Kendall Wright
English 10
Valentin
12 June 2015
In the Tragedy of Macbeth, a tragedy by William is the story of a man who has a horrible downfall due to unfortunate circumstances. There have been debates regarding who the cause of his downfall was. Others argue that Lady Macbeth, his wife, is the cause of his downfall but this is not true. The ruthless actions of Macbeth cause his downfall and his demise and he should be accountable for his own actions and accept the consequences that follow. Macbeth’s greed, ambition and curiosity cause his downfall and demise due to a lack of self-control. Macbeth’s ambition contributes to his downfall. His ambition gradually increases throughout the play. This characteristic is revealed after the witches form the prophecy of him becoming king of the land. In text 2 line 8 it states, “It is a message from Macbeth in which he eagerly relates
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Essentially this statement is saying how the prophecy of the witches adds on to his ambition. He allows these prophecies to consume his thoughts and soon after his desires take control over him. He states,” I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself And falls on the other”(1.7.25-28).This account ultimately means that he has no valid motive on why he wants to kill King Duncan other than his desire for power. With thoughts of his future reign, he acts on his plan to to kill King Duncan which means that the country of Scotland is without a ruler. As Macbeth’s Success increases, his trait of ambition becomes more prevalent. With Macbeth being fearful that the Witches’ prophecies are true about Banquo and his sons taking over the throne, he hires murders to kill them all. Others may argue that
Macbeth, although manipulated by the witches and persuaded by his wife, is ultimately responsible for his own actions. At the beginning of the play, he is portrayed as the noble and courageous hero; by the end, however, the audience sees his brutal and power-hungry character drives him to fulfil his ambition. The three witches manipulate Macbeth through prophecies foretelling his fate. Lady Macbeth is also partly to blame for her taunting and eventual encouragement of her husband, leading him to his immoral choices. In the end, it is Macbeth’s many character flaws that drive him to his poor decisions and fateful end.
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
A character’s tragic downfall is often influenced by other characters, but this is not the case in Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth. Macbeth conforms to the conditions of a tragic hero because in the beginning of the play, Macbeth is an honourable and trustworthy nobleman to King Duncan and all of Scotland. However, throughout the play, Macbeth commits evil deeds such betrayal, treason, and murder solely because of his ambitions to remain in power. Macbeth murders others upon hearing the witches’ prophecies and even proceeds to return to them to remain in power. Macbeth is influenced and manipulated by his wife Lady Macbeth and The Witches, but he is ultimately responsible for his own tragic downfall. Macbeth’s tragic downfall is caused by his ‘vaulting ambition’ to become king. Thus, Macbeth has no one but his ruthless, cruel, and greedy self to blame for his own tragic downfall.
Have you ever had that one moment where things just seem so great and then everything collapses onto you? You wonder, what caused that greatness to end? That very same concept is portrayed upon Macbeth in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. However, one thing’s for certain. From Macbeth’s peak of becoming king to his very own defeat, Macbeth is solely responsible for his own downfall.
Has one ever witnessed a nation show such great hatred towards its leader? Well, in the play Macbeth; it is very prevalent. From a respected man due to his dignity to a tyrannical ruler that was greatly hated; this is the evolution of Macbeth throughout the play. Macbeth was truly a ruthless and terrorizing man that ran a despotic regime over Scotland. These acts caused great turmoil economically and politically. Three main subjects that attribute to Macbeth’s immoral behavior as king: Assassination of any doubters or people who he thought were suspicious, disrupted the chain of being, and he put all his trust and fate in the hands of the witches’ perplexing words. One may say King Duncan is at fault in this situation, but all these
When Lady Macbeth is first planning a way to make Macbeth king, she knows that he is still too kind to act upon his ambitions, so she decides to take matters into her own hands. Lady Macbeth throws aside morals and kindness, instead becoming a cruel and cold-hearted person as a result of her thirst for power. When the time for Duncan’s murder to take place arrives and Macbeth does not follow the plan, Lady Macbeth smears the guards’ with blood herself. An act such as this she could carry out, but not the murder itself, which is explained in the quote, “Had he not resembled/ My father as he slept, I had done ‘t. (2.1.12-13)” In Act 1, Lady Macbeth had seemingly stripped herself of any remorse or doubt that may interfere with the murder, but
In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is portrayed as a successful, courageous, noble hero who has just bravely won the war, but as the play goes on, he becomes a tragic hero who destroys himself with his own selfish and wicked ambitions. There were many factors that contributed to the tragedy, such as the witches prophecies that influenced Macbeth’s thoughts and Lady Macbeth's influence and manipulativeness. His selfishness and continuous ambition to stay in the throne, which is demonstrated in the orders to kill Banquo and Fleance also contribute to his downfall. Ultimately, Macbeth’s deep desire and character motivates his ambitions and misguided attempts to control his future which lead to his downfall and destruction.
