Preview

The Most Responsible For The Downfall Of Macbeth

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1350 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Most Responsible For The Downfall Of Macbeth
Macbeth’s Downfall
Thomas Babington Macaulay states that “The measure of a man’s real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.” In the tragic play, Macbeth is written by William Shakespeare. The main character Macbeth is a man who is an acceptable man, but lets many things get in the way of his good character. As we know a Shakespearean tragedy offers a tragic hero who almost always meets his downfall because of an error or a weakness in his character. Throughout the play we read as he developed as a person and his choices eventually meant the difference between life and death. Macbeth lets Lady Macbeth, witches and identity permanence play a role in his choices that he makes along with class, gender and society.
…show more content…
The audience is often let in on those through his soliloquies. Even though he is portrayed as a fearless warrior in battle he is shaken by the three witches prophecies and has a very obscured way of thinking throughout the story. Duncan makes the decision to hand his kingdom down to his son Malcolm, upsetting the righteous Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Society played an important aspect after Duncan made the decision of who would inherit the throne. Before there was no reason or ambition for the throne, everyone had thought things were well and right. Everything had its rules and as well as principles. After it was announced, Macbeth was stunned, he felt greed and jealousy consume him. Even today we are able to watch leaders feel pressured from the never ending desire to have more. The witches predictions sit in the back of his mind and he writes their prophecy to his wife. He starts out with thinking that fate will take its place but his wife, Lady Macbeth, thinks different. He knows in his mind that murder goes against his morals and his conscience is obviously disturbed by his wives demands. My personal impression of Macbeth quickly …show more content…
We start to see more of a dramatic change in character. The Macbeth that was once strong in his morals and afraid to murder Duncan has now developed a deadly confidence in himself and his capabilities. He proves his insecurity, becoming a paranoid ruler by keeping spies in the home. He further shows his insecurities by planning to undo the prophecy by murdering Banquo and Fleance. Thus, keeping his descendants from getting the throne. He gets to a point where he is so manipulative that he convinces the murderers that it was all Banquo’s fault. He takes the liberty of hiding all of this from Lady Macbeth. This was a turning point for him as it cut off the closeness of their marriage and she no longer knew what was entirely going on. He even takes his chances testing fate, as we might say, pushing his

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Have you ever read a book that throughout it the character reaches a new low? In Macbeth, Macbeth starts out to be a brave hero that is very trustworthy and that everyone speaks highly of .Unfortunately, by the end of the play he becomes a gruesome murderer and an unpleasant human being. He becomes like that because of his wife, Lady Macbeth. Throughout the play she manipulates, degrades, and picks him apart. In Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Lady Macbeth is responsible for Macbeth’s downfall.…

    • 195 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Macbeth is influenced by the witches through their prophecy, and Lady Macbeth through her knowledge of their relationship and her cunning, however Macbeth is responsible for making the decision. Making this decision, Macbeth and the process he went through gives a glimpse into what it’s like make a decision that goes against human nature as a whole. It reveals how many take part in the decision making process, and try to sway the decision maker’s verdict. The decision maker decides and has to live with the verdict and it’s possible repercussions.…

    • 91 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    As Macbeth transitions into power, the mood of the story transitions from a content state to a state of horror due to Macbeth’s killing sprees that are motivated by none other than, greed and power. When he is planning to kill King Duncan, Macbeth is overwhelmed with worry and almost abandons the plan, but it takes Lady Macbeth to convince him to go through with it. After the murder, however, Macbeth’s loyal personality deteriorates and he blames the murder on the servants because he does not want to ruin his reputation and be dethroned from being king. Following King Duncan's death, Macbeth lets his power go to his head and no longer wants Lady Macbeth to convince him to murder someone because, he just does it out of ambition to continue…

    • 186 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    After a decisive victory for our anti-hero and company, the three “weird sister” witches tell Macbeth that his destiny is to rule the kingdom, stroking his blossoming ambition to a fever pitch. Also present is Banquo, whose sons, the witches say, will inherit the crown. Lady Macbeth hears the news, and pressures her husband into murdering King Duncan in his sleep. The rest of the film revolves around the new king’s descent into violent madness, his unstoppable fear of usurpers, and the regret…

