Are The Witches To Blame In Macbeth Essay

practice essay

“The witches are entirely to blame for the events of ‘Macbeth’”.

Discuss in relation to your studied text.

Point - the witches are not entirely to blame

Paragraphs - macbeths fatal flaw ambition

Lady macbeth’s bloodthirstiness and encouragement of his harmartia

In Shakespeare’s Macbeth (1606), the witches are the initial enablers of Macbeth’s murderous rampage; however, Lady Macbeth’s emotional manipulation and Macbeth’s own fatal flaw are what truly commenced the events of the play. The witches’ prophecy, and the deceiving language they use, is what planted the seed of murderous intent in Macbeth’s mind. However, Lady Macbeth’s use of their pre-established romantic relationship to emotionally manipulate Macbeth is what

This is clearly shown in the quote, “Was the hope drunk Wherein you dressed yourself?”. Shakespeare’s use of a metaphor creates the image of Macbeth not being in a sane state of mind when he expressed his ambitions for the crown. Lady Macbeth taunts him, questioning his valour and courage, calling him a coward and urging him into killing Duncan. This shows her influence over Macbeth, and how she urges him towards using his ambition for his evil schemes. When Macbeth voices his concerns, Lady Macbeth further urges him, saying “But screw your courage to the sticking-place, And we’ll not fail.” Shakespeare's use of the idiom of unwavering resolute shows Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s unfaltering ambition in their goal of power. Lady Macbeth’s greed for power is similar to Macbeth’s, however she possesses the courage and recklessness that Macbeth does not at the beginning of the play. Therefore, it is clear that Lady Macbeth is also partly responsible for influencing Macbeth’s later decisions, and it is not entirely the witches’

Macbeth himself says that ambition is his only motivation, clearly seen in the quote, “I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself And falls on th’other”. Shakespeare uses personification, describing Macbeth’s ambition as akin to a horse, which “o’erleaps itself And falls on th’other”, representing Duncan’s demise as a result of Macbeth’s greed for the crown. This shows how his fatal flaw will cause him to continue in his murderous rampage. Furthermore, once Macbeth has gained the crown, his ambition is still growing and he does not feel safe in his position. This is seen in the quote, “To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus.” Macbeth feels paranoid about his position as king, starting his spiral into insanity as he goes to extreme lengths in order to ‘protect’ his power. His fatal flaw of ambition to keep his crown sets him upon a murderous path, and he kills even more people as a result, eventually leading to his demise. In this way, Macbeth’s hamartia shoulders some blame for the events of the play, too, meaning the witches are not the only ones at