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Irony in Shakespeare
Role of fate in shakespearean tragedy
Role of fate in shakespearean tragedy
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Macbeth is most definitely responsible for all but one death. The only death that he is not held accountable for, is Lady Macbeth’s, his wife. In William Shakespeare’s play, The tragedy of Macbeth, Macbeth is fully responsible for what happened to himself. The witches are not in charge of what Macbeth decides to do. He has his own mind and way of doing things. The witches did predict what was going to happen, but Macbeth was the only one who could make it happen. And which he did.
First off, the witches have no say in how Macbeth should react to their prophecies, meaning that they cannot be in charge of what happens or how Macbeth deals with it. They have no control over what Macbeth says or does, he is his own person and does as he pleases. Once he finds out that he is now Thane of Cawdor (the witches first prophecy), he believes that the other prophecies the witches said, must happen, one way or another. The witches might have predicted what was going to happen because they are more than ordinary humans as Lady Macbeth calls them in Act I, scene 5, but Macbeth made their predictions happen.
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Macbeth is fully responsible for what happened to him in the end.
If he would not have listened to Lady Macbeth and her way of doing things, he would not have been in the predicament of being killed in the first place. In Act I, scene 7, Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth that he should not kill the king because “He’s here in double trust:/ First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, /Strong both against the deed, then as his host, . . .. “(1.12-14). Macbeth also tells her that he should not kill Duncan because has been a good king. Finally, she convinced Macbeth that he should kill Duncan because if he did not do it, then he does not really love her and he is too much of a coward. He immediately regrets killing Duncan, but that does not stop him from killing the guards. This is only the beginning to his murdering
fiend. The main murders that lead to Macbeth’s death are the deaths of Macduff’s son and wife. After Macduff finds out that Macbeth had his wife and son murdered, he sent out to find him and kill Macbeth himself. Therefore, Macbeth is fully responsible for making the witches prophecies happen in a way that they should not have occurred. Macbeth’s actions show that he is hungry to keep his spot as King and not let anything get in the way of that. He made sure of that by killing anything and everything that could possibly come in front him being King. Macbeth made up his own mind and felt as if this was the right way to go about keeping his name.
In the play, Macbeth was responsible for his downfall and let his greed take over. He was always ambitious, but ended up abandoning his loyalty from King Duncan, the King of Scotland and slowly changed him from a trustworthy, brave and loyal soldier to a merciless tyrant. Lady Macbeth and the three witches are responsible for Macbeth’s downfall. The prophecies changed Macbeth for the worst and is willing to remove any threats that stand in his way. Macbeth, although a loyal warrior, had always possessed ambitious motives that finally turned him into a murderer.
However, it was Lady Macbeth who convinced him to slay the king so that he could usurp the throne: “Hie thee hither, / That I may pour my spirits in thine ear”. So we can say that Lady Macbeth has more responsibility for Duncan’s murder than Macbeth himself as she used her position as a wife and a woman to induce his husband to commit the sin. She knew the “adoration” Macbeth had for her (“My dearest love” referring to Lady Macbeth) and used her status as a woman to judge Macbeth a coward if he didn’t kill Duncan. Even though Macbeth holds some blame for not being the strong, valiant man he is, in battle with her wife and standing before those childish yet effective arguments she used, Lady Macbeth is the immediate cause for Macbeth’s actions.
To begin, we look at the first prediction of the witches. They call him by the names of ?Thane of Glamis?, which he already is, ?Thane of Cawdor? (a title he does not know he has been given), and "King hereafter." As a result, the first two things the witches tell him aren?t prophesies because they have already happened. Look at the third and most important prophecy. The witches tell Macbeth that he will become ?King Hereafter?, there?s knowledge that this actually happened. ?If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me.? (1 3) Did it happen because of fate or did Macbeth make it happen? The witches tempted Macbeth to kill the King, however, it was his own ambition that led him to do that terrible thing. Macbeth, even though he was uneasy, he chose to kill King Duncan and ascend to the throne of Scotland. ?Nothing is
When he is later given the news that the king has made him Thane of Cawdor, he naturally believes that the witches know the future and that he can trust them. His thoughts then move to the other prediction the witches made: that he will be king. Macbeth seeks out the witches for more information and assurance. Then, once coming across the Three Witches, Macbeth then asks them to give him some clarification on his future to hold. The Witches then show Macbeth three apparitions.
These prophecies didn’t seem to be realistic at first. But when he was made Thane of Cawdor, because the other thane was a traitor, he began to become a little power hungry. He thought that if one of the prophecies came true, so would the other. He couldn’t wait, he told Lady Macbeth, who then made a plan to make it happen faster. Her plan was to invite the king over, kill him, and make it look like his guards committed the murder. The witches are nonrealistic as shown they made some things up and caused a lot of trouble by doing so. Also, at the banquet for the new king, Macbeth, Macbeth thought that he saw a ghost, although he was the only one who could see it. It was the ghost of Banquo, who should have become king rather Macbeth. He was sitting in the chair where he would have been sitting had he become king. This is how it was meant to be, with Banquo being king.
Macbeth only knows what the first witch is saying to be true, because he is already Thane of Glamis. However, he doesn't know what to think when the second and third witches say he will be Thane of Cawdor and soon after, king. Both the Thane of Cawdor and the king are still alive. At this point, Macbeth isn't sure if he can actually trust the witches because he doesn't know about what they have said. The witches then continue with their prophecies. They tell Banquo that, "thou shalt get kings, though thou be none" (I.iii.67). After telling Macbeth that he will be king, they tell Banquo that his sons will be king. Macbeth remembers that fact, and acts upon it later.
