Responsibility, no one ever wants to be burdened with it, especially if it is for something negative. Holding responsibility means you will be taking the blame for things that could or could not be as a result of your actions. In the play Macbeth, the character Macbeth was a loyal member of the king Duncan, however he was told by three witches of his prophecy, that he would become the new king if he kills Duncan. Macbeth, with a little convincing from his wife, goes through with what the witches say and kills Duncan. Eventually, after a series of events Macbeth and his wife dies. The person to be held accountable for Macbeth and his Lady Macbeth’s fate should be themselves because they are responsible, for desiring power, not being able …show more content…
When Macbeth brings up his prophecy, Lady Macbeth replies to him by telling him to kill Duncan. Despite Macbeth questioning the consequences, “If we should fail” (1.7.68), Lady Macbeth replies with, “We fail? / But screw your courage to the sticking place / And we’ll not fail. When Duncan is asleep / (...) Will I with wine and wassail so convince” (1.7.69-74). This explains that Lady Macbeth desires the power of the queen so much that she would go as far as to persuade her husband to kill him despite the consequences of murder even drafting a plan to kill King Duncan. It is also Macbeth’s fault for going through with the plan instead of trying to argue back against Lady Macbeth, which shows that both of both responsible for their …show more content…
After murdering Duncan, both characters feel guilty. For Macbeth, killing Duncan forces him to realize: “But wherefore could not I pronounce “Amen”? / I had most need of blessing, and ‘Amen’ / Stuck in my throat. (...) Methought I heard a voice cry ‘Sleep no more! / Macbeth does murder sleep’ -the innocent sleep, / Sleep that knits up the raveled sleave of care” (2.2.42-4). This shows the guilt Macbeth feels after murdering a man, especially the king of his country, that he cannot even pray to God or sleep peacefully anymore, because he will be having nightmares of murdering Duncan. Lady Macbeth, too, starts to feel guilty. While Lady Macbeth sleepwalks she says, “Here’s the smell of the blood still. All / the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this \ little hand. (...) What’s done cannot be undone. To bed, to \ bed, to bed (5.2.53-72). Eventually Seyton tells Macbeth, “A cry within of woman \ What is that noise? \ Wherefore was that cry? \ The Queen, my lord, is dead (5.5.9-19). It can therefore be inferred that Lady Macbeth commits suicide from the guilt and nightmares she experienced from murdering Duncan. Macbeth, and Lady Macbeth did not know the consequences of murdering someone, and how guilty it would make them, which caused their
In the play, Macbeth was responsible for his downfall and let his greed take over. He was always ambitious, but ended up abandoning his loyalty from King Duncan, the King of Scotland and slowly changed him from a trustworthy, brave and loyal soldier to a merciless tyrant. Lady Macbeth and the three witches are responsible for Macbeth’s downfall. The prophecies changed Macbeth for the worst and is willing to remove any threats that stand in his way. Macbeth, although a loyal warrior, had always possessed ambitious motives that finally turned him into a murderer.
Shakespeare created a character in Macbeth who is strongly influenced in his decision making throughout the drama of The Tragedy of Macbeth. This drama is a Tragedy, hence the title, and has a hero, in Macbeth, who has a downfall. Readers become aware of the aspects that lead up to this predicament. Macbeth’s downfall was contributed equally from Lady Macbeth, the three weird sisters, and Macbeth’s ambition.
When Macbeth finds out about the witches prophecies, he quickly sends a letter to Lady Macbeth explaining the situation. She rapidly sees that she must help Macbeth become king, so she says “Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be What thou art promised. Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o' th' milk of human kindness /To catch the nearest way. /Thou wouldst be great,/ Art not without ambition, but without/ The illness should attend it. (1.5.15-20). Right away, Lady Macbeth is going to do everything she possibly can to ensure he becomes king which proves her ambition. Later on in the play, Lady Macbeth makes another decision which shows that her ambition is quickly getting the worst out of her. When King Duncan arrives, Lady Macbeth sees a perfect opportunity to kill Duncan. She is worried that Macbeth will not go through with the plan so she says ¨When Duncan is asleep—/Whereto the rather shall his day’s hard journey/ Soundly invite him—his two chamberlains/Will I with wine and wassail so convince¨ (1.7.61-65). Lady Macbeth reveals that her need for power is taking a turn. She plots to get the “two chamberlains” drunk so she can blame the murder of Duncan on them. The fact that she plots out an entire plan to kill Duncan and that she is willing to blame it on someone else reveals that her ambition has brought out the worst in her.. All in all, Lady Macbeth is a character who does not second
Lady Macbeth pressures Macbeth into murdering Duncan through emotional abuse, saying that he is a coward and not a man. This abuse causes Macbeth to feel emasculated and insecure, so he wants to prove himself to his wife. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth also uses Macbeth’s promise to her, making him feel guilty about not upholding their agreement. She wants him to feel as if he was breaking the vows of their marriage if he does not go through with the murder. Finally, by drugging the guards, Lady Macbeth convinces her husband that they have gone too far to turn back. She tells him that they would be destroyed if they failed so far into their plan. Although Lady Macbeth did not physically commit the murder, she manipulated Macbeth and convinced him that killing King Duncan was the right thing to
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.
At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is a trusted soldier, who is honest and noble. Unfortunately, he meets three witches who tell him three prophecies; that he will become thane of Cawdor, that he will become king and that Banquo’s sons will become kings. These three prophecies slowly change his opinions on life and turn him into a greedy, dishonest, tyrant, full of ambition. Lady Macbeth’s thoughts change as well when she is told about the three prophecies that were told to Macbeth. In the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth is ambitious, controlling and domineering. She is the one who encourages him to kill the king, she not only encourages him, she makes all the plans herself, which shows her determination and persistence."Yet I do fear thy nature, it is too full o’th milk of human kindness. To catch the nearest way thou wouldst be great. Art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it." (Act 1, scene 5). Lady Macbeth is the force behind Macbeth’s sudden ambition and she tries to manipulate him into feeling guilty and unmanly for not following through with the murder, by using her husbands emotions, she manages to convince Macbeth to murder Duncan.
