Who Was Responsible For Macbeth's Downfall

Macbeth was dealing with extreme feelings of unease and guilt even before he committed the murder. For example, in the play it states “And, on thy blade and dudgeon, gouts of blood,/Which was not so before. There’s no such thing./It is thy bloody business which informs/ Thus to mine eyes.” Macbeth is so overcome with guilt at the simple thought of having to kill King Duncan that he hallucinates a bloody dagger. Interestingly, Macbeth seems to actually calm down after killing Duncan.

Macbeth's guilt and paranoia following the murder of King Duncan lead him to see apparitions and hallucinations, which he interprets as omens of his impending downfall. Rather than confronting his guilt and confessing to his crimes, Macbeth attempts to bury his past and dismisses his conscience as a sign of weakness. He becomes increasingly ruthless and paranoid, ordering the murder of innocent people, furthermore, he orders the murder of Banquo and his son, Fleance, and later orders the massacre of Macduff's family in an attempt to eliminate anyone who may pose a threat to his reign. Macbeth believes that by burying the past and eliminating his enemies, he can secure his position as king and ensure his legacy. Macbeth's attempts to control his conscience and bury his past only serve to exacerbate his guilt and paranoia, ultimately leading to his

Who Was Responsible For Macbeth’s Downfall? In "Macbeth," there are a few characters who share responsibility for the tragedy that happens. Though, Macbeth himself takes the most responsibility for his actions, as his own actions lead to his own downfall. “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself and falls on th' other.”

Macbeth’s conscience tells him again to resist temptation to gain the crown and not kill Duncan because he is a man Macbeth should defend and protect. Even after this nudge towards moral correctness, Macbeth kills Duncan. He begins to feel intense guilt about his decision, and lives in fear of

In the beginning of the book Lady Macbeth has attacked his masculinity to manipulate him into killing Duncan so he could be king. She has shaped his mind into killing anyone that gets in the way of him becoming king. Which has resulted in almost everyone betraying Macbeth and creates a domino effect resulting in actions that Macbeth would have never done if he still had his old morals, which were taken away by Lady Macbeth. As can be seen, Macbeth’s desire and selfishness to have power and become king has resulted in betrayal in himself and other

Macbeth was not thinking about the future when he killed King Duncan. In the end, Macbeth meets the witches again and receives another prophecy. He doesn’t give a thought to a deeper meaning behind these prophecies. “The power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth” (Shakespeare 4. 1. 87). When Macbeth hears the third

Macbeth’s Downfall Throughout the play, Macbeth was able to conquer warriors all the way from the east to the west, but the one warrior he could not conquer was himself. William Shakespeare wrote Macbeth- a tragic play about the fatal flaws of the main character, Macbeth, and how they caused him to shift from a renowned hero to a tyrannic traitor. Macbeth faced a multitude of forces, but his own ambition is the strongest force that was the most responsible for both his success and his eventual downfall.

Like all of Shakespeare’s other plays, “Macbeth’s” protagonist Macbeth is incredibly successful but suffers from one fatal flaw, his great ambition. His ambition will be the cause of his great success but ultimately also of his downfall. The man’s ambition drives him to seize every opportunity to promote his own agenda. His ambition hurts him the most when he decides to kill King Duncan and Macduff.

but Lady Macbeth kept insisting on him not being crowned king but instead taking the throne. He could have just accepted his prophecy and waited his turn but chose to make certain he would be king even if it wasn't his time he killed to make his prophecy true it wasn’t gifted to him he took it. Lady Macbeth also said,”"Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem / To have thee crown'd withal". Lady Macbeth thinks that fate won't make him king; she believes the only way he could be king is to murder Duncan

Many people have the ability to choose between different courses of action throughout their life. Along with everyone else, Macbeth had the same opportunity to make choices out of free will rather than letting fate carve a path for him. In Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, Macbeth is aware of his fate due to the prophecies of the three witches, but he rather take matters into his own hands to challenge his fate. After Macbeth recognizes his urge to become king he kills Duncan with the help of his wife, Lady Macduff. After killing Duncan, Macbeth has a guilty conscience that is taking over him.

At the start of the play, Macbeth visits the witches with Banquo at the closing of the battle. The witches speak to Macbeth and Banquo and get the idea of a prophecy in Macbeth’s mind. “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” (1.3.46-48). When the witches get the prophecy in Macbeth’s mind, he believes it will come true and misunderstands the prophecy of the witches. Although the witches make Macbeth believe in the prophecy of becoming the King, Macbeth is responsible for his downfall because they do not recommend Macbeth to kill Duncan.

Before committing to the conspiracy, Macbeth deliberates the implications of his decision: “I dare do all that may become a man. Who dares do more is none” (1.7.51-52). As Macbeth debates, he states that all people make mistakes, and all the occurrences so far fit his nature. However, he realizes that going further to usurp the throne would defy nature and dehumanize him. This act fills him with the cruelty and heartlessness that Lady Macbeth seeks, leading to his death.

Throughout the story, especially in the beginning, Lady Macbeth was constantly pushing Macbeth to do terrible stuff in order to fulfill the prophecy and for Macbeth to be king, this is evident in this quote from Lady Macbeth “Wouldst thou have that Which thou esteem’st the ornament of life, And live a coward in thine own esteem, Letting I dare not wait upon I would.” Lady Macbeth is calling Macbeth a coward for not doing what he needs to do in order to get what he wants, which is being king. Macbeth’s blind obedience eventually leads to him agreeing to kill King Duncan even though he was fine with staying in the position he was in. Macbeth knows what he does is wrong and he is plagued by guilt in the beginning but slowly throughout the story his morals become corrupted and he no longer feels much guilt even after killing Macduff’s family.

However, when she begins to tell Macbeth her ideas he attempts to be steadfast in his loyalty to King Duncan. Macbeth states that “We will proceed no further in this business:/he hath honoured me of late;” (1.7.507-508). Macbeth’s only issue with murdering King Duncan is that he just got honored by him and that would be rude. Again it does not take much time for Macbeth’s ambition to take control due to his wife stating how much more of a man he could be if he just went through with it. Despite these influences Macbeth is in control of his own actions.

To what extent does Shakespeare present Macbeth as the reason behind Macbeth’s downfall? It is clear that Macbeth is responsible for his own actions which ultimately led to his downfall; mentally and in society. His mild intentions strongly encouraged by Lady Macbeth led to inevitable consequences which one may find difficult to bare and forget. His wife, Lady Macbeth was a courageous, fearless woman willing to do what necessary to fulfill her burning ambition, even if it means manipulating ones close to do what she desires.