Who Was Responsible For Macbeth's Downfall

Macbeth’s downfall could be described as a combination of all the various influences in Macbeth’s life that led him down that path. Perhaps the witches’ prophecy led him to ultimate doom, or his wife’s urging him to murder Duncan to seize the throne did. However, in the end, no one can be blamed for this but Macbeth himself. From the moment Macbeth hears the witches’ prophecy, he immediately begins seeing visions of him murdering Duncan, foreshadowing his inevitable fate. From there, although Lady Macbeth did persuade him to do so, in the end, he chose to usurp the crown from his own volition. Once he takes the crown, his hubris and fear over losing his power leads him further down the road to destruction. As such, it can be said that Macbeth alone caused the actions that led to his downfall.

They are the ones who first implanted the ideas that Macbeth would become the Thane of Cawdor and the future King. However, if these ideas alone caused his downfall, he would have immediately slain Duncan when told that it would lead to his taking of the throne. Instead, he initially seems unwilling to submit to the prophecies that the Witches told him, saying “If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me/Without my stir” (1.3.155-156). This statement shows that the Witches’ prophecies have no bearing on his wanting to take the crown. Although his saying this also means that he will not have anything to do with fate if he does end up becoming King, he does end up taking things into his own