Macbeth feels a great deal of remorse after he has killed the king. He understands that he has committed a sin and will be punished. He is so terrified that he hears voices telling him:“ Macbeth does murder sleep, … , Macbeth shall sleep no more”(Act 2, Sc.2 p. 57). Macbeth is very upset with himself and wishes that he never killed Duncan. “To know my deed it were best not know myself.” When he hears strange knocking at the gate he wishes that it wakes up Duncan, “wake Duncan with thy knocking”, however it is too late (Act 2, Sc.3 p. 61).
Lady Macbeth is more accountable for the death of king Duncan and she has an evil, wicked, and nasty heart. No Fear Shakespeare Macbeth is a play about a Scottish nobleman who was delivered a prophecy by three witches, that he will become king. In order for Macbeth to fulfill the prophecy; he goes through circumstances that leads to his death. Lady Macbeth wants to become queen, once she hears about the news that Macbeth invites the king over; she exploits the opportunity to come up with a scheme of assassinating the king. Lady Macbeth sends the message that she is more accountable for the assassination of king Duncan than Macbeth throughout the way she inputs the thoughts of murder into Macbeth’s head, deceitful actions, and events.
Compelling one to execute an action will impact their choice and their comprehensibility on the situation. In the play Macbeth, ones obsession leads to a great extent in their failures subsequently with their success. Macbeth’s obsession to take over and become the new king, led him to take extreme measures, leading to severe consequences and blood spill.
There were many wrongs committed in "MacBeth." But who should bear the major responsibility for these actions? The witches' prophesising? Lady MacBeth's scheming and persuasion? Or should MacBeth himself be held responsible? No doubt the witches and lady MacBeth influenced MacBeth in the course of action he took in his rise to power, but ultimately he must bear the major responsibility for his fate.
When Macbeth tells his wife that Duncan would be coming to their house, she tells him to “ ...put/ This night’s great business/ into [her] dispatch,/ Which shall to all our nights and days to come/ Give solely sovereign sway and masterdom” (1.5.59-62). At this point, Lady Macbeth is telling her husband not to worry about how he will kill Duncan when he visits, for she will make a plan that will surely change their lives forever. Later, when Macbeth had recommitted himself to killing Duncan after having second thoughts, Lady Macbeth delivers the plan to him. Her plan includes getting Duncan’s guards drunk to the point of passing out, allowing Macbeth to stab Duncan with one of his guard’s daggers. Then, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth would be able to place the blame on the servants’ intoxication (1.7.61-72). This is the most important piece of Lady Macbeth’s influence on her husband; in all likelihood, Macbeth would not have devised any kind of plan by himself to kill Duncan because he would not have allowed his ambitions to overpower his
...ad. Earlier, she had dismissed the matter of Duncan’s murder, but now she admits to herself what she knew all along, that
Throughout the play Macbeth is constantly sacrificing a part of his sanity just to satisfy his ambition. In his soliloquy, Macbeth is expressing his inner conflict with his decision of whether he will kill King Duncan or not and must argue with his moral conscience, “I have no spur/ To prick the sides of my intent, but only/ Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself” (I.7. 25-27). Macbeth explains that his only motivation to killing the king is through the soul ambition, but soon after establishes that he has decided to kill the king when debating to Lady Macbeth. Though he has completed the deed of killing Duncan, Macbeth consults Lady Macbeth after he is in shock of the ultimate crime he has committed, “But wherefore could not I pronounce ‘Amen’?/ I had most need for blessing, and ‘Amen’/ Stuck in my throat” (II.2. 34-36). Once Macbeth exclaims his grievances, he can realizes that he has done the most unforgivable crime, going against nature and God by killing the king, where he will never be forgiven and his soul can never reach heaven.
Factors Contributing to Macbeth's Downfall in William Shakespeare's Macbeth In William Shakespeare's famous play Macbeth, there are many reasons for Macbeth's gradual downfall. Numerous factors contributed to Macbeth's ruin, such as his own character flaws and his demanding wife, Lady Macbeth. The Three Witches, however, caused Macbeth the most trouble. First, the sisters stirred up his dormant ambitions to be king.
Macbeth never has any inclination to take the throne until he meets the witches. The witches tell Macbeth that he will become king and gain a substantial amount of power. However, the witches did not tell Macbeth how he would become king. This leads to Macbeth thinking about if he should kill Duncan and make the prophesy come true. This shows how Macbeth’s hunger for power begins. Once he lets Lady Macbeth know about his idea, she convinces him to kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth is an integral character that helps to create the struggle for power and control that is present throughout the entire play. Lady Macbeth is the person that really pushes Macbeth to act upon his ambition before Macbeth becomes fully consumed with becoming king. All throughout the evening that Duncan comes to visit, Macbeth has second thoughts and wonders if he should go through with the murder. Macbeth believes that he should not kill Duncan, but Lady Macbeth convinces him to. This causes Macbeth to worry and even picture a “dagger of the mind, a false creation” (II.i.50). Even after the murder, Macbeth needs the help of Lady Macbeth to cover up the killing since he cannot stand to see Duncan’s bloody body again. After the murder, Macbeth shows signs of madness when he says he hears a voice saying that “Glamis [has] murdered sleep” (II.ii.55). Macbeth shows religious fear when he cannot say amen when the Duncan’s