How far is Macbeth solely responsible for his own downfall?
How far is Macbeth solely responsible for his own downfall?
At the beginning of `Macbeth' we see him as a successful general,
described as noble and valiant. By the end of the play he has become a
multiple killer who will think nothing of murdering helpless women and
children (see Act 4 Scene 2). The question though, is whether he was
solely responsible for his transformation from a loyal patriot to a
regicide.
There are certain people that influenced Macbeth most notably
his wife and the three witches who first brought him the news that he
would be King. Neither of these, it has to be said, can be entirely
responsible for his downfall. Even combined there are still many
actions for which he is solely responsible. I believe that whenever
people allow their sense of what is right to be overcome by their
ambition they are doomed to disaster. Macbeth is a clear-cut case of
this.
Macbeth first saw the witches on his way to greet the King after
displaying amazing heroism and bravery in a battle, in which he killed
the leader of the opposing army. They tell Macbeth that he shall be
Thane of Cawdor and later King. Banquo is told that his children shall
be Kings but that he won't and that he will be lesser than Macbeth but
greater. This promise of personal glory begins Macbeth's decline.
A major issue raised by Macbeth meeting with the witches is
whether he would have thought of killing the King without the witches'
prophecy. It is after he has heard the prophecy and is hailed as Thane
of Cawdor by Angus, that he starts to reflect on what he has heard and
is alarmed by his own thoughts.
"... I am Thane of Cawdor.
If good, why do I yield to that suggestion,
Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair
And make my seated heart knock at my ribs"
And " ...Present fears
Are less than horrible imaginings.
My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical,"
The first part of the prophecy has come true. This makes him hope
that the rest might also be ...
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of Cawdor by Angus, that he starts to reflect on what he has heard and
is alarmed by his own thoughts.
"... I am Thane of Cawdor.
If good, why do I yield to that suggestion,
Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair
And make my seated heart knock at my ribs"
And " ...Present fears
Are less than horrible imaginings.
My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical,"
The first part of the prophecy has come true. This makes him hope
that the rest might also be possible. His words suggest that he is
already having dark thoughts towards the King. This is very important
because it hints that even without Lady Macbeth and the witches'
encouragement he might still have summoned the courage to kill King
Duncan. Yet still he sees these thoughts as unlike to happen
describing them as `fantastical'.
Macbeth and Banquo are both told things to do with their future
yet Banquo is cautious and steady; he does not trust the witches and
warns Macbeth against them. Macbeth however is totally taken in by
them; he is "rapt", spellbound by what they promise. Their different
reactions reveal a great deal abut their characters. Banquo warns
Macbeth against the witches saying,
" And oftentimes to win us to our harm
The instruments of darkness tell us truths;
Win us with honest trifles, to betray's
In deepest consequence."
However Macbeth, the simple direct soldier seems to take the
witches promises at their face value. He answers that what will be
will be and those if he shall be King so be it, he won't actively seek
it. Although he is ambitious to be King, he seems to be content to let
chance take its course.
However events prove that this is not the case.
We can see Macbeth's ambition growing ever stronger as when he
finds out that Malcolm is to be King Duncan's heir he is shocked and
obviously changes his mind in thinking that whatever will be, will be.
He admits he has 'black and deep desires' and calls on the stars not
to shine their light on his thoughts. It is clear that from this point
Macbeth is considering acting to bring about the witches' prophecy.
To show his gratitude, the king says he will visit Macbeth at his
castle. This is a great honour for Macbeth. It seems that fate has
given Macbeth the perfect opportunity to fulfil his ambition by
putting Duncan into Macbeth's power. Macbeth has to choose whether to
let fate take its course or whether he will act and seize the throne.
The role of Lady Macbeth is crucial.
She alternatively bullies and cajoles him, often calling him coward.
She manipulates him, playing on his weaknesses. She compares herself
to him, saying how much braver she is and that although,
"...I have given suck and know
How tender `tis to love the babe that milks me:
I would, while it was smiling in my face,
Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums
And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn
As you have done to this "
Yet even this speech fails to persuade Macbeth and she goes on to
explain in detail exactly what they shall do, as if talking to a
child. She encourages him saying,
" What cannot you and I perform upon
Th'unguarded Duncan?"
She obviously has a great impact on him as he says afterwards
"... Bring forth men children only,
For thy undaunted mettle should compose
Nothing but males."
Persuaded by her he then murders Duncan. From this you could say
that it was Lady Macbeth's fault that Macbeth turned into such an evil
man yet none of the subsequent murders were her idea, in fact she
didn't even know about them. It appears that Macbeth would not have
killed Duncan that night had it not been for Lady Macbeth. This
doesn't mean to say that he would not have done it at a later date.
Once Macbeth had committed the first murder there were no further
moral barriers to future murders.
At the start of the play Macbeth seems a much kinder, moral
person than Lady Macbeth, by the end Lady Macbeth has gone mad with
guilt at the memory of one murder whereas Macbeth remains sane and
composed despite killing many.
Macbeth is tempted by the witches' predictions because they echo
his own thoughts. The witches never lie but, because they speak in
puzzling riddles, it is possible for Macbeth to hear only what he
wants. By the time Macbeth has realised his mistake in trusting them
it is too late.
Macbeth allowed himself to be led astray, he knew what was right
and wrong and he made his choice. The witches and Lady Macbeth
influenced him and set him on the road to evil. Lady Macbeth pushed
him to the edge when persuading him to kill Duncan. Once Macbeth had
overcome his moral scruples in killing Duncan then the subsequent
murders were easy. He feels little or no compunction in ordering
Banquo and Fleances' assassination. Even the madness and death of his
own wife leaves him strangely unmoved and able to contemplate the
transience of life,
" She should have died hereafter" is one of his strange
comments.
Having once committed a murder, a murder of a sacred anointed
King, he sees himself as doomed, knowing that he has given his soul to
the devil,
" ...and mine eternal jewel
Given to the common enemy of man,"
"...I have supped full of horrors;
Direness familiar to my slaughterhouse thoughts
Cannot once start me...."
The great tragedy of the play is the loss of the man Macbeth could
have been and almost was, but for the contradictions in his character
and his fatal mistake in giving in to his ambition. It was his choice
alone to kill the King, no one else's yet had he not been told the
future by the witches and pushed by his wife he would never have
become what he did. Therefore I feel that he is not entirely
responsible for his own downfall.
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