Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The downfall of the macbeths
The influence of the witches in macbeth
Is Macbeth a victim of fate or his own ambitious choices
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The downfall of the macbeths
Before Macbeth went on a murderous rampage based on greed, he was a docile warrior with nothing to gain. Then, he met the three witches which sown the seeds of his demise. The fall of Macbeth was due to the fate of the three witches and their promising prophecies.
If it wasn’t for Macbeth and Banquo stumbling upon the witches, the whole taking the throne thing; that would have never happened (Mac. 1.3. 45-50). Macbeth was a docile and humble warrior fighting for his king before them meeting. Although, he did not have to listen to them, he could have just moved on . Thus, it didn’t take long after for him to realize, how great it would be to rule over Scotland. With a little persuading from his wife, and a good amount of contemplation, Macbeth would come to a conclusion on fulfilling the prophecy. He did eventually kill the king, and go on to murder innocent lives that could’ve potentially threatened his position (Mac. 4.2. 7585). But, he would not have done any of those heinous acts if the witches had not plagued his mind. It's not like they straight up told him, “kill the king, take his throne, and murder a whole bunch of people!” All they had to do was hint at a promising future that Macbeth would want, but that he couldn’t have unless he did something wicked.
…show more content…
He wasn’t healthy in the head while all of this was happening, which is why he probably did the things he did. Macbeth wasn’t a deranged person until he murdered Duncan, which is basically when all of this started. He couldn’t take the guilt of what he did to his king, and that ate at his conscience. So to say that Macbeth’s decisions were of free will would be overruled by his mental illness. He had no clue of what was right or wrong at this time. This was all fate, also a trap set by the witches themselves. When a man is given the opportunity of power he tends to take that
MacBeth may have gotten what he was after in the beginning when he was crowned king, but afterwards of course he lost everything he had. First, he lost his wife, then he lost his friends, and finally he lost his life. The witches are the ones who put the idea into his head about being king, and actually caused him and his wife to kill the king. This is what started everything bad that he did. Even having his best friend, Banquo, killed.
It all began when “three strange figures” who later turned out to be three witches “told [Macbeth] he would become king (Nuttall 1). Macbeth at this time was a loyal kinsman to Duncan, the current king. While it was a thought in the back of his mind that Macbeth would eventually like to take the throne, it never occurred to him that he would have the murder Duncan in order to do so. The witches added turmoil to this idea by talking about Banquo as well and stating that Banquo’s sons will become king as well. This prophecy made it inevitable that murder would eventually take place. Although hesitant at first, Macbeth, with the persistent help of Lady Macbeth, followed through with the murder and took the throne as King. Had the witches not told Macbeth his prophecy, Macbeth would more than likely not have resorted to the tactics and actions it took for him to in due course become king. At this point in the story, Macbeth is not a cold-blooded murderer who he is destined to become later. Duncan’s murder was Macbeth’s first time to kill another man; however, this wouldn’t be his last as a cover-up would be needed. “[Macbeth] require[ed] a clearness” so t...
Lady Macbeth and the three witches are responsible for Macbeth’s downfall. The three witches told Macbeth a prophecy, which led him to murder anyone in his way for more power. In page 18, When Macbeth heard that he became the new Thane of Cawdor, he thought, “If it’s my fate to be king, then fate might make me king, without me having to do anything”. This is ironic because he ended up murdering innocent people such as his best friend and Macduff’s family to stay as the King. Macbeth relied too much on the prophecies from the three witches to save him from fear. “Im determined to know the worst, by any means I can. I have to know, for my own good”(p.72). Lady Macbeth was also
As a result of Malcolm and Donalbain's suspicions resulting in their departure to England and Ireland Macbeth became king: this was the ultimate power that he and Lady Macbeth had as their goal (well, actually it was more of Lady Macbeth's goal), and now he eventually had received it. Nothing was going to take away this ultimate power from Macbeth, and he would do anything to keep it. Macbeth's ruthlessness results in him ordering three murderers to murder his best friend, Banquo. The power of being king has taken over Macbeth's life, and he is a victim of his own greed for power. He is a tyrant. Not only does Macbeth murder Banquo (not directly, of course), he also murders (actually he has people murder) Macbuffs family.
Because he wasn’t in a proper mental state, Macbeth was a terrible king. He ruled Scotland like a tyrant and shut himself off from all of his friends and subjects. His terrible leadership of the country caused most of the politicians to wish for him to be overthrown. Some of the nobles-- such as Ross, Lennox, and Macbeth-- left Scotland and went to England where Malcolm had been staying with his relatives, the royal family of England. In England, Malcolm and the others from Scotland are planning an attack on Macbeth so that Malcolm can claim the throne that is rightfully his. This shows that Macbeth’s choices caused his downfall because they led him to insanity and that caused him to be a terrible leader that needed to be
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 his dormant ambitions to be king. In addition to this, the witches' prophesies gave Macbeth a false sense of security. Finally, their predictions falsely led Macbeth to believe he would some day be happy. The Witches' contributed the most to Macbeth's destruction by first stirring his deep lying ambitions, also by giving him a false sense of security and finally, by allowing Macbeth to believe he would someday be content.
