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To What Extent Is Macbeth Responsible For His Own Actions

786 Words4 Pages

“… And damned all those that trust them.” To what extent is Macbeth responsible for his own actions? It is clear that Macbeth is a character whose judgments are easily influenced by those around him, yet it is not these people who are ultimately responsible for his uncontrollable ambition and ruthless murders. Macbeth’s character flaws – his unconfined ambition and gullibility - are used by the witches and Lady Macbeth to manipulate his thoughts through prophecies with multiple meanings and attacks on his nature. Despite this, Macbeth is a man free to make his own decisions, and through his nightmares, insomnia and madness it is clear the he feels remorse for his actions leaving him the only one responsible for his gruesome path. One of Macbeth’s character flaws, his unconfined ambition, is exploited by the witches and Lady Macbeth, leading him towards the grisly path he follows but not …show more content…

The witches, three supernatural and evil characters, are not trusted by Banquo upon encountering them, who tells Macbeth to be cautious. Yet in his gullibility, he ignores him and takes to heart their first apparition, their prediction that he will be made king. This fuels his existing ambition and creates the beginnings of the ruthless mindset he later uses to murder Duncan. He is also easily convinced through the witches’ second apparition that he has become invincible, ‘None of woman born shall harm Macbeth’, a belief which eventually leads to his death as he believes Macduff cannot harm him. The ambiguous words of the witches can be interpreted in different ways – as Macduff states that he was ‘from his mother’s womb untimely ripped’, their prophecy does not apply to him. Macbeth’s gullibility combined with the interactions with the witches can also share part of the blame, yet Macbeth is responsible for his own

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