"All hail, Macbeth Hail to thee, thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth Hail to thee, thou shall be King hereafter!" (1.3.49) The witches help fate out by giving Macbeth this information. If Macbeth had never known this, he would never have had the idea of becoming thane of Cawdor or king. This is the start to Macbeth's road to success and ultimate demise. It was predetermined by fate that Macbeth would believe the witches' words. When Macbeth does in fact become thane of Cawdor, he then believes fully in the witches and is willing to do anything it takes to become king.
People tend to point fingers at people a lot. In this case, the question is “who is to blame for all the killings?” Most say Lady Macbeth because of her disturbing thoughts, words, and actions. But Macbeth is the one who murdered. Macbeth is ambitious in killing and is well enough to make his own decisions, so putting the blame on Lady Macbeth does not make sense. In Macbeth no one is to blame and he is truly the one at fault.
“All hail, Macbeth! Hail to you, thane of Glamis. All hail, Macbeth! Hail to you, thane of Cawdor. All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!”(1.3.51-53) and also goes on to tell Banquo that his descendents will be kings even though he won’t become one. At first Macbeth dismisses these claims, and Banquo suggest that they were just hallucinating, but the idea of becoming Thane of Cawdor and king of Scotland has been implanted in Macbeths head. Coincidentally just before Macbeth and Banquo meet the witches Duncan announces to Ross that Macbeth will be the new thane of Cawdor “No more that thane of Cawdor shall deceive our bosom interest: go pronounce his present death, and with his former title greet Macbeth.”(1.3.76-76) When Macbeth finds out that he will become thane of Cawdor from Ross and Angus he starts to truly believe that he can and will become the new king. The witches use this previously announced fact “Hail to you, thane of Cawdor” as a catalyst, to trick him into believing that he will become king which makes him take action towards the prophecy, but which was really his free will maki...
In addition, when Macbeth first meets the witches, he does not believe the prophecies given to him by the witches. This is best said as, “and to be king stands not within the prospect of belief, no more than to be Cawdor”. This exemplifies Macbeth’s disbelief in the prophecies that he is to become the Thane of Cawdor and the King of Scotland. In the second meeting, however, Macbeth devoutly believes in the predictions of the witches, as the first set has come true. This is evident as Macbeth seeks the witches’ prophecies and also says, “I conjure you, by that which you profess, howe’er you come to know it, answer me…”, showing that he believes the witches regardless of how they know the future.
When Macbeth hears the prophesies of his future, he appears to disregard them, but when he is made Thane of Cawdor (as foretold by the witches), he already is thinking about killing the king when he says these words to himself "The Princ...
There is no doubt that Macbeth was impulsive when it came to decision making in Macbeth. Decision making goes hand and hand with greediness, as well as free will. It is clearly evident that Macbeth is responsible for his decisions that were made. Lady Macbeth did not force him to kill the King, she just simply tested her opinion of manhood against Macbeth. Some may view that as morally wrong, because she pressured him into killing the King. But, Macbeth could have held his instincts back and not commit the crimes he did. “If we have free will, we can consciously make decisions that are not determined by the physics and biology of our brains.” (“Understanding Free Will”). Macbeth could have took a moment to realize what Lady Macbeth was trying to get him to do was wrong in numerous ways. Therefore, that is why Macbeth is to blame for his own death, because he could have stopped himself various times. When Macbeth killed the King, he felt guilt, which is most likely what he should have felt. Then, he killed the guards, and then Banquo. “They hailed him father to a line of kings. / Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown / No son of mine succeeding. If’t be so, / For Banquo’s issue have I filed my mind; / For them the gracious Duncan have I murdered.” (III.i.63-68). After Macbeth hired the three murders to kill Banquo, it was apparent that Macbeth went mentally
The witches have a strong effect on Macbeth's character; they highly influence him in his accomplishments and awake his ambitions. They give Macbeth a false sense of security with their apparitions of truths. Instead they prove to be harmful for Macbeth who takes too much comfort and confidence in his interpretation of the truths. They are the ones who plant the actual idea of killing Duncan into Macbeth's mind. But if it were only the witches prophecies, then Macbeth surely would not have murdered the king. 'When you durst to do it, then you were a man,' (Macbeth, Shakespeare Act 1 Scene 7) Lady Macbeth's constant harassment pushed Macbeth and made him commit all this evil. When you reason things out by yourself you tend to now what is right and what is wrong, a conscience. But with the outside influence from the witches he thinks that that is his destiny and he must do everything to fulfill it. One can wonder if Macbeth ever had a chance of doing what was right after he met with the witches. He is overthrown and killed. Through his own ambitions, the ambition of his wife and the witches' prophesies, Macbeth has caused his own destruction and downfall. We can now clearly see that ambition not achieved through our own ability leads to destruction. 'Hail Thane of Glamis and of Cawdor and shalt be King hereafter'. (Act 1 Scene 3) These prophecies from three strangers are taken without question and probably without good judgment. Just the thought that he may be King clouds his thoughts and ambition takes over. The witches can predict the future, they can add temptation, and influence Macbeth, but they cannot control his destiny.
The true hand of the death and who's at fault to send such a king down. At the death of the King Duncan making the man named Macbeth the throne. However the death was a life cut shorter than naturally intended. At the silver seductive tongue of Macbeth’s wife has him kill the king over night. Framing others after the deed was done to protect themselves from blame of the treason of such act. Ideas of the deathly hands being not the same but an act to please another named Lady Macbeth.
Or should MacBeth himself be held responsible? No doubt the witches and lady MacBeth influenced MacBeth in the course of action he took in his rise to power, but ultimately he must bear the major responsibility for his fate. The witches played an undoubtedly large role in MacBeth, being the instigators of the entire plot. In Act One, Scene Three, the witches say: all hail, MacBeth! Hail to thee, thane of cawdor!