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Was Macbeth Responsible For His Own Downfall

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The character of Macbeth, in Shakespeare’s famous play “Macbeth,” experiences series of conflict that contribute to his downfall. The question is, was his downfall due to fate? Or his own actions? The prophecy that the witches saw of Macbeth led him to believe that others may get in the way of his reign. Although seeing his own fate altered his decision making, it was not his fate that doomed him. His actions were led by greed and fear; he committed selfish acts by murdering Duncan, Banquo, and Macduff’s Family all to uphold his status. Due to his murderous crimes being led by his own actions and not the destiny that the witches prevised; Macbeth’s downfall was a tragedy of character.

The first murder Macbeth administered was against King Duncan. Shortly after Macbeth discovered that he was fated to be King, he wanted to help the prophecy take effect. By murdering King Duncan, Macbeth would be next in line to the throne. In this excerpt from the play, Macbeth expresses his concern with killing Duncan for others might use his reasoning against him, “We’d jump the life to come. But in these cases, We still have judgment here; that we but teach Bloody instructions, …show more content…

Due to Macbeth’s previous murders, Macduff decided to orchestrate a battle to end Macbeth and his reign. Macbeth’s response to this devious plan was to kill Macduff’s family as an act of revenge. These family members were not an interference to his prophecy, but instead were used as collateral damage. This last crime was the last straw for Macbeth and ultimately led to his death. Once news was heard of the mass murder, Macduff responded with his vindictive intentions, “Cut short all intermission; front to front Bring thou this fiend of Scotland and myself; Within my sword’s length set him. If he ’scape, Heaven forgive him too!”(Shakespeare 4.3.266-269) Overall, Macbeth murdered the family for selfish reasons which were not decided by

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