    • 427 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Mac Beth Essay

    • 666 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The condemnation first starts when the witches tell Macbeth and Banquo the future that one of them will be king. Macbeth is instantly thrilled about the news, yet Banquo is wary of their fate that was foretold. Once the witches leave Banquo says, “The instruments of darkness tell us truths, win us with honest trifles, to betray in deepest consequence”. Macbeth disregards the warning and advances home. Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth of his newly appointed position. Lady Macbeth quickly devises a retched plan to murder the king so Macbeth can seize power. Lady shoots poisonous arrows into Macbeth’s thoughts, yet Macbeth gleans to not disturb the arrows. Macbeth murders his first victim for the throne of Cawdor. He then continues to kill the two watch guards so that their screams of deceit cannot be heard by the ears of justice. The people of Cawdor are now leery of Macbeth’s actions, but since he is appointed king they follow in fear of his rule. Banquo knows in his mind the Macbeth is to not be trusted and he leaves the scene very quickly. The king’s sons also leave along with MacDuff before they are next to receive the kiss of death.…

    • 666 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    After being crowned king a friend of his Banquo becomes suspicious of Macbeth and suspects that he is the one who killed Duncan in order to become king. Once Macbeth begins to learn about it, he becomes scared that Banquo might tell someone. So he orders 3 murders to go kill Banquo and his son Fleeance who in the prophecy is to become king after…

    • 706 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Throughout time, man has always sought for the right to be in control. In Macbeth, the fight for control is blatantly evident through Shakespeare’s prestige usage of literary elements such as metaphors, similes, and personification. Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s more popular playwrights as it contemplates the repercussions of decisions that are inevitably detrimental and the threat of knowing the future in advance.…

    • 63 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth shares information as important as becoming king with his wife, which one can assume he most likely would not have done if he believed the Weїrd Sisters to be telling lies. Even though Macbeth accepts what the witches have told him as truth, he still struggles with his free will and means of fulfilling the prophecy. When speaking with Lady Macbeth, he rejects her plan to kill King Duncan, the reigning King, and tells her that they will, “proceed no further in this business”(1.7.34). Macbeth begins this scene by having new information about his future proposed to him, and questioning how, and if, it is to come to be. By the end of the scene, he has accepted the inevitable outcome, yet still holds on to the means by which it is to happen.…

    • 892 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The people of the Elizabethan times believed in witchcraft. Infact, King James 1 was the author of many books on the topic witchcraft. In this period of time, they saw people who fell under the spell of witches with an evil persona. Macbeth is considered evil, as he was allowed to be taken control by the witches. Some might remark that witches deceptive and vague prophecies made it good reasons to easily brainwash Macbeth. They might even say these prophecies would intrigue and eventually command anyone. However, on the other hand Banquo simply ignores the prophecy given by the supernatural supernatural. We can see from the beginning Banquo doesn’t trust the witches. “But’tis strange, And oftentimes, to win us to our harm, the instruments of darkness tell us truths; win is with honest trifles, to betray’s n deepest consequence”. Unlike Macbeth, Banquo is processing the whole picture. He understands that the witches might betray them and only lead to their own destruction. It is Macbeth’s fault he trusted and depended on witches who are often associated with words like evil, deceptive, and supernatural. After confronting with the witches, Macbeth is ambitious, where as Banquo doesn’t believe them despite the prophecy stating that his kids will become king. Even if Macbeth becomes were to become thane of Glamis, wouldn’t this position command enough power to satisfy his ambition? The fact is that Macbeth wants more. Actually, Macbeth is ambitious even without the witches. After he found out he was destined to become king, he didn’t let anyone stop him from becoming king. The witches had never told Macbeth to kill Duncan. Although we can’t deny the fact that the witches suggest him these vague visions, but it is Macbeth who interoperates them the way he wants to.…

