Was Macbeth the architect of his own downfall.

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Was Macbeth The Architect of

His Own Downfall

I am going to be writing about whether Macbeth was responsible for his downfall or if others played a part in his downfall.

Macbeth was a man of moral beliefs.  Part of that belief comes with listening to his conscience.  

In the beginning of the play Macbeth seems to listen to his conscience and does good by what his conscience says, but as the play unfolds Macbeth begins battling with his conscience.  

As a result he starts hallucinating by having versions of King Duncan’s Ghost and the weapon that he used to kill him.

“ Is this a dagger I see before me?” [Act 1, Scene 1]

Also at the beginning of the play we see that Macbeth being influenced by the Witches’ prophecies and by Lady Macbeth.  

Supernatural Belief was much more prevalent in the early 17th century and was not thought of as something unbelievable.  

Throughout the play supernatural forces are shown, the ghost of Banquo, the dagger Macbeth used to the king and the witches’ prophecies.  They all gave him a sense of authority, hope (becoming King of Scotland), which soon makes Macbeth become a subject to greed, evil doings, a murderer, and a victim to his own downfall.  In Act1, Scene 7, we see Macbeth refraining himself from going ahead and killing King Duncan “We will speak further.” This quote indicates that Macbeth’s conscience seems to have changed Macbeth’s mind into not going ahead. 

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Lady Macbeth fights back by challenging her husband to prove his manhood by acting decisively “Glamis thou art, and Cawdor; and shalt be what thou art promis’d.  Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o’ the milk of human kindness.  To catch the nearest way.” [Act 1, Scene 7 – Lines 46 & 47]

With this she changes Macbeth’s decision and almost as though she was in battle with Macbeth’s conscience (as if three parties are involved), with Macbeth coming across as such as weak person who is easily manipulated by his wife.  

As Macbeth ...

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