Outside Influences That Caused Macbeth’s Downfall

All great leaders have their rise and fall. Some throw themselves into failure, some are pushed into it. Those who are pushed into it are usually influenced by evils around them. In the play, Macbeth by Shakespeare, the main character, Macbeth, is pushed to failure. The play takes place in Scotland and is about a young warrior who goes by the name Macbeth. Macbeth is told he would be a king by three witches. Macbeth kills the existing king and becomes a cruel, unjust king. He eventually goes insane and is killed and humiliated. Many may think Macbeth’s downfall was his own fault, those people are wrong. There were three main outside influences that were responsible for Macbeth’s fall. The first influence is his wife, Lady Macbeth, who seeks to be the queen and pushes Macbeth to pursue the crown. The second is Macbeth’s good friend Banquo who was with Macbeth when he was told he was to be king in the future. Banquo’s silence made Macbeth paranoid and that caused Macbeth to order his men to kill Banquo. This was a big cause in Macbeth’s insanity. The final influences are the three witches who drive Macbeth to kill Duncan, and they make him weak by letting him think he is invincible. Macbeth may have been a bad king, but he was not responsible for his collapse.

Macbeth’s downfall was partially caused by Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth’s influences made Macbeth feel like less of a man. One part of the play shows Macbeth being denounced as by his wife as she essentially calls him a coward for not wanting to kill Duncan. She says, “Woulds’t thou have that which thou esteem’st the ornament of life, and live a coward in thine own esteem, letting ‘I dare not’ wait upon ‘I would’, like the poor cat i’the adage.” (Act 1, Scene 7, Line 40-45) ...

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...h’s end because they drove Macbeth to kill Duncan and they let him over relax which lead to his death.

Macbeth may have been a bad king, but he was not responsible for his collapse. The first reason is because Lady Macbeth questioned his manliness and drove him to kill Duncan which led him to murder more people as he got away with the first murder. The second reason is because of Banquo’s suspicion causing Macbeth to be fearful and later on, insane. The final reason is the witches as they encouraged him to let his guard down and they told him he was going to be king which led him to kill Duncan. These three influences were the main causes of Macbeth’s fall. If they had not been there he may have been a fair and just king. These evil outside influences drove a great man down into the ground. But as Geoffrey Chaucer said, “All great things must come to an end”