Who Is Responsible For Macbeth's Downfall

Macbeth is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare and was first presented in April 1611. The play is based on a “hero” who has a tragic flaw that leads to his downfall. The antagonist in this play is a character named Macbeth who can't control his emotions. Throughout the play, many different characters played a part in his downfall, but some just played a larger role. The downfall of Macbeth does not seem like a good thing, but it led to the rise of many other important people. This play was written on a partially true story because it is based on a previous King in Scotland. Macbeth's downfall was bound to happen because of these people., Macbeth himself, Lady Macbeth and lastly the three witches. Many argue that fate is decided but in

Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell that summons thee to heaven, or to hell.” (Act 2. Scene 1. Lines 62-64). This quote shows how Macbeth is now ready to kill Duncan and there is no going back anymore. This is an important quote because it leads to Macbeth eventually becoming more power hungry and getting on the path that leads to his downfall. At this point, we were also shown how easily Macbeth can be manipulated by his wife, which shows his tragic flaw. Another quote from the play that supports this is “The castle of Macduff I will surprise, seize upon Fife; give to the edge o’ the sword His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls that trace him in his line. No boasting like a fool; this deed I’ll do before this purpose cool, but no more sights! —Where are these gentlemen? Come, bring me where they are.” (Act 4. Scene 1. Lines 150-156). This quote shows how Macbeth's rage of keeping his power has increased and he will now do anything to maintain it. This also helps his downfall because this angers Macduff and he comes to kill Macbeth. Another thing it shows is that Macbeth is no longer thinking about his decisions and is now rushing everything. Towards the end

Their predictions made the largest impression on him because he was only thinking about them. These prophecies are told early on in the story when the witches say “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth! That shalt be king hereafter!” (Act 1. Scene 3. Lines 48-50). These few prophecies are told by the three witches to Macbeth while Banquo was present. After the first prophecy came true Macbeth had become confident and made the third one come true by killing Duncan and taking his place. His thoughts about killing Duncan started because he simply wanted to be the best and make sure these prophecies came true. This was the beginning of Macbeth's evil life. The witches have given him a lot of false hope, for example, “Rebellious dead, rise never. Till the wood of Birnam rise, and out high-plac’d Macbeth shall live the lease of nature, pay his breath to time, and moral custom.”. In this quote the witches are giving Macbeth false hopes to boost his ego for their entertainment. Making Macbeth underestimate others and not being cautious is what led to his fateful death. The witches had led Macbeth to kill Duncan, then Banquo and now he is trying to kill Macduff, but what he does not know is that Macduff can beat him. This challenging attitude was given to him by the spell Hecate placed on him,