    • 834 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    After Macbeth kills King Duncan he starts becoming and feeling more guilty, paranoid and even more greedy to keep his kinship and power. Immediately after killing Duncan,…

    • 1876 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Macbeth Banquo's Murder

    • 1795 Words
    • 8 Pages

    In this third stage, Macbeth is driven by power and getting more nervous by the second, and vows to kill as much as necessary to keep the throne saftly. After Banquo's kill, Lady Macbeth starts having second thoughts and begins to RECEDE from center stage and Macbeth takes her place as the most COMPELLING character in the play. Macbeth's newly confident ambition and lack of sympathy is shown in his conversation with Lennox about the troublesome night of Banquo's murder. In this conversation, Lennox is upset and talks about Banquo's death and the BAD weather of the previous night, to which Macbeth can say nothing but, yes, " Twas a rough night" (act 2. Sc. 3. Ln. 57) . Because of Macbeths newfound confidence, he fails to notice right away that MacDuff is casting suspician on him. Then later, at the banquet, which ends up being the beginning of his DOWNFALL- Macbeth finds that Banquo has been killed, he sees his ghost sitting at the table, showing that his paranoia has been taken to a new level; hallucinations. At this point, he starts to backtrack and get nervous, admitting that he may have to kill more to keep the throne.Macbeth realizes that he can no longer go back, knowing that he is "in blood, stepped in so far that, (he) should wade no more" (Act 3. Sc. 4 Ln 135-136). Macbeths confidence is boosted once again when the witches tell him that no man born of a woman can harm him.…

    • 1795 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth's Downfall

    • 1024 Words
    • 5 Pages

    A guilty conscience can make anyone go mad it they let it. William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is an ideal example of this. Macbeth, a noble of Scotland, lets his ambitions to be great and powerful get the best of him. His vaulting ambition makes him do terrible acts of violence continuously. The guilty conscience he holds on his back eventually becomes too heavy ultimately driving him insane. Greed and guilt cause the madness of this protagonist thus causing his downfall, not only as a King but also his life he strived so hard to make better.…

    • 1024 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth's Tragic Flaw

    • 1018 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Macbeth is introduced to the audience as a noble general and thane with quite a bit of power. This can lead one to believe that he is proud of his position and his authority over others. It is this pride that sparks the ambition and desires locked within him. His greatest ambition is to be king, although that would mean Duncan must die. ‘If Chance will have me king, why, Chance may crown me/ Without my stir (I.iii.143-144). In this quote, Macbeth openly states how he is willing to seize the crown should he ever get the opportunity. This changes how he feels towards Duncan and the natural order of things, instead, he is scheming against it. Macbeth is very certain of his ‘fate’ to become king in the letter he wrote to his wife. ‘[…] and referred me to the coming-on of time with ‘Hail, King that shalt be!’ This have I thought good to deliver thee […] that thou might’st not lose the dues of rejoicing, by being ignorant of what greatness is promised thee (I.v.8-13). He openly promises Lady Macbeth that she will be Queen soon without any concrete evidence. This shows how he is convinced by the witches’ prophecy that he will succeed Duncan as King. Furthermore, Macbeth’s status, power, and his achievements give him much to be proud of, as hard as he tries to hide it. One can see that he cannot help being proud.…

    • 1018 Words
    • 5 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

    In the tragedy Macbeth, William Shakespeare explores the theme of loss through protagonist Macbeth. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is a hero of noble stature whose fortunes are reversed as a result of weakness. He becomes overwhelmed by his tragic flaw of vaulting ambition and his own actions lead to his very nemesis. Macbeth loses his conscience after murdering King Duncan, sold his soul to the devil and loses his life to his acts of evil that doomed him. By the end of the play, Macbeth loses all his humanity and transforms into a ‘ruthless’, bloody ‘butcher’ who has changed drastically from the “noble” and “valiant” warrior he once was because he loses his human characteristics of conscience and remorse.…

    • 790 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays