What factors contribute to the downfall of Macbeth

Shakespeare's text Macbeth is the tale of a man ruined by his own ambition. The tragedy has many continuing themes of which I will be looking at and analysing in my study. I shall contemplate which influences add most to the fated downfall of Macbeth.

Furthermore I aim to decide in my own opinion how much Macbeth was to blame for the unfortunate happenings in the Scottish play.The four main factors which contribute to the downfall of our eponymous hero are as follows. The witches, weird sisters, creatures of chaos; Lady Macbeth, Macbeth's "fiend-like queen" ; fate and destiny, Macbeth is nothing but a "player"; and finally Macbeth himself and his hermatia.The play is opened by the witches outside, there is thunder and lightning. All of these things would have shocked and terrified a Shakespearean audience.

Outside scenes are full of chaos because the outdoors were seen as unsafe. Weather and the natural elements were said to reflect the state of life for men on Earth, therefore bad weather meant bad times. In Shakespeare's texts the most important character would open the piece. Witches opening a performance would have been unimaginable.The witches obviously have a strong influence over important characters in the play. King Duncan echoes the witches words without hearing them.

The second witch says:"When the battles lost and won."Duncan echoes this by saying:"What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won."Macbeth's first line is also reverberant of the second witch in the opening scene. The paraphrase he uses is:"So foul and fair a day I have not seen."These words appear to contradict each other, things are not as they seem and it is hard to define between reality and illusion.The witches' words have been put in Macbeth's mouth.

Therefore he must in some way be associated with them and their evils. Reading this gave me ideas that the witches were heavy influences over people of high stature as they have some control over Macbeth and Duncan without them knowing it.When the witches meet with Macbeth they pretend to respect him."All hail Macbeth! Hail to thee.

.."It becomes obvious this honour is false later in the manuscript as they do not then need him to think they admire him so they do not regard him.The gorgons received very different reactions from Banquo and Macbeth concerning the news of Macbeth's new titles. Banquo's is one of possible scepticism asking "are ye fantastical?" whereas Macbeth by Banquo's description appears to be enthralled. Banquo asks them to speak to him saying he neither fears their hatred nor wants favours from them.

Is he perhaps implying Macbeth does? The witches speak in riddles which shall only be understood when the subject of them has taken place. They say Banquo shall be:"Lesser than Macbeth, and greater.""Not so happy, yet much happier."These seemingly opposing terms spoken, both come into realisation by the end of the text.Macbeth orders them to stay, his curiosity getting the better of him.

He is obviously confused about what they told him feeling rightly that they have only revealed to him half of the story. However they show total disrespect towards him and disappear, leaving the two bewildered.The hag's prophecies clearly have much power over Macbeth, more so than Banquo. It was the sorceress', not Macbeth that chose the moment of their first meeting and I believe they picked a time which would leave him more vulnerable and willing to be influenced by them. He was fresh from battle and full of triumph which would make him feel indestructible.

He would be left thinking he could achieve anything and thoughts of rising above his station in the hierarchy would not be impossible. Macbeth begs the weird sisters to stay and tries to question them."Stay you imperfect speakers, tell me more."He is clearly yearning desperately for information or else he would not mix with these evil creatures for longer than he had to.

Later he speaks to himself:"Present fearsAre less than horrible imaginings:My thought whose murder yet is but fantasticalShakes so my single state of man..."His reaction is as if someone has read his thoughts.After Macbeth hears that the witches predictions about his future titles have come true, he has no doubt that he shall be king:"Glamis, and the Thane of Cawdor:The greatest is behind.

"He receives proof that they know the future once he is told he is Thane of Cawdor. This leaves him thinking about killing Duncan despite warnings from Banquo about the possibility of the witches leading him in the direction of evil.When Macbeth decides he is in too deep and the only people who can help him are the witches, he pays them a visit:"I will tomorrow (And betimes I will) tothe weird sisters."He thinks he is doing this of his own accord however, before he enters the witches cave, the second witch utters:"By the pricking of my thumb,something wicked this way comes."By this it is obvious they knew Macbeth was coming and they may have worked their magic to get him there!Lady Macbeth starts as an extremely strong character to whom Macbeth is devoted.

By the end of the play she has been reduced to such a state that the doctor says her:"...heart is sorely charged.

"She is not a typical female of the era and her entire persona goes against convention. Her relationship with Macbeth starts off as very well balanced but changes for the worse as the play develops. Macbeth refers to her as:"My dearest partner of greatness."They seem to idolise each other and find perfections in each other where others can't. Lady Macbeth sees Macbeth as:"too full of the milk of human kindness."Lady Macbeth most definitely had an influence over Macbeth and played a relevant part in the death of King Duncan.

