. Macbeth tells his wife everything and she happens to desire kingship for Macbeth so convinces him to murder King Duncan. While King Duncan is asleep, Macbeth stabs him and later, is crowned king. Despite gaining the throne, he loses sanity,honour and becomes responsible for the death of many (mainly those who threatened his position on throne).…

    • 725 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    William Shakespeare wrote a tragedy of a man's ambition. In the text, Macbeth is described as a man who has ambitions of becoming king. After the first part of the prophecy by the witches whom he has met returning from battle comes true, he begins to think the second part may also come true. The witches have predicted that Macbeth would first become Thane of Cawdor and then king of Scotland. Encouraged by his wife, Lady Macbeth, he murders King Duncan who stays as a guest in his castle. Macbeth then becomes king of Scotland.…

    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Macbeth Essay

    • 1070 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Due to the witches, Macbeth ends his life as a tyrant. However, at the start of the play, he was known and respected by many, even, “The King happily received Macbeth” (Shakespeare 10). The base of Macbeth becoming the epitome of a tyrant lies in the witches’ first meeting with Macbeth. Their deceitful prediction that Macbeth “shalt be King hereafter,” sends his weak character into a rapid fatal decline (Shakespeare 14). At first, he thinks the idea of becoming king, “stands not within the prospect of belief,” but soon after, he begins thinking evil thoughts about murdering King Duncan, so he can replace him as King of Scotland (Shakespeare 19). After the murder of Duncan, Macbeth still does not feel his crown is safe, due to another prophecy from the witches. Macbeth fears still, above all else, his good friend Banquo, because the witches, “hailed him father to a line of kings; yet upon [Macbeths] head they placed a fruitless…

    • 1070 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays

Related Topics