As well as Macbeths’ increase in desire for Duncan’s’ position, so is there also an incline in his ambition and determination to fulfil this second prophecy and, spurred on by his wife, together they become obsessed in greed of potential kingship and control over Scotland. Lady Macbeth attacks Macbeth’s masculinity in an effort to effectively persuade him to aid in the murdering of King Duncan: “When you durst do it, then you were a man; and to be more than you were, you would be so much more the man.”
We must remember that the prophecies for Macbeth also have great significance for the lady Macbeth as it also provides her with new aspirations and opportunities for authority and power. She has already proved how successful she is at manipulating Macbeth, and with his new role as king the power she would be able to handle would be great. Although the witches were the primary catalysts for Macbeth’s new ambitions and actions, it struck me that the main influence for pulling the prophecies together into reality lies with Macbeth’s wife who holds the key to making Macbeths prophecy of kingship a reality. I feel Macbeth is like Lady Macbeths’ apprentice to who she dictates her orders unto.
Macbeth seeks out the witches again to reassure himself. The weird sisters provide further prophecies for Macbeth. Firstly the witches prophesise that Macbeth cannot die until Birnham wood come to Dunsinane castle. This appears absurd to Macbeth as how could a forest move? This provides Macbeth with a new source for reassurance and a new type of confidence. The second prophecy says Macbeth cannot be harmed by a man born of a woman. This too appears odd as everyone is born from their mother. This prophecy reinforces Macbeth’s confidence. Finally the witches predict that the successor to the throne (by this point his throne) would be one of Banquo’s sons. This is in deep contrast to the other prophecies as it casts Macbeth into doubt over his position as king. The witches are now responsible for giving Macbeth a sense of invulnerability.
Macbeth now feels a new threat in the form of Banquo and the possibility of his prophecy being true, after all, both of Macbeth’s first ones did. Macbeth becomes noticeably more insecure about himself and this is apparent in his soliloquies: “I am in blood stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o’er.”
The story ends with the death of many including Macbeth. But who is responsible for the actions Macbeth took?
Ultimately, everyone makes their own decisions, so the immediate answer would be Macbeth. However, I believe there are three main influences in Macbeth which help lead him to do his sins. The first, is the witches of course, who initiate Macbeth’s path with their prophecies. They are responsible for Macbeth’s insecurity over Banquo. The second is Lady Macbeth who provides the main reinforcement for Macbeth’s doings. She is key to the uprising of Macbeth becoming king and also for his eventual downfall. Lady Macbeth is also responsible for King Duncan’s murder. The final influence on Macbeth is himself, and his thoughts. He is responsible for every action he took (but most are not solely his own doings), for his own insecurity and for the murders of the Macduff family as a result of this.
It is arguable that If Macbeth never met the witches, Macbeth never would have become king or a murderer as he would not have the basis for the confidence which he experiences in the play. Because of this fact, it could be voiced that the witches hold sole responsibility for Macbeth’s uprising (only to position of king as he was already thane of Cawdor) and for his downfall. I would reject these claims as sometimes things happen that we can’t control and it is up to us to deal with things our own way. Macbeth chose power over friendship and love. After all, ultimately is an individual not responsible for his own actions? It is because of Macbeth’s flawed nature that he became so susceptible to being brain-washed and eventually ended up where he did.
Having said all this I do still think Lady Macbeth played a key role in Macbeth’s uprising and downfall as she is the one who aided murdering Duncan and led Macbeth onto his final murderous stand.
All in all I believe that to place sole responsibility on the witches is a flawed view as I believe if any single party was to be at fault, it should be either lady Macbeth (for her brain washing and moulding of Macbeths’ personality and actions) or Macbeth for fundamentally doing the acts, and for not raising above insecurity and suspicion and believing them.
