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Who Was Responsible For Macbeth's Downfall

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Macbeth’s demise was caused by him firstly being taunted by Lady Macbeth, then committing terrible acts because of her doing, and ultimately falling down, where Macduff killed him as revenge. These are a series of events that happened throughout the story of Macbeth. The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a tragedy play that is about a man named Macbeth, who rises to power and becomes Thane of Cawdor. He then talks to three witches, saying that he will become king, and Lady Macbeth, Macbeth’s wife, becomes powered by greed and ambition and tells Macbeth to kill the king so he can attain power. These and many other choices will eventually lead Macbeth through a dark path, and to his demise. Macbeth himself is responsible for his …show more content…

In the play, Macbeth meets the three witches, and they summon three apparitions to tell him what will happen. The first one tells Macbeth to fear Macduff, as he is seen as a threat to him. This is because Macduff seems to be leading on to Macbeth regarding the murder of King Duncan. Also, Macduff is seen as a threat to the throne as well, as he was very loyal to Duncan. However, since he was suspicious of Macbeth, he fled to England. Since Macbeth was told by Lennox that Macduff moved to England, he hatches a plan to kill Macduff’s family by catching them off guard, which he explains by disclosing “The castle of Macduff I will surprise, / Seize upon Fife, give to th’ edge of th’ sword / His wife, his bab, and all unfortunate souls / That trace him in his line” (4.1.171-174). The quote implies that he will kill Macduff’s family so that Macduff will be scared to fight Macbeth. This conclusively becomes one of the major factors in Macbeth’s demise, as it shows how heartless Macbeth has become since he first murdered King Duncan due to

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Who Was Responsible For Macbeth’s Downfall? In "Macbeth," there are a few characters who share responsibility for the tragedy that happens. Though, Macbeth himself takes the most responsibility for his actions, as his own actions lead to his own downfall. “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself and falls on th' other.”

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1280 Words | 6 Pages

For instance, he commits multiple murders after he gets the title of King. The murder of his own friend Banquo, the attempted murder of Banquo's son Fleance, and the murder of Macduff's family all were committed to fueling his growing obsession with maintaining his status and power. Nearing the end of the play, his determination completely takes over him and leads to his downfall. The witches give Macbeth more insight near the end of the play, communicated through visions and apparitions. The apparitions tell macbeth: “Macbeth, Macbeth, Macbeth, beware Macduff; / Beware the Thane of Fife.

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This is the point at which Lady Macbeth weaves her way into Macbeth’s mind, persuading him to murder Duncan, which she would not have done had she not known the prophecies of the witches. Not allowing the witches to get under his skin would have caused Macbeth to spare the life of Duncan, in return sparing his own life. When Macduff uncovers the secret behind who killed King Duncan he took a stand to avenge him. He immediately set out to murder Macbeth. Once he achieves his goal he places the head of Macbeth on a stake and praises his own victory.

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Lady Macbeth is known to be one of the most frightening and challenging characters in the play Macbeth. The play starts with Macbeth being told his destiny to become the Thane of Cawdor and when Lady Macbeth finds out she is instantly drawn to the likeness of being the Queen of Cawdor. In order to achieve this, she and Macbeth come up with a plan to kill Duncan and obtain his power. Once he is dead, rumors spread about who the murderer really is. As this starts to build, so does the pressure and guilt Lady Macbeth feels as she confesses about her role in the murder.

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Macbeth essay ‘To what extent is Macbeth responsible for his own demise?’ Throughout this essay the degree to which Macbeth is accountable for his own downfall and resultant death will be discussed. There are events that led up to this point and the responsibility is the topic of discussion.

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However, Macbeth’s character shifts greatly when he becomes king and falls deeper into tyranny as result of his predetermined fate. Motifs, such as supernatural elements, hallucinations, visions, and the reversal of nature further exemplify that fate undoubtedly leads to Macbeth’s downfall. The supernatural, hallucinations, and visions make Macbeth lose his sense of control, thereby causing his demise. Firstly, Macbeth is presented with prophecies from the three witches, who claim that he will become the new King of Scotland

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However, when making these choices to further his own prosperity, there may be some other sources that affect his thinking. When Macbeth makes the decisions to murder and torture the people in his way, he gets some influence from the witches and his wife; nevertheless, Macbeth’s choices that lead to the tragedy of the story were completely all on his part. In the very beginning of the production,

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What need I fear of thee? But yet I'll make assurance double sure And take a bond of fate — thou shalt not live — That I may tell pale-hearted fear it lies, And sleep in spite of thunder” ( Shakespeare 4.1 90–94). MacBeth thinks hes invincible and doesnt think Macduff can kill him. Later to come find out MacDuff is the one to murder MacBeth. In Conclusion, MacBeth being self-centered is the reason he ends up

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988 Words | 4 Pages

The first apparition warns Macbeth to be aware of Macduff. However, Macbeth replies with “Then live, Macduff; what need I fear of thee? (4.1.89)” Even though Macbeth knows that Macduff will dangerous as he knows about the murder, Macbeth’s overconfidence makes him overlook Macduff as a threat. Macbeth has free will to kill Macduff even though Macduff is in England but his overconfidence, which is shown by his ignorance of Macduff.

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Critics have debated whether Macbeth’s downfall is due to the witches or his own choices and free will. On the one hand, some,

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Shakespeare’s Macbeth is about an ambitious thane named Macbeth murdering the king of Scotland and seizing the throne. He also murders the king’s guards and frames them. The plot is furthered by Macduff, who serves as a rival for Macbeth after the king’s death. Macduff originally is civil with Macbeth, however he becomes suspicious of his actions after the king’s murder.

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The Tragedy of Macbeth- Downfall Throughout the Macbeth play, Macbeth himself is a very dynamic character. Macbeth changes more than any other character in the play. With Macbeth being such a dynamic character, it causes him to have a tremendous downfall as a person. The three main causes of his downfall is his wife’s persuasion to kill the king, trying to cover up his actions, and having people killed just to try to keep his role as the king.

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Macbeth is a play written by William Shakespeare and it also consists of diverse themes. However, one theme that stands out the most is that one's ambition for power is a contribution to the dire consequences. Macbeth, the main character of the play, proves this to be true by taking his first step and murdering King Duncan after getting three prophecies. As he gets consumed by fear and guilt, he sends murderers to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance. In the same way, he also sends murderers to kill Macduff's family as a message to the Thane of Fife.

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953 Words | 4 Pages

Often times, people go through rises and downfalls in their lives that they themselves are responsible for. In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, both main characters, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, himself, are responsible for the downfall of Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is responsible for the tragedy because she convinces and manipulates Macbeth into doing the deed. However, Shakespeare accomplishes in showing that Macbeth is more responsible for his own downfall than Lady Macbeth because he listens to the witches and follows his ambition rather than his conscience. To begin, Lady Macbeth is responsible for the tragedy because she convinces and manipulates Macbeth into doing the deed by insulting him when he changes his mind.

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876 Words | 4 Pages

Macbeth started off as a valiant and courageous soldier, who would do anything for the king. By the end of the play, Macbeth was a tyrant and a horrible leader who killed those who trusted him to maintain the throne. It takes many factors to take a strong man and transform him into an evil monster. Macbeth’s downfall was caused by the deception and temptation of the witches and their prophecies, Lady Macbeth’s greed and aspirations for her husband to be king, and Macbeth’s own greed, jealousy and ambition.

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