Macbeth Downfall Essay

Macbeth simply succumbs to natural urges and his own ambitions which lead him to a fate of his own making.The provocations of Lady Macbeth, the witches, his ambition and his reluctance to listen to his conscience were the deciding factors in his life.

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Act V, Scene V, Lines 19-24 In one of his most celebrated plays, ‘Macbeth’, William Shakespeare illustrates the classical tragic hero pattern: a character regarded with the utmost admiration, demoted to an evil villain, despised by all.

Influences from other characters play a role in his downfall, but the greatest cause comes from his own actions and thoughts.

Macbeth is indeed responsible for his own actions which are provoked by Lady Macbeth, the witches, his ambition, and an unwillingness to listen to his own conscience.

These forces had no direct control over his actions but simply pointed out different paths for him to follow. Throughout the entire play Macbeth ignores the voice of his own conscience.

Murdering the beloved king caused his future subjects to loose faith in his leadership.

His delusional suspicion of others isolated him and drove him mad.

He allows himself to be swayed by the woman he loves.

Lady Macbeth gave him an ultimatum and provoked him by saying: She provokes him by questioning his manhood and then saying that he would be a much greater man if he were to go through with the deed. He willingly chose to follow the path of death and destruction. It is easy to believe that the witches controlled Macbeth and made him follow a path of doom.

In referring to the idea of the murder of Duncan, Macbeth first states,”We will proceed no further in this business”(I, vii, 32).

Yet, after speaking with Lady Macbeth he recants and proclaims, “I am settled, and bend up /Each corporal agent to this terrible feat”(I, vii, 79-80).