Macbeth's Downfall in William Shakespeare's Play
'Macbeth' by William Shakespeare is a play set in 1040 about a
Scottish general named Macbeth. It explores the transformation and
effect of his ambition upon his life. Although it is set in 1040, it
is written in the 1606 under the reign of James 1st. James' very
recent accession to the English throne would have been of great
contemporary importance and a play which focuses on Kingship would
have roused interest too.
The first characters we are introduced to in the opening of the play
are the witches. The witches immediately give the sense of a
supernatural presence that creates fear and confusion for the
audience, who would at that time have believed in witches. The witches
use rhyming blank verse:
'When shall we three meet again
In thunder, lightening, or in rain?'
This rhyming blank verse stands out from the blank verse spoken by the
other characters. This line in the play also emphasizes that whenever
the witches 'meet' or appear there is always 'thunder', 'lightening'
and 'rain,' this links with the stage directions that also change to
'thunder and lightening' whenever the witches appear. This emphasizes
that with the chaotic change of weather in the natural world it breeds
unnatural beings. The witches speak in rhymed verse combining
alliteration and assonance also to emphasize that they are
supernatural beings:
'Double double toil and trouble;
fire burn, and cauldron bubble'
In addition to the rhyming verse the witches also use language of
contradiction, 'fair, is foul and foul is fair,' and 'lesser then
Macbeth and greater.' These verses add to th...
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...racter strengthens as he thinks about murdering Macduff:
'I am in blood
Stepped in so far, that should I wade no more,
Returning were as tedious as go o'er.'
This underlines Macbeth's feelings that he is so advanced in this
murder that it is easier to continue his course of violence then to go
back. This also foreshadows that anyone is in danger and Macbeth shall
murder again. At this point in the play we realize that no one but
Macbeth is responsible for the death of Lady Macduff and her son, it
is the point where Macbeth kills only for desire and not political
gain.
I believe that although Macbeth is clearly influenced by the witches
and Lady Macbeth, he still has a freedom of will and the evil is
therefore primarily inherent in his character. He therefore makes a
decision whether to murder or not.
At the very beginning of the play, the reader is introduced to three witches. These witches play an important role, as they foreshadow what is to come later on. As the three are talking, they mention time. The first line reads, “When shall we three meet again? / In thunder, lightning or in rain?” … “That will be ere
Shakespeare created a character in Macbeth who is strongly influenced in his decision making throughout the drama of The Tragedy of Macbeth. This drama is a Tragedy, hence the title, and has a hero, in Macbeth, who has a downfall. Readers become aware of the aspects that lead up to this predicament. Macbeth’s downfall was contributed equally from Lady Macbeth, the three weird sisters, and Macbeth’s ambition.
This is my account of Macbeth’s downfall from a popular, successful soldier, quote “What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won”, who has received great honours for his loyalty, his courage, his bravery and his nobility. At the end of the play, the only respect he has is because of the fear that his subjects have of him. “Great Dunsinane he strongly fortifies // some say he’s mad, others that lesser hate him.” I will go through Macbeth’s soliloquies and chart his character as it changes.
Macbeth, “A matchless soldier, kinsman to the king, wins the king’s battles and the king’s praise” however, “prompted by inner ambitions and external urgings”, he takes rash decisions conclusively ending in his atrophy of his title, power, and position (Bernad 49). Several factors contribute to the downfall of Macbeth, which produce a contagion effect; and ultimately end with his demise. The weird sisters disclose his prophecies which enlighten him about Duncan’s throne; Lady Macbeth abets Macbeth to realize his deep desires and come to the conclusion to murder Duncan; and Macbeth, the most significant contributor, makes his deep desires come to reality. In Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, the weird sisters and Lady Macbeth are important contributors to Macbeth 's downfall, however, they are not mostly responsible. Unlike, the weird sisters and Lady Macbeth, Macbeth is the most prominent contributor to his downfall; whose actions, decisions, and state of mind lead to his ruination.
The play starts out immediately with and example of this. Three witches are the first characters that appear on stage. They are conversing of when they will meet again to discuss some important information that will occur later in the story. At the end of this first scene, the three witches vanish into the wind.
serious if his wife was not more anxious than he was. She, more than her
At the time Shakespeare wrote Macbeth, it was the beginning of the seventeenth century. The reign of Macbeth was actually during the mid-eleventh century. He became king in 1040 after killing King Duncan who according to Fisher “was an ineffectual king” (Fisher, 43). Macbeth would then rule for the next 17 years, having appeared “to have been a good king, active and conscientious, if not always able to hold on to the whole of the territory he had gained through the murder of Duncan” (Fisher, 44). Quite the opposite in the play, Shakespeare portrays Macbeth as an evil and cruel king during the whole time of his reign. Glover points out this untruth, “Macbeth’s character has suffered unjustly at the hands of Shakespeare, as he ruled Scotland well for some seventeen years, and there is evidence that the country enjoyed some prosperity during his reign” (Glover, 39). Yet Macbeth’s reign did end in 1057 when he was killed by Malcolm, Duncan’s son, in the battle of Lumphanan. However, it wasn’t until after Macbeth’s step-son Lulach ruled for about a year, that Malcolm became king after killing him in 1058. This is where Shakespeare ends the play wit...
