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Who Is Responsible For Macbeth's Downfall

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In many famous novels, oftentimes a seemingly positive trait can lead to a negative outcome. Shakespeare focused on the ambition that was one of the key factors that led to Macbeth's downfall. Macbeth became so corrupted over power he was so ambitious to be king and was holding all his trust in the prophecies. He became unable to control his crave for power and his wife Lady Macbeth agreed on the murder. Together they formed a plan to take power of the throne by Killing King Duncan. They planned to frame the servants by giving them large portions of alcohol. In drama, tragic heroes are defined as characters whose flaws or ambitions lead to their downfall. Macbeth’s manipulation by Lady Macbeth and his ambition are what leads to his downfall. His downfall advances the theme that the idea of power can corrupt people enabling them to forget about …show more content…

Macbeth does not know that what the witches are saying is true. The Witches motivated Macbeth to continue believing such dangerous lies which pushed him into a narcissistic rampage. During one of the prophecies one of the witches said “All halt Macbeth,that shall be king hereafter”. This prophecy turned Macbeth corrupt over power and having complete control over everyone around him. Lady Macbeth becomes seduced to the idea of being queen and having power over the throne which motivates her ambition. Later Macbeth reconsiders killing Duncan because he thought the king's son Malcolm was a threat to the throne. Lady Macbeth manipulates Macbeth by becoming hostile,and challenging his manhood by saying “When you durst do it,then you are a man.” Macbeth began feeling a lack of motivation and said “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself and falls on the' other.” Macbeth illustrates the ambition that is driving his intent but the lack of motivation he is

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As the play continues, Macbeth's desire for the throne amplifies, ultimately leading him to murder the king and manipulate those around him to secure his maintained his crown. The prophecy becomes self-fulfilling as Macbeth's ambition drives him to carry out terrible acts, which in turn causes his descent into tyranny and, eventually, his tragic downfall. Through this clever foreshadowing, Shakespeare illustrates the corrupting nature of ambition and

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1040 Words | 5 Pages

He often had doubts about the life he was choosing, which can be represented in this quote. Macbeth states, “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent but only vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself and falls on the other '' when he is starting to have doubts about himself and Lady Macbeth's plans to kill King Duncan. He feels as if he isn't courageous enough to go through with his plan. This occurs early on in the play and is the turning point on whether or not Macbeth wants to back out or carry on through this dangerous road which he believes will eventually lead to success. He uses a complex metaphor of comparing his situation to a horse rider who doesn't want to use the spurs to motivate their horse to go faster.

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586 Words | 3 Pages

Lady Macbeth’s devious plan supported Macbeth’s egocentric values and contributed to his downfall. The witches fooled Macbeth by using their words. They are responsible for putting the idea of being king in his head. The witches told Macbeth that he is going to become king.

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443 Words | 2 Pages

“I have no spur/ To prick the sides of my intent, but only/ Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself/ And falls on th’ other”(1.7 25-28). In reality, Macbeth’s ambition is what drives him to murder King Duncan. In fact, ambition, according to Macbeth, may cause people to put themselves first. It is at this point that Macbeth begins his downfall because he has too much ambition to stop the murder. Macbeth’s ambition is out of control and is now beginning to take over.

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Macbeth’s Downfall Throughout the play, Macbeth was able to conquer warriors all the way from the east to the west, but the one warrior he could not conquer was himself. William Shakespeare wrote Macbeth- a tragic play about the fatal flaws of the main character, Macbeth, and how they caused him to shift from a renowned hero to a tyrannic traitor. Macbeth faced a multitude of forces, but his own ambition is the strongest force that was the most responsible for both his success and his eventual downfall.

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Throughout the story, Macbeth is haunted by visions that symbolze his guilt and fear of punishment. these visions are a result of his own choices and actions, which lead him down a path of destruction. Although the witches prophecies do set Macbeth on a certain path, it is his own actions that lead him to murder and ignore the moral and ethical considerations that would have stopped from doing so. The prophecy may have played a role in his initial decision making, it was ultimately Macbeths own choices that determined his fate. The prophecy delivered by the 3 witches was the driving force behind his

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Like all of Shakespeare’s other plays, “Macbeth’s” protagonist Macbeth is incredibly successful but suffers from one fatal flaw, his great ambition. His ambition will be the cause of his great success but ultimately also of his downfall. The man’s ambition drives him to seize every opportunity to promote his own agenda. His ambition hurts him the most when he decides to kill King Duncan and Macduff.

