I fully agree that in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, the witches, and
Macbeth are to blame for Macbeth’s downfall. Downfall is the loss and destruction of
one’s power and status. The witches, Lady Macbeth, and Macbeth himself all
contribute towards Macbeth’s demise. Firstly the witches give Macbeth three
prophecies. Secondly Lady Macbeth manipulates Macbeth into doing terrible things
to become the king. Finally Macbeth chooses the route of evil and is blinded by
power.
Initially when Macbeth and Banquo are walking back from the battlefield the witches
appear. The witches spark excitement and greed in Macbeth by implying that
Macbeth ‘shalt be king hereafter.’ These words cause Ideas of desire and power to
fill Macbeths head. For the witches’ prophecies to come to true he will have to kill
King Duncan. Macbeth seeks out the witches so they can tell him more about his
future, they mislead him using equivocation, although impossible, Macbeth is made
to believe he is invincible, that ‘no one born from a woman will ever defeat Macbeth.’
This is vague and therefore Macbeth does not think logically he is blinded by
ambition and his large ego. By misleading Macbeth with equivocation, creating
terrible, immoral ideas in his head, the witches are partially responsible for Macbeths
downfall.
Additionally, when Macbeth informs Lady Macbeth of the witches’ prophecies, she is
determined to ensure they come true. Lady Macbeth sees Macbeths uncertainty
towards killing King Duncan, she desires to, “pour [her] spirits in [his] ear.” Showing
that she is willing to get rid of anything in the way of them attaining power and the
crown, she will manipulate Macbeth into thinking like her. After Macbeth killed King
Duncan and the guards, he feels great regret and remorse, However Lady Macbeth
manipulates him into thinking their actions were ok by suggesting that 'a little water
clears [them] of this deed'. She does not want his morals and ethics to make him
stray from their mission of gaining complete power. This shows how he bends his
moral compass and helps lead him down his detrimental evil path towards his
downfall.
Finally Macbeth has become king. Guilt and shame comes over him as he knows
that the way in which he became king was wrong. His feelings of remorse are
evident as he tells his wife how, ‘o, full of scorpions is [his] mind, dear wife!’ he
knows that he is going down a dangerous path but he does not know how to stop.
Macbeth’s previously morally intact emotions are gone as he is utterly consumed in
power, power which he refuses to lose. When his power in threatened, he becomes
worried and seeks the witches for advice. He is now seemingly embracing the evil
power he knows they offer, he is ‘bent to know, by the worst means, the worst, [he is]
in blood stepp’d in so far that, should [he] wade no more.’ This emphasises how he
has succumbed to his hunger for evil and power. He believes it would be impossible
to go back to the man he was prior to becoming king, he will go to any lengths to
remain in his powerful status. Macbeth himself now willingly is consumed by evil and
power, he ultimately did make the choices to kill King Duncan and his other victims,
thus also being responsible for his fate, and downfall.
Macbeth are to blame for Macbeth’s downfall. Downfall is the loss and destruction of
one’s power and status. The witches, Lady Macbeth, and Macbeth himself all
contribute towards Macbeth’s demise. Firstly the witches give Macbeth three
prophecies. Secondly Lady Macbeth manipulates Macbeth into doing terrible things
to become the king. Finally Macbeth chooses the route of evil and is blinded by
power.
Initially when Macbeth and Banquo are walking back from the battlefield the witches
appear. The witches spark excitement and greed in Macbeth by implying that
Macbeth ‘shalt be king hereafter.’ These words cause Ideas of desire and power to
fill Macbeths head. For the witches’ prophecies to come to true he will have to kill
King Duncan. Macbeth seeks out the witches so they can tell him more about his
future, they mislead him using equivocation, although impossible, Macbeth is made
to believe he is invincible, that ‘no one born from a woman will ever defeat Macbeth.’
This is vague and therefore Macbeth does not think logically he is blinded by
ambition and his large ego. By misleading Macbeth with equivocation, creating
terrible, immoral ideas in his head, the witches are partially responsible for Macbeths
downfall.
Additionally, when Macbeth informs Lady Macbeth of the witches’ prophecies, she is
determined to ensure they come true. Lady Macbeth sees Macbeths uncertainty
towards killing King Duncan, she desires to, “pour [her] spirits in [his] ear.” Showing
that she is willing to get rid of anything in the way of them attaining power and the
crown, she will manipulate Macbeth into thinking like her. After Macbeth killed King
Duncan and the guards, he feels great regret and remorse, However Lady Macbeth
manipulates him into thinking their actions were ok by suggesting that 'a little water
clears [them] of this deed'. She does not want his morals and ethics to make him
stray from their mission of gaining complete power. This shows how he bends his
moral compass and helps lead him down his detrimental evil path towards his
downfall.
Finally Macbeth has become king. Guilt and shame comes over him as he knows
that the way in which he became king was wrong. His feelings of remorse are
evident as he tells his wife how, ‘o, full of scorpions is [his] mind, dear wife!’ he
knows that he is going down a dangerous path but he does not know how to stop.
Macbeth’s previously morally intact emotions are gone as he is utterly consumed in
power, power which he refuses to lose. When his power in threatened, he becomes
worried and seeks the witches for advice. He is now seemingly embracing the evil
power he knows they offer, he is ‘bent to know, by the worst means, the worst, [he is]
in blood stepp’d in so far that, should [he] wade no more.’ This emphasises how he
has succumbed to his hunger for evil and power. He believes it would be impossible
to go back to the man he was prior to becoming king, he will go to any lengths to
remain in his powerful status. Macbeth himself now willingly is consumed by evil and
power, he ultimately did make the choices to kill King Duncan and his other victims,
thus also being responsible for his fate, and downfall.
