The play, Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, is a tragedy which portrays the major downfall of a tragic hero. Although some may argue otherwise, Macbeth was the most responsible for his own downfall. As a result of being over ambitious, and his unwariness, Macbeth was most responsible for his own tragedy.
The play Macbeth begins with three witches, who give several prophecies to Macbeth and Banquo. One of the prophecies given by the witches, for Macbeth, is, “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (Shakespeare 7). This prophecy states that Macbeth will become king. The other prophecy, which is given to Banquo, states, “Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none. So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo!” (Shakespeare 8). This means that although Banquo will not become king, he will be the
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Although proven to be false at the end of the play, the given prophecies pushed Macbeth to become too ambitious in order to get what he wanted. For instance, although he was influenced by Lady Macbeth to commit the murder of King Duncan, Macbeth’s greed, and his deep desire motivated his ambition. Macbeth’s ambition and greed also led to the the murder of Banquo and attempted murder of Fleance, which was done in order to rid of anything that was in his way of becoming king. In addition, Macbeth states, “The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step On which I must fall down or else o’erleap, For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires. The eye wink at the hand, yet let that be Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see.” (Shakespeare 13). In this quote, Macbeth finds out that Malcolm became the new Prince of Cumberland. He states that he is either going to have to give up, or step