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In Macbeth, William Shakespeare portrays the end of a famed hero who chooses to go down a dark path, rather than choosing a path which would have led to glory, making him a tragic hero. When Macbeth is told his prophecy of becoming king, he intends on doing it on his own terms and decides to make impulsive decisions, such as killing Duncan, Banquo and slaughtering Macduff’s family. These impulsive decisions were an effect of Macbeth being blinded by becoming king, as he felt he had other options. Although it may seem that Macbeth was influenced by society to commit these atrocious acts, he was fully aware of the consequences and went ahead with his plan. Macbeth truly fits the role of a tragic hero as he brought his fate upon himself, through

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Macbeth is the Shakespearean play that features the triumphant uprise and the inevitable downfall of its main character. In this play, Macbeth’s downfall can be considered to be the loss of his moral integrity and this is achieved by ambition, despite this, Lady Macbeth and the witches work through his ambition, furthering to assist his inevitable ruin. Ambition alone is the most significant factor that led to Macbeth’s downfall. The witches are only able to influence his actions through Macbeth’s pre-existing and the three witches see that Macbeth has ambition and uses it to control his action. Ambition alone is displayed throughout the play to be the most significant cause for Macbeth’s downfall.

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Macbeth’s failures are the direct result of the poor choices he makes when influenced by outside forces. The external influences of Lady Macbeth’s forcefulness, the witches’ prophecies, and his own blind greed conspired to ruin him. This demonstrates that people can be easily manipulated into self-depriving choices. Macbeth’s first failure occurred when the witches influenced him with their prophecy.

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Macbeth chose to listen and accept the prophecy as truth even though he had no proof. Although the witches influence Macbeth they did not suggest to Macbeth to kill the king, he got that idea from his selfish thoughts. After the witches visit Macbeth he goes to his wife about his thoughts of killing the king. Lady Macbeth encourages murder because that’s the only way she thinks Macbeth can become king.

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Shakespeare's tragedy, Macbeth, analyzes the tragic downfall of a man who pursued his prophecy given to him by three witches, and suffered the downfall because of it. Told his power was inevitable, Macbeth explores the idea of murdering the King to achieve his goal of becoming King himself. Macbeth continually faces this, contemplating the moral issue of committing murder to in turn, fulfill his powerful destiny. While facing this internal conflict, Lady Macbeth developes an influence over Macbeth as well. Driven by her own desire to be Queen, Lady Macbeth persuades Macbeth to commit the murder, by challenging his manhood and often reminding him that it is, in fact, his destiny.

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780 Words | 4 Pages

Moreover, this realization leads Lady Macbeth to think about murdering King Duncan for her and Macbeth to gain power. In addition to Lady Macbeth’s cruel character, she reveals her desirous thoughts towards the crown. Lady Macbeth continues her speech and mentions her unquenching thirst to take Duncan’s power. “Make thick my blood. Stop the access and passage to remorse, that no compunctious visitings of nature shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace with the effect and it!”

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1241 Words | 5 Pages

Macbeth’s ambition is one of the most prominent things that drive Macbeth in the play and truly becomes evident when he hears of the Witches prophecies. When the witches stop talking, he demands to know more. “Stay you imperfect speakers, tell me more” (I, III, 73-74). This portrays his excessive curiosity on the subject as well as his craving for more desirable prophecies. This ambitious nature and craving for power is also demonstrated only moments after hearing the witches, when he starts formulating a plan to kill Duncan in order to make the third prophecy come true.

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876 Words | 4 Pages

The witches played a colossal role in Macbeth’s downfall and ultimately, his death. Since the first part of the prophecy stated Macbeth as being the new Thane of Cawdor, he believed he could continue to become king as well. In knowing his prediction, Macbeth also realized that since the king was in good health, so he would have to kill the king himself. For the rest of his prophecy to come true he would have to kill the king for himself. “All hail, Macbeth that shalt be king hereafter!”

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