There were several aspects of Shakespeare’s novel ‘Macbeth’ that led to the downfall of Lady Macbeth. The mentality of Lady Macbeth in the play changes dramatically from the wife a Noble General, to an evil aggressive murderer (brought upon by the witches predictions), and finally a woman who had de-graded to such an extent that she took her own life.
MacBeth is Responsible for His Downfall. There were many wrongs committed in "MacBeth." But who should bear the major responsibility for these actions? The witches prophesying the truth? Lady MacBeth's scheming and persuasion?
Ross says, “I am so much a fool, should I stay longer, it would be my disgrace and your discomfort. I take my leave at once” (Shakespeare 4.2). This quote shows that Ross has no evil-minded due to the fact he leaves Lady Macduff and her child to die. Still, this shows Macbeth cruelty by sending the soldier to kill Macduff’s family. Macbeth says, “The castle of Macduff I will surprise, seize upon Fife give th ’edge o’th’sword/ his wife, his babes, all unfortunate souls” (Shakespeare 4.1). The significance of this quote shows Macbeth cruelty thinking about his plan on how to kill the Macduff’s. Since Macduff’s family are not a threat to him, but his mind led him to worsen the situation. Macbeth says, “Time, thou anticipat’st my dread exploits: / the flighty purpose never is o’ertlook/ unless the deed go with it” (Shakespeare 4.1.). This quote shows that Macbeth is talking to himself about time so he can make up his plan instantly. He promises that from this time on if dreams the plan, he will act on it and carry it out for a purpose. To conclude with paragraph 3, Macbeth has no innocence over the people that do not have a threat to him. So Macbeth’s morality finds its way to justice which has to be solved.
The Tragedy of Macbeth Argumentative Essay Over the course of the play, The Tragedy of Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, the eponymous character changes greatly. Macbeth starts the story as a noble war hero who is celebrated throughout his homeland of Scotland, but due to a fatal judgement error stemming from his hubris, finds himself on the path of tyranny. Macbeth plunges deeper into madness as the play progresses and commits unforgivable crimes against the land he came to rule through treachery. However, before his final battle with the rightful heir to Scotland’s throne, Macbeth redeems himself with a moment of self-awareness.
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Lady Macbeth’s desire and ambition leads to her eventual downfall. When Lady Macbeth hears of Macbeth’s prophecy she dreams of the glory and high-standing that awaits being queen. She cannot withhold her ambitions and she is willing to manipulate fate to bring about Macbeth’s prophecy. She invokes evil spirits to be filled from head to toe with cruelty to do the evil actions necessary to make Macbeth king and to remove all remorse and pity for her action from her heart. She is initially able to be involved in the treacherous deeds that are needed to bring about the prophecy quickly, but as the play progresses the weight of the merciless deeds fill her with remorse. The remorse and pain she feels for her wicked ways cause Lady Macbeth to lose control of her life and wither away until the weight of her deeds causes her to die. Lady Macbeth’s wish is partially granted, her mind becomes evil and enables her to do horrific things, but her soul remains pure and unsure of her actions and her remorse for her wicked ways leads to her destruction.
While not the only contributing factor, Lady Macbeth does play a substantial role in the downfall of her husband. She is a like a catalyst for Macbeth and essentially pushes him to do what he would not have been able to do on his own. Macbeth himself highly ambitious and determined, but his wife is even more so. At first he refuses to kill Duncan but she persists and eventually gets him to do it. It is important to note here that Lady Macbeth pushes Macbeth forward by manipulating him. In this sense, she can be related to Cathy Ames from East of Eden by John Steinbeck. Also, being a woman, she is confined by the conventions of society which prevent her from doing much. At what point she even wishes that she were 'unsexed' so she could commit the murder herself. Because of this, she pours her ambition and desire for power into Macbeth. Again she accomplishes this through manipulation. For example, at one point when Macbeth is disagreeing with her idea of killing Duncan, she questions his manhood:
Factors Contributing to Macbeth's Downfall in William Shakespeare's Macbeth In William Shakespeare's famous play Macbeth, there are many reasons for Macbeth's gradual downfall. Numerous factors contributed to Macbeth's ruin, such as his own character flaws and his demanding wife, Lady Macbeth. The Three Witches, however, caused Macbeth the most trouble. First, the sisters stirred up his dormant ambitions to be king.
The first scene of the play is very short but gives us a good impression on the play. Instead of Shakespeare starting the play showing Macbeth we firstly see the three weird looking witches who introduce us to a dark and evil story line. The opening line, ‘when shall we meet again in thunder lightening or rain’ It trys to draw our attention to witchcraft. In Shakespeare time witchcraft was a great enemy and everyone became captivated by these suspicious witches. In Shakespeare time there was such thing as a ‘witch hunt’ when many people were accused of being witches, the witches were stereo typed as being dark, evil, powers, dress in black and can make things float. In Shakespeare time if you were assumed of being a witch you would be tied up tightly and thrown into the river. If you sunk then you were innocent and if you floated you were a witch. In witches soliloquy there use of language and thinking aloud shows us the witches are bad but powerful.