Who is responsible for Macbeth’s downfall?
Who is responsible for Macbeth's downfall?
"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings" ('Julius Caesar.')
Although Macbeth is the eponymous hero of the play, in 'Macbeth,' we do not meet him until Act 1, Scene 3. However, we have been prepared for his advent by the witches in Act 1 Scene 1, and subsequently in Act 1 Scene 2, when we hear Macbeth being described as 'valour's minion', establishing that he is a respected, courageous war-hero. The "Bleeding Sergeant," used by Shakespeare as a representative of the soldiers, reveals the extent of the people's admiration "For brave Macbeth - well he deserves that name." Macbeth has won 'Golden Opinions' for himself, as well as the new title of Thane of Cawdor, because of his loyalty in the War, and it is here in the second scene, that we see him at the height of his popularity, an ostensibly honourable man with many friends. How is it possible that such a person as "brave Macbeth" could have plunged to such a depth that his final epitaph is "this dead butcher"?
To my mind, Act 1 Scene 7, is pivotal in Macbeth's development as a psychopathic killer. His entire soliloquy is a summary of why he should not murder the King; he is related to Duncan, he is his subject, his host and should against the murderer... itself." Macbeth would be damned in the next world, and the angels would reveal to everyone, what Macbeth had done to the divine King Duncan. In Act 1 Scene 4, Macbeth tells us that "Vaulting ambition which o'erleaps itself" is his main motive, for wanting to commit the deed. However, he appears to bury the ambition now because his decision not to kill the king has developed because of all the above named 'unnatural' reasons. The natural versus the unnatural is one of the greatest themes throughout the play. 'Unnatural' occurrences take place after Macbeth has murdered Duncan and it is clear to the audience that Nature's harmony will only be restored when the final murderer and usurper of Duncan's throne is vanquished. Killing one's king in Shakespeare's time was tantamount to killing God, and Macbeth, therefore, would have to be punished for so unnatural a deed.
In Act 1 Scene 3, the weird sisters voice Macbeth's hidden desires: "that shalt be King hereafter." Banquo inquires "Why do you start and seem to fear things that sound so fair?" but is unable to comprehend the reason for Macbeth's sudden "start." I believe that Macbeth is already thinking about and hoping for the Royal Title. The seeds of darkness and ambition are there; the witches perceive this and help the seeds to germinate. This can be proved by his confusion in his 'aside speech' after Ross greets him as Thane of Cawdor' He refers to 'that ...
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In Act 1 Scene 3, the weird sisters voice Macbeth's hidden desires: "that shalt be King hereafter." Banquo inquires "Why do you start and seem to fear things that sound so fair?" but is unable to comprehend the reason for Macbeth's sudden "start." I believe that Macbeth is already thinking about and hoping for the Royal Title. The seeds of darkness and ambition are there; the witches perceive this and help the seeds to germinate. This can be proved by his confusion in his 'aside speech' after Ross greets him as Thane of Cawdor' He refers to 'that suggestion', which is undeniable proof that he has been contemplating the possibility of kingship for himself.
The witches have a very great impact on Macbeth. Initially, they seek him out, to greet him with two truths, and one half-truth. After finding out that the first two greetings are truths, Macbeth expects that the third one will also become true as well, unfortunately, he does not realise that he has been duped. This is a very effective way of deceiving Macbeth into believing this, because he wants the third prophecy to be true. He wants to believe that he will become the King of Scotland, so he lets his good judgement be blinded by false ambition and he allows the witches' equivocations to win him over.
By Act 4 Scene 1 we see Macbeth totally under the control of the witches. On his own initiative, Macbeth goes to find the 'three weird sisters', demanding more knowledge. He makes the fatal mistake of thinking that he can control them, so he thinks he can believe them, when the apparitions say "none of woman born shall harm Macbeth... until Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him" Another main theme throughout the play is appearances. These apparitions 'appear' to be telling Macbeth that he is immortal, which again he is willing to believe, because he wants to, but underneath these prophesies there is a sinister encryption. In my opinion, had Macbeth not been so arrogant, he could have deciphered the code, to work out not only was he vulnerable, but who was able to kill him. Instead he foolishly believes them without question. In my opinion, the witches certainly contribute towards Macbeth's downfall, by using these equivocations to confuse him. Equivocation is used a lot in Macbeth. In Act 2 Scene 3, the drunken porter imagines answering hell's door with "Who's there in th'other devil's name? Faith, here's an equivocator..." Here he is making the link between equivocation and hell, and when the witches prophesise for the second time, the connection between evil and equivocation has already been made in our minds, and therefore it is easy to understand that the apparitions are yet another example of equivocation.