Later in the play Banquo starts to have a bad feeling about Macbeth. "Thou hast it now: King, Cowdor, Glamis, all,/ as the weird women promised, and I fear/ thou play'dst most foully for `t." III i 1-3, this is a quote from Banquo explaining how he feels about Macbeth's predictions coming true. Macbeth realizes this about Banquo and he starts to have feelings about killing Banquo. This isn't the only reason he feels this way, the witches had also made predictions for Banquo. "Thou shall get kings, though thou be none." I iii 67, Macbeth doesn't want any of Banquo's family to rule Scotland; he wants his own family to continue to rule. Macbeth hires two murderers to kill Banquo and his on Fleance. The murderers end up killing Banquo, but Fleance gets away.
The witches can not be the most powerful characters in the play or the catalyst to all of Macbeth’s crimes since he has the power of his free will to decide what he does. The witches did not force him to do anything, they only influenced what he did by bringing out his “dark side” and true ambitions. “And Fortune, on his damned quarrel smiling, show’d like a rebel’s whore: But all’s too weak: for brave Macbeth—well he deserves that name—disdaining Fortune, with his brandish’d steel, which smoked with bloody execution,” (Act 1 Scene 2 Lines 16-20) The Captain says that Macbeth should have been killed in battle but he was stronger than his fate is. This means that Macbeth has no one to blame but himself for his own death, actions and crimes.
The Tragedy of Macbeth written by William Shakespeare is a tale of a man and his un-bridled ambition, set in ancient Scotland. Macbeth is a nobleman of the king of Scotland, Duncan, who is in mid-war with Norway. Macbeth and his fellow general Banquo encounter three witches. The witches tell the pair that Macbeth will be king, and Banquo’s children will also be kings. Any person in their right mind would question information given to them by strangers, let alone witches, but for some reason these statements intrigue Macbeth. They temp Macbeth to do evil things such as treason, and worse, to kill. Although un-bridled ambition is his main tragic flaw, there is one more that plays a big role in his decisions and the outcome of the story; Macbeth is far too impressionable.
Firstly, he defeats his enemies. Next he is praised by the other soldiers and King Duncan appoints him as the Thane. For example, if a person desires for a manager title, the person will work hard to earn it, and it is possible that other workers will see this and boost the chief individual’s desire. It is from here that the person might think they deserve the title and look for more power. Similarly, Macbeth must have thought somewhere in his mind to be king. In the book Witches’ Caldron: a study of motive in Shakespeare’s Macbeth Dr. K.C. Mathur says that although the witches did prophesy he would be king and even boosted his desire “They did not create the thought of murder of King Duncan. It was Macbeth’s own latent ambition embodying his power drive and seeking affirmation that invites the witches.” (Witches Caldron, 6) Dr. Mathur also says “Macbeth had acquired this status and it is not surprising that he thinks of achieving higher status by being aggressive and domineering. It is this psychological impulse that is projected in his ambition for the crown and not any criminal instinct or latent evil.” (6) There was a negative environment of witches and the association of Lady Macbeth around Macbeth which influenced him to murder. The environment creates a huge part in the play and if he had a good environment it is possible that he would have remained loyal to King
Macbeth’s blind ambition leads him to surrender to his dark desires that taunt him throughout the play. Macbeth is frequently tempted to result to the wrongful methods that seem to roam inside of him. In the beginning however Macbeth tends to ignore these desires and depends on chance. He declares “if chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir” (Shakespeare, act 1, scene 3, 143-144). This declaration by Macbeth shows his initial stand, which is reliant on fate and sin free. Yet as Macbeth’s character develops throughout the play, he moves farther from his dependence on chance and closer to his darker desires. Eventually his blind ambition to become king overp...
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.
Macbeth would never have thought seriously about killing Duncan without the witches. The witches are responsible for putting the idea and thought into Macbeth’s mind. As a brave leader of the king’s army, Macbeth’s main goal should be to serve and receive his reward in heaven. After his encounter with the witches, this is not the case anymore. Ambition is what drives Macbeth, and he only needs the suggestion of what could be his for him to go get it.
Macbeth takes his first step toward becoming evil when he is confronted with the knowledge that he will be king. When the witches tell him "All hail, Macbeth! that shalt be king thereafter!" he makes the mistake of letting his ambition overrule his judgment. If his judgment had remained intact in the face of the witches' powerful prophecy, he certainly would have decided not to let his actions be dictated by a prophecy given to him by three strange witches who evade most of the questions he asks. With great trepidation and considerable pressure from Lady Macbeth, he commits his second mistake by proceeding to murder King Duncan. Driven by a persecution complex that starts with the knowledge that Banquo is meant to be the f...
All hail, MacBeth, that shalt be king hereafter! (Line 47-50) These prophecies throw into his mind the possibility of further advancement to the highest level of the nobility. If the witches had not told MacBeth of their prophecies, there is little chance he would have thought about them himself, and even less chance he would have murdered king Duncan. In Act Three, Scene Five, the witches talk to Hectate, the goddess of demons, about MacBeth.