Slide 1- at the start of the play Macbeth is introduced as a noble, brave, loyal man, who would never harm his king.
If it weren’t for his greed and the influences of the people around him, he would have happily stayed as the Thane of Cawdor.
The downfall of Macbeth was ignited by the actions of those around him: mainly the witches, his wife lady Macbeth, and eventually, his ambitions took over.
Slide 2- it can be argued that the witches are responsible for Macbeth’s downfall. They are the ones who made the prophesy, which a catalyst to all events. Before meeting them, Macbeth would have never have thought about killing his King. They also made their prediction more reliable by saying the he was the Thane of Glamis. The witches knew a lot about Macbeth without even meeting him before. This adds mystery to the three witches, which catches Macbeths’ and Banquo’s attention. People of the time of Macbeth were very superstitious, so he was more likely to believe in them than we would today. When Macbeth finds out he has become the thane of Cawdor, he is persuaded it his destiny to become king, therefore it can be argued that the witches were the driving force behind the death of Duncan. They also reinforce their predictions by saying that banquo’s children will be kings. This later leads to Macbeth becoming paranoid and feeling threatened. This causes him to have lack of sleep and visions. Macbeth is thrown into a state of confusion and believes the prophecies are inevitable. Macbeth begins to see the prophecies as his destiny. All this affects Macbeths’ sanity as well as his own guilt.
