Sukhjeevan Bains
To what extent Shakespeare presents Macbeth as responsible for his own downfall?
Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth written around 1606 explores the downfall of its protagonist after
the murder of King Duncan. The course of events in Macbeth can be seen to be due to the presence
of the supernatural, as the Witches instigate Macbeth’s hunger for fame. However, Lady Macbeth’s
influence and control over Macbeth can be argued as responsible for his downfall, especially as this
heavily contrasts the societal view of women at the time. Finally, Macbeth can be seen to be
responsible for his own downfall, due to his hamartia.
Firstly, Shakespeare can be seen to suggest that the witches are responsible for Macbeth’s downfall.
This is seen from the beginning as the first characters introduced to the audience is the three
witches. Structurally, the opening of the play is very significant to the introduction of characters as
the first characters introduced often have a very notable role in the performance. Furthermore, in
the 2020 Globe production, the director, Cressida Brown, has the witches amongst the audience
before the play begins, implying that the supernatural is woven into the play. Furthermore,
Shakespeare’s use of stagecraft presents the witches to make the audience feel uneasy, by setting
the first scene with ‘(Thunder and Lighting)’. The pathetic fallacy of these stage directions gives an
ominous feeling, not only because storms can be the cause of destruction but also storms were
thought to summon the devil. Equally, Shakespeare constructs the witch’s dialogue to present them
as otherworldly. For example, In Act 1 Scene 1, Shakespeare uses the rhyming couplet of ‘‘Fair is
foul, and foul is fair // Hover though the fog and filthy air.’ to create this effect. The trochaic
tetrameter creates a chantlike rhythm, that mirrors the casting of a spell. This is further emphasised
by the fricative alliteration, to highlight their supernatural nature. In 1606, the supernatural was
often the blame for what went wrong in society, whether it was a poor harvest or an unexpected
death. Not only was the notion of witches taught to young children, it was also told in churches.
Popularised by King James fascination with witchcraft and the supernatural, he was the author of the
best – selling book ‘Daemonology’, published in 1597. Therefore, to assure Shakespeare’s patronage,
1
, Sukhjeevan Bains
he would have wanted to entertain King James with his interests, thus writing about witchcraft and
could lead one to assume they are responsible for Macbeth’s downfall.
Equally, throughout the play there are many instances where the characters unintentionally echo the
speech of the witches which showcases their impact on the characters. An example of this is when
King Duncan states “What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won”. This would have shocked a
Jacobean audience as kings were seen as the most respected in society, and for a king to have
similarities with the supernatural and outcasts, would have been a shock to the audience, causing a
noble man to lose respect. Furthermore, when Macbeth is considering killing Duncan he says “stars,
hide your fires”, suggesting he has been affected by the witches, shown by the noun “stars” which
refers to the heavens, meaning that the witches have such forces over Macbeth that he is willing to
risk being on the wrong side of church to become king, this could also be referring to light and dark
or the good and the evil. This mirroring of the Witches’ language in Macbeth and other characters
could further suggest that the Witches are responsible for Macbeth’s downfall.
On the other hand, Lady Macbeth can be seen as responsible for Macbeth’s downfall, due to her
manipulative nature. In Act 1, Scene 5, when she wants to persuade Macbeth into killing Duncan,
she wants to “pour spirits in ear chastise with the valour of tongue”. The reference to Macbeth’s ear
could correlates to Shakespeare’s Hamlet where Hamlet’s father is killed by having his ear poisoned,
possibly suggesting that Lady Macbeth has the same amount of power Claudius did when killing
Hamlet’s father. The power of her “tongue” is a metaphor for language and therefore her words are
able to persuade and seducing Macbeth into killing Duncan, emphasising her abilities. This would
make the audience uneasy as it was unheard of for a woman to go against her husband, heavily
contrasting Jacobean social norms. This could suggest that Shakespeare was using his play as a form
of proto-feminist literature, signposting the potential power of women and suggesting that they are
capable of more that they are currently given room to achieve.
