Macbeth

Macbeth

His heart pumps with adrenaline as he slowly walks through the hallways to his

king's room. A bright dagger suspended in mid-air leads him to his fate. Once he commits

the bloody deed, all is forever changed, as he cannot go back. To think King Duncan is

killed by his most trusted and honorable thane, who bore the titles of both Cawdor and

Glamis. The rollercoaster begins running in a downward spiral of destruction as Macbeth

becomes the King of Scotland. Three witches, the ones who prophesied Macbeth's

becoming king, have told him of obstructions to his kingly path and, with a little shove

from his wife, Macbeth begins to do all he can, no matter how treacherous, to preserve his

title. Driven by his ambition, he destroys until he too is destroyed. But what are the

factors which moved Macbeth along that bloody path to his downfall in Shakespeare's

Macbeth and how did they move him? The three witches, his own ambition, and his wife

are the key elements which work together and play upon each other to push Macbeth over

the cliff of demise. The most influential elements are the witches.

The three witches are the ones who get things started down a path leading to

destruction by playing upon the already ambitious Macbeth. They first attract his attention

by hailing him Thane of Cawdor, Glamis, and even "King thereafter." Once Duncan

promotes him to Thane of Cawdor, he is pulled into the trap. He begins to believe that

perhaps the other predictions may come true after all. Unfortunately for Macbeth, he

thinks that the only way he can become king is if he murders the present king. Macbeth,

unlike his passive friend Banquo, takes destiny into his own hands early on. At this point,

Macbeth's ...

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...to Duncan he possessed-- only someone even more dear and convincing could

ignite the fire.

Lady Macbeth, although not the most powerful momentum, is a major factor in the

disaster Macbeth might have called "life." Without her obstinance and initiative, Macbeth

would have never been able to overcome his conscience and kill his own king, nor anyone

else. It is ironic that in trying to help Macbeth become the epidemy of success that she

really helps destroy him and any chance he had of living a long, honorable life.

Macbeth's downfall, like any complex system, cannot be contributed to any one

given factor. Just as the mind, body and soul collectively create one's existence, so did the

witches, Macbeth's ambition, and Lady Macbeth's initiative destroy Macbeth. Without any

one of these factors, Macbeth most likely would not followed a path of destruction.