Macbeths Downfall In the beginning of the play Macbeth, Macbeth is a successful and noble Thane of Glamis. The witches tell Macbeth prophecies that guide him to his downfall, but in the end it was his own selfish decisions that caused his demise. The other person that is blamed for Macbeth’s destruction was his wife Lady Macbeth because she was able to manipulate and control his self-esteem by playing with his courage and bravery. However, Macbeth was only guided by his wife; he chose to play out his own outcome. Overall, Macbeth’s own ambitions, greed and self control were the main problems that caused his downfall. In the play these factors have some influence on Macbeth; however he is still responsible for his own destiny. The …show more content…
Lady Macbeth says to herself “Hie thee hither, that I may pour my spirits in thine ear and chastise with the valor of my tongue all that impedes thee from the golden round, which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem to have thee crowned withal” (1,V, 25-30). When Lady Macbeth gives the plan of killing the king to Macbeth at first he is afraid. Macbeth then decides for himself that he will kill the king by following his wife’s plan which leads to his downfall. Lady Macbeth is talking to Macbeth right after he has killed Duncan, when Macbeth forgot about planting the daggers so Lady Macbeth had to do it herself. Lady Macbeth says to Macbeth “Infirm of purpose! Give me the daggers. The sleeping and the dead are but as pictures. Tis the eye of childhood that fears a painted devil. If he do not bleed, I’ll gild the faces of the grooms withal, For it must seem their guilt” (2, II, 56-60). Even though Lady Macbeth helped Macbeth out in this situation, Macbeth is still at fault for the murder of Duncan which leads to his death. Lady Macbeth is talking to herself about how she needs to try to be more of a man because women aren’t allowed to do the things she does, but if she doesn’t help Macbeth, he won’t become king. Lady Macbeth says to herself “Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here and fill me from the crown to the top-full of direst cruelty!” (1,V, 40-43). Although Lady Macbeth made
This quote reveals that Lady Macbeth is an extremely ambitious and unscrupulous woman. However Macbeth contradicts to Lady Macbeth, as he is too kind by nature to complete what needs to be done even though he consists the ambition. Macbeth’s goodness does not allow him to act heinously and murder Duncan in order to seize the throne. As Lady Macbeth shows her anxiety towards Macbeth she also states ““That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top- full of direst cruelty”(1.5. 48-50). The quote shows Lady Macbeth’s no hesitation in murdering King Duncan. Her feelings contradict to Macbeth. Macbeth shows anxiety and extreme fear as he begins to feel mix feelings. The quote shows that Lady Macbeth’s ambition is strong to overcome her husband. Even after Lady Macbeth Duncan’s murder, Lady Macbeth states “ My hands are of your color, but I shame to wear a heart so white”(2.2, 82-83) while Macbeth was crying that he hears voices and states that he heard voices- “Methought I heard a voice cry “Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep”(2.2. 47-48). It is clear during the murder of Duncan that the two characters- Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have changed the ideal role between genders. Lady Macbeth contradicts to the expectation of women during the 11th century as she controls over her husband. She leads her husband who should have power over her to murder the loyal king of Scotland as well as
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a tragedy about a war hero named Macbeth, who follows his ambition with evil and who is repaid with evil. He is responsible for his own demise although only to a certain extent. There were many other factors that contributed to the tragic that could have been avoided - for example how the witches’ predictions are responsible for influencing Macbeth’s thoughts although ultimately no one told Macbeth to kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth was also a very influential character which manipulated Macbeth into doing bad deeds however he is responsible for putting power into the hands of Lady Macbeth and letting her influence him. Finally, Macbeth acknowledges his guilt of wrongdoing and is thereby responsible for his
Although Macbeth commits the murder, Lady Macbeth shows that she has just as many dark and corrupt thoughts as him. The one who comes up with the murder plan is Lady Macbeth, directly after she learns about the prophecy. After Macbeth informs her of the king’s overnight stay, Lady Macbeth’s first words are “O, never/ Shall sun that morrow see!” (1. 5. 67-68) as her plan to kill the king is already being put into motion. If Lady Macbeth had not made the plans Macbeth may not have gone through with the murder. Lady macbeth becomes a driving, manipulative force to Macbeth. She justifies why killing Duncan is good and shames him into committing horrible deeds. When Macbeth tries to refuse she says “When you durst do it, then you were a man;/ And, to be more than what you were, you would/ Be so much more the man.” (1. 7. 54-56), challenging his masculinity. In the end, Lady Macbeth isn't the only one who’s mind becomes corrupted, she drags Macbeth down with her. Finally, Lady Macbeth pretends that the guilt doesn’t really bother her, she simply tells her husband that he is weak. She tries hide her corruption through lies and by putting Macbeth down, but in the end she falters, realises her guilt and drives herself insane.
