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Causes Of The Downfall Of Macbeth

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Recommended: Macbeth character development throughout book

Robert Forte
Mrs. Milman
Honors English 3
21 April 2023
The Downfall of Macbeth
In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth, a great warrior of Scotland, is influenced to become an evil tyrant when he is informed of what will happen in his life and what wonders he will achieve. Throughout the play, Macbeth makes decisions that impact his life on a physical and mental capacity. Once Macbeth rises to power as King of Scotland he murders his best friend Banquo, because the three Witches prophesied that Banquo’s son will become the next king and Macbeth wanted to stay king forever because of the Witches influence on him. The hunger for power grew and grew inside of Macbeth because of him knowing his own fate from the Witches, causing …show more content…

Macbeth had just murdered MacDonwald, a traitor/spy of Scotland and was returning home from a battle when they appeared out of nowhere saying rhymes. The three Witches then inform Macbeth and his best friend Banquo what their futures will hold for them, thus planting the seed for evil’s growth. The two friends go back to the King’s castle and one of the Witches' prophecies comes true for Macbeth as soon as they get back, convincing him that all of them are true. Macbeth is now being controlled by an entity above his own knowledge committing evil deeds that he wouldn’t have thought of if the Witches didn’t talk to him. Macbeth commits horrors in Scotland and is described as a plague to it. First he murders the King so he could take the King's throne. After he murders the king he comes back to his wife and pulls her aside to state “I have done the deed. Didst thou not hear a noise?”(Shakespeare II.ii.15) Macbeth has just murdered the King showing how the evil implanted inside of his head from the Witches is taking over and starting to control his actions. Macbeth is then reminded of what the Witches said for Banquo and his prophecies and he tries to make them not come true as he wants to stay in control to fulfill his prophecy. These actions show how his thoughts and morals were twisted by the Witches who had complete control over Macbeth. Even …show more content…

Scotland’s King is assassinated while he sleeps and then an evil Tyrant takes over the kingdom whose head is controlled not by himself but by three mysterious Witches telling him what to change in the Kingdom. Even people in this play were impacted such as Macduff who lost his wife, kids, and castle servants because he tried to remove Macbeth from power. Fleance, who was Banquo’s son, lost his father because Macbeth didn’t want Banquo to remain a threat to him and even an attempt on Fleance was made. Another horrible happening for our tragic hero was that Macbeth lost his own mind to an outside control and this ruined how he saw the world. The feelings and thoughts of all in Scotland were twisted when their own king became a ruthless tyrant that only cared about him staying in power. Once Macduff came with England’s troops, Macbeth wasn’t the only one fighting to protect himself but he had the army of Scotland who he impacted by having Soldiers die for his tyranny to stay in rule of Scotland impacting all the families of Soldiers and the next upcoming

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His lust for power drives him to murder Banquo and Fleance to ensure that they will not become kings, and so that his own sons will inherit the throne. Making rationalizations for the murders, he recalls the witches’ prophecy, by saying “They hailed him to a line of kings... No son of mine succeeding.” (3.1) Desiring to retain the power he occupies, Macbeth becomes increasingly willing to kill in order to preserve it. His mental state begins to deteriorate rapidly as he becomes increasingly more paranoid due to the lingering guilt of the crimes.

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Macbeth then decided to plan the murder of Banquo and his son, even though Banquo is his best friend. Macbeth was manipulated into following with Lady Macbeth’s plan, “I dare do all that may become a man/ who dares do more is none” (1.7.51-52). This caused Macbeth into killing the King. This leads Macbeth towards his death. In the end, Macbeth’s choices had lead him to his downfall.

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