She also knew she could persuade him and manipulate him to act in ways which suit her:"That I may pour spirits in thine ear,And chastise with the valour of my tongueAll that impedes thee from the golden round."I see her as a dangerous character, full of determination and ambition - qualities she shares with her husband. She is willing to sacrifice so much to be queen. She gives up her conscience along with all of her feminine qualities:" unsex me here."and eventually her life. She is hungry for power.

In some aspects she is more perilous than the witches as she physically still looks pleasant, loving and feminine. She is doing as she tells her spouse to:" Look like the innocent flowerBut be the serpent underneath."She incites him to kill Duncan, although Macbeth's own curiosity damns him. He does not dismiss his wife and showing interest means she has won him over and there is no going back. The fatal line is:" We will speak further.

"She knows her husband's weak points and exploits them. Calling him a coward would have cut him deep as he is a proud man. She is dominating him at this point and he gives in. After Duncan has been killed Lady Macbeth says she would have done it if he had not looked like her father. I think even if this is true it shows fragility in her personality.

She shows hypocrisy in that she called Macbeth a coward when he did not want to go through with it, when she would not herself. Some differences between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth become evident in Act 2, Scene 3. Macbeth is traumatised by the sight of royal blood on his hands:" Will all great Neptune's ocean washthis blood clean from my hand: No, thismy hand will rather the multitudinousseas incarnadine, making the green one red."Lady Macbeth, on the other hand, says the exact reverse:" A little water clears us of this dead."She does not see the blood as having any significance. After the death of Duncan the relationship between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth goes rapidly downhill, as she is almost void from the text until she makes her return insane in Act 5.

There is always the argument that Macbeth could not be responsible for his actions as everything we do is premeditated by a higher being. Shakespearean times were times when all believed in fate and destiny and there are some references to this in the text.In my opinion the best by far is the speech he gives after Lady Macbeth's death is announced. He realises what large mistakes he has made and how none of what he has tried to achieve matters anymore.

" Tomorrow , and tomorrow, and tomorrow,Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,To the last syllable of recorded time,And all our yesterdays have lighted foolsThe way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!life's but a walking shadow, a poor playerThat struts and frets this hour upon the stage,And then is heard no more:It is a tale told by an idiot,Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."Macbeth is saying he is nothing but a puppet and fate is pulling the strings.I think, however, Macbeth has to take some of the blame himself. He does not think of the consequences of his actions. Killing Duncan should have only made Malcolm the king.

In theory killing Duncan would not have gained him the throne. Macbeth finds it easy to lie:" The service and the loyalty I owe,In doing it, pays thyself."He lied easily to the king even when it was unnecessary. He speaks secretly of:" Black and deep desires."when Malcolm is announced Prince of Cumberland.

This is the correct order of the chain of being. He sees himself as equal to the king's son. He is so full of hubris he dares to consider Malcolm a rival to the throne.In his letter to Lady Macbeth he twists the words of the witches to say that they promised him the throne when, in fact, they did nothing of the sort. The witches planted a seed of an idea in his mind; he is developing the idea himself, watering the seed.

It is the plant he grows however which shall kill him.When he is alone, Macbeth considers reasons for and against killing Duncan and decides Duncan is a wise and "clear" ruler. He also comments that he has used his power "so meek". This in contrast with how I would imagine Macbeth as ruling.

He tells Lady Macbeth that he has decide against killing Duncan."We will proceed no further in this business."There is a continuing theme of clothing imagery throughout the script and his argument to his wife is that he has:"...bought golden opinions from all sorts of people,which would be worn now in their newest gloss,Not cast aside so soon.

"Lady Macbeth weakens him and he quickly finds himself saying the deadly words:" If we should fail."Macbeth hallucinates and sees a dagger leading towards Duncan's room. There are however two daggers - the one he is imagining and the real dagger in his hand. It is the real dagger which stabs the king therefore Macbeth killed the king!After Macbeth has killed Duncan he is still a moral man:" I go, and it is done: the bell invites me,Hear it not, Duncan; for it is a knellThat summons thee to heaven or hell.""Heaven or hell" refers to the fact that nobody knows if Duncan repented. It is ironic as Duncan was a good, moral man who may be in hell.

In comparison with Cawdor, who was a bad man who repented and is in heaven.After the murder, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth speak in short sentences. This shows nobody is in control."As I descended" is an interesting line as Macbeth is referring to the stairs when he ismaking so many more descents which go unmentioned.

