Downfall of Macbeth in William Shakespeare's Macbeth

Downfall of Macbeth in William Shakespeare's Macbeth

This play is a tragedy. In this essay I will discuss what effect the

witches, lady Macbeth and Macbeth have on the rise and fall of

Macbeth.

Macbeth at the beginning of the play is successful warrior in the

Scottish army. The king of Scotland, Duncan, hears of Macbeth's

bravery and he calls him a 'Valiant cousin! Worthy gentleman!' (Act 1

scene 2, line 24). This shows that the king of Scotland regards

Macbeth very highly and has a great deal of trust and respect for

Macbeth. This gives the audience a very good impression of Macbeth

although they have yet to have seen him.

In act 1 scene 3, the three witches tell Macbeth that he will become

thane of Cawdor and eventually be crowned king. Later, in the scene

Rosse tell Macbeth that he is now thane of Cawdor. Macbeth is confused

and he asks, 'The thane of Cawdor lives; why do you dress me in

borrowed robes?' (Line 108). This is very ironic and I feel that it is

the first sign of Macbeth's downfall. The original Thane of Cawdor was

a traitor to Scotland and he was killed, Macbeth later went on to

become a traitor aswell. Also in this scene it is when we see

Macbeth's first spark of ambition. 'Glamis, and Thane of Cawdor; the

greatest is behind.' (Line 117) He is saying that what the witches

have said has come true and now the greatest is yet to come i.e. being

crowned king. This is when he begins to think about his future. After

King Duncan, names his eldest son, Malcolm, the successor to the

thrown, Macbeth stands aside and says, 'This is a step On which I must

fall down, or else o'erleap.' (Scene 4- Line 49) Macbeth is saying

...

... middle of paper ...

...k that Lady Macbeth, the witches, and Macbeth are to blame for

the downfall of Macbeth. If the witches hadn't of made predictions and

suggested that he would become king then Lady Macbeth would never have

pushed him in to killing the king. If the witches had not suggested it

then he would never of killed Duncan Also I think if his wife hadn't

of been so persuasive then he wouldn't of done it. Basically it was

fate that he would meet the witches and they would make such

accusations and it would just so happen that the king would be coming

to stay that night making the perfect opportunity for the killing. The

great tragedy of the play is of the kind of man Macbeth could have

been and almost was, could have risen to greatness. But it was the

fatal mistake of giving in to his ambition that contributed most to

his downfall.