The lust for power will change and corrupt one’s pure heart, and will ultimately lead to the downfall of the character. Macbeth, a strong and noble general, experiences a similar downfall because of his corrupted mindset and both his wife’s and his own desires and ambition for power. Their corrupt desire for power is to blame for this devastating corruption that prevented Macbeth from achieving his goal of power. In this play, his wife presents him with evil plans to inherit the throne and urges him to make these sinful decisions, Macbeth determines that he also wants the power of a king and ultimately makes the choices that lead to his downfall. Although other characters such as the witches appear throughout the play and encourage Macbeth
first seen when he decided to kill Duncan in order to become King. Soon, his ambition is seen more frequently. Macbeth, afraid of Banquo due to the prophecy stating that Banquo’s sons will become kings, hires three murderers to kill Banquo. Stating “that every minute of his being thrusts against my near’st of life”, that his very presence threatens his ambitious plans to rule uninterrupted (pg 85, lines 129-130). Macbeth is so protective over himself and his plans that he will murder anyone who stands in his way.
Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare during the 17th century, demonstrated the idea that other characters were responsible for Macbeth’s downfall. Macbeth, once an honorable and courageous warrior was transformed into a vain and ruthless dictator, who encountered a transformation that brought him not only the crown, but his death as well. This transformation, started by three influencing factors which included: the Three Witches, Lady Macbeth, and Macduff, manipulated Macbeth into committing acts of treason and murder. Although it was Macbeth, who was to blame for his actions, it was because of these three characters who greatly promoted him to complete those crimes.
Was it Macbeth that did all these evil deeds or was it someone else. Was his story really cursed or was it his wife’s bidding. Macbeth has killed the king and took the crown then has killed others to protect himself. He gets three prophecies in the beginning that become true and three in the near end that lead to his fall. I think it is Macbeth’s fault for all his actions and the cause of his downfall.
It is easier to assuage your own guilt by blaming your downfalls on another individual, unlike Macbeth. Macbeth rarely ever placed the reason for his downfall on his wife, when it was her who was the main cause of his subsequent demise. Although Macbeth’s power-hungry and tenebrous nature becomes the key factor in his downfall, Lady Macbeth initiates these ambitions by causing him to act on his own reluctant, lurid thoughts, killing off every individual who tries to obstruct his pathway in gaining the thrown. This overbearing behavior was not present in the very beginning of the play though; Macbeth was a very chivalrous man with hero-like characteristics that were respected by all of his countrymen and other peers. Evil
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a tragedy about Macbeth being told he will become king and his journey becoming king and the events that occur during his time as king. A tragedy is a dramatic representation of serious actions that result in a disastrous conclusion for the protagonist. Macbeth is classified as a tragic hero, a tragic hero is one who will evoke terror and pity and is neither good or bad. Macbeth is a character in the story who is the most responsible for all of the actions that occur in The Tragedy of Macbeth.
In the story of MacBeth, we see a couple who wants success, and will do anything to get it. In the beginning, MacBeth is nothing but a warrior, but when he meets a group of witches his whole life changes. He and his wife, Lady MacBeth, go on to formulate plan after plan that later ends in both of them being dead. The question that most people have when the story ends is, who is to blame for the death of all the innocent people that happen to cross paths with MacBeth?
Firstly, I believe that Macbeth was responsible for his downfall because he's already had corrupted thoughts in the beginning. As quoted in act I, scene IV, line 55, "The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step on which I must fall down, or else o'erleap, For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires: The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be, Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see." This shows that Macbeth is already starting to get the impression that he would have to do something to get what he wanted such as committing a crime he knows would benefit him and fullfill his desires. This also reveals that this is without a doubt his own belief alone and that his opinion has not been clouded by Lady Macbeth's sentiment, which proves that he is definitely obligated for his own actions.