Excessive Pride In Macbeth

William Shakespeare’s Macbeth shows how greed and paranoia affect one’s actions. Macbeth, a war hero who seeks prestige and power, loses control of himself, and commits heinous acts of violence and corruption. With his actions being enabled by the three witches who prophesy his ascension to the throne of Scotland, Macbeth becomes overwhelmed with pride, and acts rashly with the belief that he is infallible. He aggressively pursues any threat to his rule by ruthlessly killing any of suspicious individual, even his ally Banquo, whose descendants are foretold to succeed Macbeth’s rule of Scotland. While Macbeth’s undoing could be primarily attributed to his hubris, there are other factors that play into his demise. Lady Macbeth is one of the main

After being told that no man born of a woman would pose a threat to his rule, Macbeth becomes confident that there would be no usurpers to his control over Scotland. Macbeth’s hubris causes him to dismissively order the murder the family of his only opponent, Macduff, with no consideration of the repercussions of such an act, and how it could motivate Macduff and others to rebel against Scotland. However, he receives another prophecy which warns him to beware Macduff, a man who suspects Macbeth of committing regicide in order to become king. Macbeth ruthlessly orders the execution of Macduff’s family, which fuels Macduff’s anger when the two battle each other. While Macbeth’s cruel actions could be interpreted as a result of his growing paranoia, they are mainly caused by his confidence in himself after seeing the apparitions that reassure him that his reign as king would be without threats. This is depicted when he orders the seizing of Macduff’s castle: “The castle of Macduff I will surprise, seize upon Fife, give to th’ edge o’ th’ sword his wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls that trace him in his line. No boasting like a fool; this deed I’ll do before this purpose cool” (IV, I, 171-175). Macbeth is sure that the murder of Macduff and his family would solidify tyranny over Scotland, and he blindly believes in the apparitions that the witches show him without any

His arrogance when finding out that he has barely any threats to his rule causes him to act like there are no repercussions to his actions. Lady Macbeth begins the cascade of events that result in Macbeth taking more risks to ascend in power, such as killing Duncan. The witches also contribute heavily to Macbeth’s downfall, motivating him to act in a certain manner, and instilling the hubris that causes him to act foolishly. With these factors, Macbeth, loses the support of all his supporters, and falls from his tyrannical rule of