Who Was Responsible For Macbeth's Downfall

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Macbeth Essay
Sometimes in society people make mistakes and we have no one in the end to blame but ourselves. Maybe one has told themselves they will start working on a project, but continue to put it off. Maybe someone has told themselves that they will start their diet, but continue eating unhealthy foods. This occurs quite often in society, in more cases than one, such as procrastinating, interrupting, or other bad habits. One can confirm that it is only that one person to blame for their actions. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the protagonist Macbeth kills King Duncan out of selfishness to become king. I firmly believe that the person responsible for Macbeth’s downfall at the end of the tragedy is Macbeth himself, because he is overly …show more content…

Macbeth is too willing to believe in the witches, and this causes his downfall at the end of the play. He believes their every word and has a large amount of respect for the witches. When Macbeth speaks with the witches, or the Weird Sisters, he urges them to tell him more information when he hears something that draws his attention. “Stay, you imperfect speakers. Tell me more”(1.3.73). This quote can tell the readers that Macbeth is very eager and perhaps very willing to believe the witches. Macbeth also somewhat forces the witches to tell him the fourth apparition, or prophecy, because he is desperate to know that he is undefeatable. “I will be satisfied. Deny me this, and an eternal curse fall on you! Let me know(4.1.119-20)! This quote from the play demonstrates quite perfectly that Macbeth is so willing to know what the witches have to say, that he makes them say the prophecy that he does not want to hear. In a sense, Macbeth actually made his own prophecy come true because he wanted to hear it so bad, because he finds out that Banquo’s children will then become king. “Horrible sight! Now I see ‘tis true”(4.1.137). Macbeth went from bitter that he could not hear the prophecy, to hearing the prophecy, not liking it, and getting upset about it. If only he had not been so selfish to want to know what it was, then the fourth apparition would not have

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