Who Was Responsible For Macbeth's Downfall

At the beginning of the play, Macbeth was a noble and loyal person, but by the end of the play, his “vaulting ambition” had taken over him. This caused him to become malicious and nihilistic and above all murderous, Macbeth portrays a tragic hero. Shakespeare portrays a tragic hero as someone who is noble and valiant but turns out to have a tragic flaw and Macbeth portrays this by fighting for his country and king but then murdering the king because of his hamartia, “his vaulting ambition”. Macbeth is greatly responsible for his downfall, but the witches have an impact on Macbeth’s actions. In Greek tragedies characters face a point in which they turn towards death, almost all plays have someone die and, in the end, justice prevails.

To Macbeth’s surprise, he was named the new Thane of Cawdor because of his skills and bravery and his great ambition. Along came the witches and prophesied that Macbeth will be king of Scotland. The good trait of ambition that gave him a title of the new Thane also gave him the title of king but through the action of murder. It was not long lasting though, and his flaw of ambition that got him those high-class titles also ended him with defeat and death. Macbeth through all this knows that he has gone too far and that he can not escape his problems.

Not only is this murder different in terms of reasoning, but the consequence itself proved to be a complete backfire as Macduff, fueled with rage, returns to England to end Macbeth’s life. Following the metaphorical trail of blood, each murder presents a new and more developed stage of dementia. “The castle of Macduff I will surprise, / Seize upon Fife; give to the edge o’ the 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, 150-154). The first murder of King Duncan only sealed Macbeth’s paranoia and served as a foundation for the murders of Banquo and Macduff’s family.

The murder of innocent people in Macbeth was important to show Macbeth’s inner conflict when he killed King Duncan, Banquo, and Macduff’s family. The first murder was King Duncan’s. Macbeth murdered King Duncan because the witches told him he would be the next King. Duncan was the

There is a saying that says: “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” But in the case of Macbeth, this does not apply. The worst enemy of Macbeth was in fact, himself. A great example of this is when he kills the noble King Duncan. But instead of sticking to the plan made by Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, he kills the guards out of fear that they would find out about him. In act two of scene three says,”Oh yet I do repent me of my fury/ that I did kill them”(Shakespeare Macbeth’s , Act II, Scene III).

This ambitious nature and craving for power is also demonstrated only moments after hearing the witches, when he starts formulating a plan to kill Duncan in order to make the third prophecy come true. “If good, why do I yield to that suggestion[killing Duncan]/Whose horrid image doth unify my hair” (I, III, 144-145). This quote indicates that the force of ambition is so strong within Macbeth that even he himself cannot understand why it is making him think of killing Duncan. Likewise, Macbeth’s ambition to become king is further emphasized after Duncan names his son Malcolm as his successor. Here, Macbeth says that he will have to “oerleap,/For in my way it [Malcolm] it lies” (I, III, 55-57).

When Duncan arrives at Macbeth’s castle, Lady Macbeth’s fake attitude towards the king resemble the prophecies of Macbeth’s are corrupting her also. Macbeth wants to kill Duncan, but still feels loyalty to his king and friend as “his kinsman and his subject (I.vii.13).” A deadly illusion is created, “Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle towards my hand? Come, let me clutch thee (II.ii.32-33)” to make sure he does not move away from his ambition of becoming king. Macbeth, under the urgings of his wife, murders Duncan in the dead of night, blaming Duncan’s two servants. After realizing the witches prophecies for him have came true, he orders Banquo and his son Fleance to be murdered, knowing the witches gave Banquo the prophecy of fathering many

Jaylin Wilson Ms. Morris English 12- 1st Period 5 December 2016 The Good and Evil in Macbeth In the tragedy, Macbeth, the good and evil shows a relation between the killing of characters throughout the story. It was evil that the characters are being killed, but it was good for the other characters that did the killing. The killing of the characters made a process to help the main character, Macbeth, in a good way and a bad way. He was the main person to make the killing to become King of Scotland and remain there. In Macbeth, the good and evil shows a relation between the killing of King Duncan, the killing of Banquo, and the conflict between Macbeth and Macduff.

Macbeth was responsible for his own actions when killing King Duncan, the guards, and his best friend Banquo. These actions came from his flaw of ambition, His ambition for power would stop at nothing for him to become king. He wanted power so bad that he was willing to kill his best friend. The prophecies were the reasoning of the awakening of this ambitious mindset of

Now that the tragic hero has risen and fell, he will not give up even if it leads to doom. Macduff and Macbeth battle and Macduff returns to stage with Macbeth’s head in his hand. Now that Macbeth is dead Malcolm will be king. Macbeth is a tragic hero but others may see him as an antagonist. The reason some readers may give him that name is for all the killing Macbeth does in order to become king.