We first meet Lady Macbeth reading a letter from her husband, concerning the witches prophecy. Although the intention of murder is never mentioned in words, Lady Macbeth also has the same train of thought to "catch the nearest way." From this information, it appears that the two have a close relationship, but from Lady Macbeth's soliloquy, we can see that they do not. She believes her husband 'is too full o'th'milk of human kindness" but I do not think that she knows her husband very well. At this stage of the play, it appears that Lady Macbeth is the more dominant of the pair. She calls upon the evil spirits to "take my milk for gal"
In my opinion, this shows that Lady Macbeth thinks she is capable of such evil, but in truth she is not. Appearances again, are very important. Lady Macbeth tells her husband that he must "look like th'innocent flower, But be the serpent under't. The couple must appear to be serving their King, when underneath they are really plotting to kill him.
I have already mentioned that Macbeth decides in Act 1 Scene 7 that he will not murder the King and he makes this definite decision. Moments later He declares to Lady Macbeth; "we will proceed no further in this business" but Lady Macbeth easily changes his mind, by sneering at his courage and his manhood. It appears to be Lady Macbeth who is the stronger character, but the illusion is temporary. At the testing time, the "sticking point" their strengths are revealed when the dagger must be plunged into Duncan's heart. Lady Macbeth prepares the scene with real daggers, whilst Macbeth is hallucinating about daggers. Lady Macbeth does not have the emotional strength to commit the murder because "he resembled my father as he slept" I believe this is just an excuse, and she could not find the darkness within her, despite asking the spirits for help, actually to kill a person.
In my opinion, Macbeth's fatal mistake was the murder of Banquo. Yes he had already murdered Duncan and, in rapid succession, the two guards, but he could still have tried to repent. Banquo, it must be remembered, was his greatest friend, but Macbeth in Act 3 is so insecure about his Title, that he ordered the killing of him. His reasons are simple; he is jealous and greedy: "For Banquo's issue have I have filed my mind." This is proof of how detached Macbeth has become by this stage in the play. He appears to have lost all emotion, to the point where he can pay someone to murder his erstwhile best friend in Act 3, Scene 3, the climax of the play. From this point onwards, Macbeth is falling inexorably and unwittingly to his doom, and the catastrophe. In the subsequent scene he 'sees' Banquo's ghost. This could be perceived as his guilty conscience, but I do not think he feels guilty, I believe that he is more worried about being found out. We can see how afraid he is of the ghost, because he does not know whether the others can see it or not at first. He even tells 'Banquo' that "Thou canst not say I did it", but by saying this, he arouses the suspicions of the Lords. Lady Macbeth attempts to conceal the truth, although she herself does not know that Banquo has been murdered under her husband's instructions. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth referred to his wife as 'my dearest partner of greatness', but by Act 3, she was told to "Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck" when she enquired about Banquo.
The next we see of Lady Macbeth is in Act 5 Scene 1, which shows just how unimportant in Macbeth's life she has become. She is wringing her hands, and hallucinating about 'damned spots' of blood on her hands. This is very ironic, and refers back to Act 2 Scene 2 when she insisted that "A little water clears us of this deed." She realises now that it does not, and even though her hands appear to be clean, her conscience will always be smeared with blood. "All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand."
In the same Act, moments before his death, Macbeth realises that the prophecies that he has been depending upon, were merely equivocations, and that neither he, nor anyone can trust in evil, "be these juggling fiends no more believed." He becomes painfully aware that he has sold his soul for nothing; he has been duped at every turn, and is now doomed.
Ultimately, despite my arguments against the witches and Lady Macbeth, I firmly believe that Macbeth is responsible for his own downfall. All human beings are blessed with the freedom of choice. Cassius says, we must take total responsibility for our own actions; we cannot blame the stars. It is all too easy to cast responsibility upon the witches, or the evil goadings of Lady Macbeth. Without these agencies, he might not have murdered King Duncan, this all surmise. The truth is that he did murder his King and then went on to become a serial killer without any further aid. In fact, he himself admits "I am in blood stepped in so far, that should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o'er." He has full knowledge at this point (Act 3 Scene 4) yet he is not willing to repent and, also, shows that he is calmly prepared to murder many more times. He ends the scene with the truly chilling words: "We are yet but young indeed." Macbeth chose to take the "primrose path to the everlasting bonfire." He threw away his loyalty, his morals and his golden opinions deliberately and deserved Macduff's description of him: "Not in the legions of horrid hell can come a devil more damned in evils to top Macbeth."
Abby Kennedy