Macbeth is in fact more than a just a dagger in Lady Macbeths hand. In the beginning, Lady Macbeth does influence and plant the idea of murder into Macbeth’s head. She taunts him and plays on his manhood which forces him to commit the evil crime of murder to achieve his ambition to be king. However, as time progresses, Lady Macbeth begins to feel ashamed of the crime she had helped commit and Macbeth continues to commit the crimes by himself without shame and without telling his wife, Lady Macbeth. Though Lady Macbeth may have planted the idea of murder into Macbeth’s head, Lady Macbeth has intended to do no more harm and murder than what Macbeth had turned out to commit. In saying this, it was actually Macbeth who had set out his own plans of murder in the end and Lady Macbeth had nothing
In Shakespeare’s play ‘Macbeth’, Macbeth is seen to be the grounds of his own downfall. Macbeth’s actions bring upon his downfall, because it is he who eventually chose to kill Banquo and MacDuff’s family. These actions were due to his ambitious nature. Lady Macbeth is also to blame for her husband’s demise because she is the one who originally pushed Macbeth into killing Duncan; her actions cause Macbeth to eventually meet his own death. Lady Macbeth is not the only factor that cause Macbeth’s downfall. The three witches are also responsible because they heighten Macbeth’s confidence and put the idea that he cannot be killed by anything. Macbeth’s ambitious nature
In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the main character, Macbeth, is a brave and loyal subject to the King of Scotland, but as the play progresses, his character begins to change drastically. Evil and unnatural powers, as well as his own passion to become king, take over his better half and eventually lead to his downfall. The three main factors that intertwine with one another that contribute to Macbeth’s tragic end are the prophecies told by the three witches, Lady Macbeth’s influence, and finally, Macbeth’s excessive passion and ambition which drove his desire to become king to the utmost extreme. The prophecy told by the three witches was what triggers the other factors that contribute to Macbeth s downfall. In the first act, the witches
However, Lady Macbeth’s conscious shines through as she is not able to kill a poor vulnerable man who looks like her father. She is thrown off guard be her reaction to Duncan’s face. She does not expect to feel any remorse toward the old man but she does. After Macbeth kills Duncan, Lady Macbeth regains her cruel nature and quickly takes the dagger from him to frame the guards, “Give me the daggers. The sleeping and the dead/ Are but as pictures. ‘Tis the eye of childhood/ That fears a painted devil. If he do bleed, / I’ll gild the faces of the grooms withal, / For it must seem their guilt.”(68-72). Lady Macbeth shows no remorse or respect for the dead. Lady Macbeth cannot let her remorse control her because she knows that the only way to bring about the prophecy is to frame the guards. Lady Macbeth unsuccessfully attempts to block out the horrendous deeds she commits. The compassion Lady Macbeth shows for Duncan proves that the spirits did not remove her soul or kill her conscious, which will be her Achilles heel and lead to her death.
In William Shakespeare's Macbeth, the main character, Macbeth, is a brave and loyal subject to the King of Scotland, but as the play progresses, his character begins to change drastically. Evil and unnatural powers, as well as his own passion to become king, take over his better half and eventually lead to his downfall. The three main factors that intertwine with one another that contribute to Macbeth's tragic end are the prophecies told by the three witches, Lady Macbeth's influence, and finally, Macbeth's excessive passion and ambition which drove his desire to become king to the utmost extreme. The prophecy told by the three witches was what triggers the other factors that contribute to Macbeth s downfall. In the first act, the witches
Many may support the idea that Macbeth himself have brought his down fall; hence he is fully responsible for the consequences. Many opinions may agree that despite the persuasive language of Lady Macbeth and the temptation from the prophecies, Macbeth had the last word at the end of it all. Being the patriarch, Macbeth had to the official right to set boundaries in power distribution. Looking past Macbeth’s fears and weaknesses to stand up to his wife, he should have been cognizant of the devastating consequences that followed with his dishonourable actions. However after all he went along, trusting his ambition driven wife and joining the mad sinful plan, which was doomed to failure. How was he to rule Scotland, when he couldn’t keep his own wife under control? Not long after that, the
In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, a world filled with love and hate arises. The bonding and breaking of family along with trust is what really takes over the play. With the rise of Macbeth becoming king due to him executing the old with his wife’s help, brings a whole world before unseen to the viewer's eye. Due to greed, ambition, and peer pressure, Macbeth soon met with his fate.
In the play Macbeth, multiple drastic and dramatic events occurred that lead to the ultimate self-destruction of Macbeth himself. Following his death, not only did the kingdom become irrevocably corrupt, but the order was undoubtedly damaged. The trust between one and other was broken due to Macbeth's prior actions. In result of his death, a new king had to be appointed whom was Malcolm. The play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, portrays Malcolm as the new kind, who is given new challenges to bring the peace back.
The play Macbeth, written by Shakespeare in 1606, describes the heightened success and subsequent downfall of the main character, a tragic hero named Macbeth. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is a man who possesses nobility and charm, but he later becomes a vicious murderer who can not even acknowledge his own wrongdoings. By the end of the play, Macbeth is a completely different character who eventually experiences a demise caused solely from actions performed on his own free will. Overall, Macbeth's downfall can be blamed on his gullibility, ambition, and ignorance; all of which caused him to freely make poor decisions without thinking about consequences. A major component as to why Macbeth’s downfall occurred is because of
Many of people have heard the tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare. The story revolves on a sequence of misfortunate events that take place when Macbeth makes immoral decisions to be king. In the play, Shakespeare shows how power can cause corruption in a human’s brain. Macbeth himself was not a very confident person, though he had a kind soul to begin with, he was easily influenced and gullible. Through the prophecies of the evil beings, an insignificant seed was planted in Macbeth. That spark of wealth and fortune caused the tyrant within him to awake. Which eventually lead to his fatal death. His ambition lead him to murder, go insane and become very superstitious.
Shakespeare wrote a play name, Macbeth. It was a Tragedy Macbeth was the main character. First performed in 1606 it dramatizes the damaging physical and psychological effect of political ambition on those who seek power for its own sake. It was first published in the Folio of 1623 it is Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy Macbeth
In William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth, Macbeth, a once honored and valiant Thane, abandons all virtue after three meddling witches prophesize his ascent to the Scottish throne. Consumed by his ambition and encouraged by his malevolent wife, Macbeth sets forth on a downward spiral of murderous treason and tyranny that subsequently leads to his own demise. This Shakespearean tragedy explores betrayal, manipulation and the blood lust that adjoins a relentless climb for power. Hovering behind the narrative are various supernatural forces and visions that seem to be present during each terrible act. Subsequently, a question prevails whether Macbeth’s downfall is result of his own flaw or if these forces possess a vice-like hold over