‘He bade me from him call thee Thane of Cawdor’
Macbeth then sees that the witches’ prophecy is starting to come true and he thinks that he will become king.
‘If chance will have me king, why chance may crown me
without my stir’
Macbeth finds the idea intriguing and becomes enrapt with the idea that one day he will become the king of Scotland. Thus resulting in the blame at this point lies with the witches for if they had not put the idea in Macbeth’s head he would have been perfectly content with what he had in his own life.
The witches also gave a second oracle, when Macbeth came to see them again. This was after Macbeth had 'fallen from the light
’By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes.
Open, locks, whoever knocks’
This shows that Macbeth has acknowledged the witches and is turning evil. It is proof that Macbeth has fallen form the light, as evil acknowledges evil.
‘The power of man; for none of woman born
shall harm Macbeth’
Macbeths takes these words straight in but does not understand them fully because he assumes that no one can kill him when what the witches meant was no man of natural birth can kill him; that does not apply to suzerains. The witches are still to blame for they did not make themselves clear enough and they made sure that Macbeth’s arrogance and ambition doubled.
Another party to blame for the downfall of Macbeth would be Lady Macbeth, the wife. She is greedy in the play she wants her husband to be king, not him but for herself as she wants to be queen. She is ambitious for herself and a little for her husband to.
‘Come, you spirits
that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here
And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full
Of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood;
Stop up the access and passage to remorse,
That no compunctions visitings of nature
Sake my fell purpose’
Lady Macbeth calls upon the spirits to give her strength this shows that she wants Macbeth to be king so she wants to persuade him to do what is necessary; this showing that she is a very persuasive character and therefore played a part in Macbeths downfall for it was her who helped him kill the king; showing she had some power over him. Macbeth did not want to kill the king, showing that he was doubtful, because Duncan has been a good king to him. The blame on Lady Macbeth can only go so far because all she has done is pushed him towards the throne, lady Macbeth becomes wrought with guilt, even though her husband is not, she then commits suicide to ry and redeem herself.
The other side of the blame can only be placed on Macbeths shoulders for it was he who murdered king Duncan, he who killed his best friend Banquo and it was he who ordered Mucduffs Family to be killed. Even though his wife persuaded him, even though it was the witches who started the whole thing Macbeth committed the murder.
’We have scorched the snake, not killed it’
At this point Macbeth is rising, he wants to be king and he will do anything to secure his throne, it is his ambition that brings his downfall. Macbeth wants Banquo dead for it is said that his sons will be the sons of kings
‘It is concluded! Banquo, thy soul's flight,
If it find heaven, must find it tonight’
Macbeth is pleased that his ‘friend’ will soon be dead, Macbeth’s ambition and jealousy is not able to produce a line of kings, and thus he is to blame here.
’The castle of Macduff I will surprise,
Seize upon Fife, give to the edge o'the sword
His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate sould
That trace him in his line’
Macbeth hears that Macduff has fled to England, so he has his family slaughtered. When Macduff hears about this he truly believes that Macbeth is evil and needs to be stopped, so the armies of England march against the armies of Scotland, and thus by destroying the Macduff household Macbeth brings about his own downfall. Closer to the time when the armies of England are nearing Dunsinane, where Macbeth's castle is, Macbeth seems remorseful. It seems that the darkness is once more turning towards the light, but still, Macbeth refuses to let anyone or anything thwart his reign, except his death.
‘But get thee back; my soul is too much charged
with the blood of thine already’
Macbeth is confronted by Macduff, and he is remorseful that he has killed Macduff’s household. But nevertheless the deed is done, and Macbeth can only blame himself for it
’Turn, hellhound, turn’
here we have another acknowledgement of Macbeth's evil, but this time not by evil, but by a man who once trusted Macbeth and thought him good, Macduff. This goes to show, how far Macbeth's ambition and dark deeds have poisoned others opinions of him. Those who thought him good now refer to him as a creature of hell, and thus of darkness. It was Macbeth's own deeds which led to his own bad reputation, and his downfall.
I will not yield
To Kiss the ground before young Malcolm's feet
and to be baited with the rabble's curse.
Though Birnan Wood be come to Dunsinane
And thou opposed, being of no woman born,
Yet I will try the last. Before my body
I throw my warlike shield. Lay on, Macduff;
And damned be him that first cries, 'Hold, enough
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Macbeth realises at the end, how far he has gone, and how he has misinterpreted the prophecies. He knows he has brought about his own end, but the courage he was praised for burns brightly, as a candle flickers brightly before it is put out, and he chooses to fight on, to defend what he has brought about, and dies a warrior's noble death. Thus, by choosing to go on fighting, he has again, brought about his own downfall.
Here we have written a classic tragedy. It is the story about a hero, who becomes a fallen hero. Who exactly brought about the downfall of Macbeth? The blame does not fully lie on one person, but on many. The witches made the prophecy, Macbeth believed in the prophecy, Lady Macbeth urged her husband to kill the King, Macbeth's ambition brought about his dark deeds. Though the blame can be laid on the witches, and on Lady Macbeth, it is none other than Macbeth to whom the major blame can be cast. The fallen hero's ambition was the fuel to his dark deeds. If he had not aspired to become king (which would not have happened if the witches had not spoken to Macbeth) he would not have killed the king. He plotted the murder of his friends and friend's family. Macbeth was not just a murderer. He was a traitor to the country; by even thinking of killing the king, he had committed the highest treason possible, besides killing the king himself, which he also did. Yes, the witches and Lady Macbeth can be blamed for Macbeth's downfall, but Macbeth must take the majority of the blame. It is his ambition which leads to his ultimate demise. The witches and Lady Macbeth helped to 'scorch the snake' but it was none other than Macbeth himself, with the courage given to him by becoming king, and fulfilling his ambition, that 'killed the snake.' It was Macbeth's own ambition, aided by Lady Macbeth and the witches, which led to him creating his own downfall. So be warned and be wary! Beware of witches, helpful wives, and most of all, of your own ambition.
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