Essay on Macbeth's Mistakes in Shakespeare's Macbeth

     In Shakespeare’s classic tragedy of Macbeth the main character Macbeth is driven from his status as a well respected warrior and lord of not one, but two Scottish regions to a dishonest, unloyal murderer. Macbeth gets caught in a web of lies and vile acts of murder in which he brings about his own demise. His criminal actions lead up to his tragic ending of life. ‘ They have tied me to a stake; I cannot fly, But bearlike I must fight the course.’ His great ambition and gullibility of the witches predictions are two of the biggest factors of his downfall;however, Lady Macbeth was probably the biggest influence in the whole tragedy.

In Macbeth, Shakespeare explores the theme of moral decay produced by the temptation of power. When Macbeth hears the witches’ prophecy (1.3.45) he does not understand how he can become King of Scotland; the only way to attain the crown would be through committing the grave and unjustifiable sin of regicide. Despite this, Macbeth ignores his conscience (1.7.80) and when presented with the opportunity, aided by Lady Macbeth, he murders Duncan (2.1.62). Although he immediately regrets his actions and is filled with compunction (2.2.55, 2.2.63-65), Macbeth decides that there is no going back and “things bad begun make themselves strong by ill.” (3.2.55) Macbeth’s allows his inherent lust for power to completely outweigh his moral conscience.

In this world, one of the strongest human drives seems to be the desire for power. In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Thane Macbeth seeks to gain power over Scotland. Through Macbeth’s search for power, he must choose between what is morally right or his inner motives. Macbeth gains power over others through the murders of King Duncan, Banquo, and Macduff’s entire family along with his servants. After each murder, Macbeth becomes more confident in his search to gain power.

"Macbeth" is a tragic play that was written by William Shakespeare in the early 1600’s. It revolved around the character Macbeth and his urge to become king of Scotland. Macbeth had to do anything possible to become the king including murder, lying, and deception. However, Macbeth committed these evil deeds due to some influential people in his life. Between Macbeth’s wife persuading him to do anything to become king and the witches prophesying over him causes Macbeth to try and bury the past and control the future.

William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a tragedy in which the main characters are obsessed by the desire for power. Macbeth’s aspiration for power blinds him to the ethical implications of his dreadful acts. The more that Shakespeare’s Macbeth represses his murderous feelings, the more he is haunted by them. By analyzing his hallucinations it is possible to trace his deteriorating mental state and the trajectory of his ultimate fall. Throughout the play Macbeth is never satisfied with himself. He feels the need to keep committing crime in order to keep what he wants most: his kingship. The harder Macbeth tries to change his fate the more he tends to run into his fate. His ambition and struggle for power was Macbeth’s tragic flaw in the play.

Macbeth, from Shakespeare’s world renowned Macbeth, serves as an example as the type of person who has their sight set on power and control and is willing to let their unchecked ambition get ahead of them. Macbeth had such a strong desire for power that he was even willing to commit the evil act of murdering King Duncan. Macbeth has chosen the path of evil, which for Macbeth this includes murdering loyal friends, scheming with apparitions and witches, and even murdering sleep, but now there is no turning back.

Throughout the play “Macbeth” Shakespeare uses multiple examples of strong diction, paradox, metaphors, and imagery to demonstrate the theme that fate is inevitable. These examples also help emphasize that the witches are in control of Macbeth's severe and hostile actions throughout the tragic play. Without the witches prophecies the idea of murder would have never crossed Macbeth’s mind. After the witches informed Macbeth that he would soon become king he was willed to do anything to make sure this bizarre prophecy would come true.

    Since The Tragedy of Macbeth was written there has been speculation about the cause of Macbeth's downfall.  Readers ponder whether Macbeth's fall was caused by a flaw in his character, Lady Macbeth, or an outside force of evil.  Although the witches set a certain mood and Lady Macbeth exerts a certain influence on him, Macbeth's downfall is caused by his own character.

In the Elizabethan Era, society was highly suspicious of the power of supernatural forces and it was commonly accepted that one’s life was governed by fate and was predetermined. Shakespeare’s Macbeth challenges the Elizabethan ideology of fate by privileging that although Macbeth was a victim of his “vaulting ambition” (1:VII 27), he was ultimately responsible for his villainous actions. Shakespeare has foregounded certain events to privilege that a person has free will and a concience and the cosequences of going against one's conscience, thus challenging the assumption of the Elizabethan Era. The audience is invited to sympathise with the protagonist, Macbeth, and see him as a tragic hero. Before his descent into evil, Macbeth

According to the classical view, tragedy should arouse feelings of pity and fear in the audience. Does Macbeth do this?

Laurence Sterne once wrote, “No body, but he who has felt it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a man’s mind torn asunder by two projects of equal strength, both obstinately pulling in a contrary direction at the same time.” This passage embodies one of the over arching themes of Macbeth. The character Macbeth, in Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, could easily identify with this passage due to the fact that he is pulled in opposite directions by both his desire to do what is right and his desire for power.

It is human nature to be intrigued by all things mystical and dangerous. We fear the unknown but seek it nonetheless out of greed. Most of Shakespeare’s works hold an element of the supernatural and the play Macbeth is no exception. In this play we see a contemporary morality that warns of the dangers of trafficking with instruments of darkness; the witches in the play prophesize of Macbeths future as king, and Macbeth blinded by his hunger for power fails to recognize that the witches prophecies are luring him to evil . In act 1 scène 3 we see the effect that the excitement of the prophecies has had on his imagination as he begins to contemplate murdering the king. As Macbeth gets closer to

Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware Macduff! Beware the Than of Fife!…Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Be bloody, bold and resolute. Laugh to scorn the power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth…Be lion-mettled, proud and take no care who chafes, who frets or where conspirers are. Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill shall come against him.

In the play “Macbeth”, William Shakespeare uses belief in the existence and power of witches to create and influence the audience’s understanding of the play. Our initial impression of Macbeth is one of a brave and capable warrior, however once we see his interaction with the three “evil sisters” (Shakespeare, 1996) we realises that his physical audacity is coupled by an intense amount of ambition and self doubt. It is believed that the witches are the motive behind this ambition which eventually leads to his tragedy, however strong diverging arguments are in existence. The intensity of Macbeth’s tragedy is dependent on whether or not the witches are “professed to be able to control the naïve, innocent Macbeth” or whether he is to blame

Finally, act 5 scene 3 adds to the plot by using Macbeth’s stubbornness of the witches prophecy against him. Because of the seemingly impossible requirements that need to be met before Macbeth’s death, Macbeth develops a feeling of immortality to all things. In line 2, he reports, “Till Birnam Wood to Dunsinane I cannot taint with fear.” The reality of this event’s likelihood has struck Macbeth. This makes him seemingly unaware and unprepared for the army that approaches the castle and lessens the distance every hour. At this point in the story, Macbeth can be seen as either a protagonist or an antagonist. Macduff seems to be the one working for the cause of good, while Macbeth strives for power and immortality. This statement that Macduff makes leads us to the climax of our story, where the thought and imagination of Macbeth get’s ruined by the reality of Macduff’s birth.