2
To what extent Shakespeare presents Macbeth as responsible for his own downfall?
Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth written around 1606 explores the downfall of its protagonist after
the murder of King Duncan. The course of events in Macbeth can be seen to be due to the presence
of the supernatural, as the Witches instigate Macbeth’s hunger for fame. However, Lady Macbeth’s
influence and control over Macbeth can be argued as responsible for his downfall, especially as this
heavily contrasts the societal view of women at the time. Finally, Macbeth can be seen to be
responsible for his own downfall, due to his hamartia.
Firstly, Shakespeare can be seen to suggest that the witches are responsible for Macbeth’s downfall.
This is seen from the beginning as the first characters introduced to the audience is the three
witches. Structurally, the opening of the play is very significant to the introduction of characters as
the first characters introduced often have a very notable role in the performance. Furthermore, in
the 2020 Globe production, the director, Cressida Brown, has the witches amongst the audience
before the play begins, implying that the supernatural is woven into the play. Furthermore,
Shakespeare’s use of stagecraft presents the witches to make the audience feel uneasy, by setting
the first scene with ‘(Thunder and Lighting)’. The pathetic fallacy of these stage directions gives an
ominous feeling, not only because storms can be the cause of destruction but also storms were
thought to summon the devil. Equally, Shakespeare constructs the witch’s dialogue to present them
as otherworldly. For example, In Act 1 Scene 1, Shakespeare uses the rhyming couplet of ‘‘Fair is
foul, and foul is fair // Hover though the fog and filthy air.’ to create this effect. The trochaic
tetrameter creates a chantlike rhythm, that mirrors the casting of a spell. This is further emphasised
by the fricative alliteration, to highlight their supernatural nature. In 1606, the supernatural was
often the blame for what went wrong in society, whether it was a poor harvest or an unexpected
death. Not only was the notion of witches taught to young children, it was also told in churches.
Popularised by King James fascination with witchcraft and the supernatural, he was the author of the
best – selling book ‘Daemonology’, published in 1597. Therefore, to assure Shakespeare’s patronage,
1
, Sukhjeevan Bains
he would have wanted to entertain King James with his interests, thus writing about witchcraft and
could lead one to assume they are responsible for Macbeth’s downfall.
Equally, throughout the play there are many instances where the characters unintentionally echo the
speech of the witches which showcases their impact on the characters. An example of this is when
King Duncan states “What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won”. This would have shocked a
Jacobean audience as kings were seen as the most respected in society, and for a king to have
similarities with the supernatural and outcasts, would have been a shock to the audience, causing a
noble man to lose respect. Furthermore, when Macbeth is considering killing Duncan he says “stars,
hide your fires”, suggesting he has been affected by the witches, shown by the noun “stars” which
refers to the heavens, meaning that the witches have such forces over Macbeth that he is willing to
risk being on the wrong side of church to become king, this could also be referring to light and dark
or the good and the evil. This mirroring of the Witches’ language in Macbeth and other characters
could further suggest that the Witches are responsible for Macbeth’s downfall.
On the other hand, Lady Macbeth can be seen as responsible for Macbeth’s downfall, due to her
manipulative nature. In Act 1, Scene 5, when she wants to persuade Macbeth into killing Duncan,
she wants to “pour spirits in ear chastise with the valour of tongue”. The reference to Macbeth’s ear
could correlates to Shakespeare’s Hamlet where Hamlet’s father is killed by having his ear poisoned,
possibly suggesting that Lady Macbeth has the same amount of power Claudius did when killing
Hamlet’s father. The power of her “tongue” is a metaphor for language and therefore her words are
able to persuade and seducing Macbeth into killing Duncan, emphasising her abilities. This would
make the audience uneasy as it was unheard of for a woman to go against her husband, heavily
contrasting Jacobean social norms. This could suggest that Shakespeare was using his play as a form
of proto-feminist literature, signposting the potential power of women and suggesting that they are
capable of more that they are currently given room to achieve.
2
