Who is Responsible for Macbeth’s Downfall

Everyone has flaws. Only some, however, become consumed by their flaws, while others are able to get back up and continue fighting theirs. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth begins as a loyal and noble warrior hero; nevertheless, everything changes when Macbeth meets the three witches. In Macbeth's downfall essay we will analyse what has caused this hero to lost his power. 

Macbeth soon learns his three prophecies, which leads him to become short-sighted, lustful for power and eager to become king. His impulsive decisions, which are actions that go against his morals and shows his deepest flaws, are what eventually drives him to a deadly downfall. Macbeth is ultimately responsible for his own destruction through his uncontrollable ambition, being easily manipulated and influenced by others and ultimately making decisions on the basis of his insecurities. Dreams are present to help achieve the unimaginable, to help push people to their limits. Macbeth, however, takes this concept to the extreme, taking huge sacrifices and risks in order to achieve his “dream”. 

At the beginning of the play, Macbeth meets the three witches and is told: “All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!”. He does not even bother questioning them, immediately starts coming up with his own interpretations of what this could mean; this leads to the formation of his dream, to become king. Throughout the rest of the play, he continues to express this ambition to an extreme. When Macbeth considers whether or not to kill Duncan, he can not seem to justify his killing a pious, who also happens to be his cousin staying in his castle. Macbeth draws a conclusion and says: “I have no spur / To prick the sides of my intent, but only / Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself/ And falls on the other.” He ends the scene by shaking off the idea of guilt and murdering Duncan, showing his ambition to become king. As progress is made towards becoming king, he previous guilt it is quickly forgotten and he becomes even more impulsive. Macbeth allowed his ambition to consume him and destroy his morals, ultimately leading him to his downfall. In our world, other people have a huge influence on the actions that one makes. It is argued that Lady Macbeth is completely responsible for Macbeth's downfall. With her proposal to kill Duncan and her persuasion she tells Macbeth: “ Come to my woman’s breasts,/And take my milk for gall, you murd'ring ministers,/Wherever in your sightless substances/You wait on nature’s mischief.” This makes Macbeth feel unmanly, and with the love that exists between them, making him feel guilty, he makes the decision to kill Duncan. This is a decision that without influence and manipulation would have probably never occurred. In addition, once Macbeth hears the prophecies, he becomes more engaged and says; “Stay you imperfect speakers, tell me more”. Unlike Banquo who resists the temptation and does not read to much into what they mean, Macbeth stays curious which gives the witches and opportunity to manipulate him. 

All these influences have an effect on Macbeth leading him into being manipulated by temptation. Although it was a combination of factors that lead to the death of Macbeth, his insecurities and correlated actions were some of the major contributors. As soon as Macbeth had found out about the prophecies, it did not take him long to take matters into his own hands instead of relying on fate, as the witches suggested. Later, Macbeth says: “If chance will have me king, why, chance/may crown me,/Without my stir”. To Macbeth, chance and fate are the same and would rather not leave it to chance to be crowned. Macbeth feels uncomfortable just letting things happen without interfering. He has fears of what could happen if he does not murder Duncan. With the convincing of Lady Macbeth, he does eventually kill Duncan. This happens again, when Macbeth gets Banquo killed, he did not perform the act however it was completely his idea and get three murderers to perform the deed. Further on, when he meets the apparitions, it is as if he needs power at that point. After Macbeth is told: “Be bloody, bold, and resolute. Laugh to scorn/The power of man, for none of woman born/Shall harm Macbeth”, he becomes overconfident and believes he is unstoppable. Macbeth often acted impulsively and took matters into his own hands as it was fear that truly guided him to break his morals and act upon any issue that arose. 

Through his blind ambition, the influence of Lady Macbeth and the Witches and by taking matters into his own hands based on insecurities leads him to be responsible for his own downfall. Macbeth’s flaws such as ambition, fear and guilt are shown throughout the book, lead him to make hasty decisions, pushing him deeper and deeper into a downward spiral. Macbeth does admit; “I am in blood/Stepp’d in so far, that, should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o’er”, that he does get to a point where he has already gone too deep and the road back would be just as hard as continuing, therefore, choosing the one with the better outcome. 

In conclusion to Macbeth downfall essay, although there are some exterior factors that took a toll of Macbeth such as other characters, his downfall was largely due to his own actions. Everyone has their flaws; it is the capability to deal and cope with these flaws that differentiate between those who prosper, and those who crash and burn.