For example he is descending from good to evil, fair to foul and at the same time Duncan is quite possibly descending to hell.Macbeth discovers he "could not say Amen." This disturbs him as he is most in need of blessing. It is a way of punishing himself as he already feels guilt. He no longer knows who he is. He refers to himself by three different names .

This is also a bad omen as three is an unlucky number. This is the first time he refers to himself as "Cawdor." The robes now fit as Cawdor was a traitor and so is he.Macbeth refuses to return the daggers as he will have to look at the scenes of destruction he has caused. he doesn't want to view the picture because he will see himself as a coward.He sees the blood on his hands as highly significant.

The blood has stained his conscience as well as his hands.The next morning when Duncan is discovered dead the world is in chaos:" Banquo and Donalbain! Malcolm! Awake!"This sentence spoken by Macduff is written in reverse order of the chain of being. It shows how much disorder Macbeth has caused.Later Macbeth becomes paranoid, asking questions repeatedly. He decides to kill his best friend Banquo.

He can no longer trust himself so he hires murderers to do it for him. He has realised the pointlessness of killing Duncan.Macbeth has realised:" Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown,And put a barren sceptre in my gripe."he has no heir so his throne shall be passed to someone unrelated to him.Everything the witches have said is coming true.

Banquo is now:"Lesser than Macbeth and greater.""Not so happy yet much happier."Macbeth's reaction to killing Banquo is primitive as he is trying to cheat fate. He will never be fulfilled. He becomes full of hubris once more and does not tell his thoughts to Lady Macbeth:" Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest duck,Till thou applaud the deed."He also sees killing an innocent man as something to be applauded.

He envisions a ghost at the banquet sitting in his chair. This is ironic as his banquet is supposed to be a time when he feels most secure. He has become ill and is probably being punished for earlier hubris. Macbeth's punishment for what he has done is his sanity. His only security is when he is insane. Macbeth asks:"What's the night?"He is so unbalanced he doesn't even know what time of day it is.

When Macbeth visits the witches he is only responded to when he asks a question. They no longer give him a grand greeting. Even the lowest of low creatures has no respect for him. The witches answer his questions truthfully but only because he presses them for answers.

He is told to beware the Thane of Fife but that" none of woman born shall harm Macbeth"Macbeth once more suffers from one of his many hermatia - his hubris. On deciding to kill Macduff although he thinks he cannot harm him he is showing how childish and selfish he really is.Macbeth is scornful of the warnings given to him by the apparitions but as the saying goes "Pride comes before a fall." He does not learn from his mistakes and once his curiosity got the better of him. The witches warned him not to ask any more but he disregarded them and even had the arrogance to think he could threaten them and get away with it.

The witches are however manipulating Macbeth. Giving him select information which he misinterprets. Even if no man born of woman born harm him his invincibility means nothing as he cannot carry on the line of descendants on the throne. His curiosity backfired one more time as his discovers Banquo shall establish a dynasty. The witches are correct again.Macbeth decides to attack Macduff's castle and kill his family.

This will gain him nothing and in the end brings his downfall. In killing Macduff's family, Macduff has nothing to lose. He becomes the antidote for Macbeth. Macbeth has created his own nemesis. Macduff is motivated to kill Macbeth for personal reasons.

The guilt of leaving his family in Scotland is so great that the only way he can overcome it is to put an end personally to Scotland's tyrant king.I begin to pity Macbeth when he finally realises he has lost the battle to be ruler. He is calling Seyton before he had entered, he must be wanting company."come put mine armour on; give me my staff"He needs armoured clothing to protect him mentally, not physically. He feels comforted and protected by it.

His armour is his identity.Macbeth moves into grief when he is told Birnam wood appears to be moving. The four signs of grief are: panic, despair, denial and acceptance. Macbeth moves in and out of all of these phases in one speech.The play is now tumbling towards a resolution.

Macbeth is still clinging to his only piece of hope, that:"What's he that was not of woman born? Such a one am I to fear or none."He discovers that Macduff was born of a caesarean operation. He is killed by Macduff's sword. Macbeth does however die a warrior which is what he was all along."Yet I will try the last"He fought until the end and never gave up.Macbeth manages to leave the play a hero.

I believe his down fall was his fault as without him nothing would have been possible. Fate and destiny are possible factors but it was his own judgement and decision making which led things to result how they did. He was physically strong but mentally he had many flaws. People manipulated these flaws but if they did not exist then none of it would have been conceivable. If fate or the witches took responsibility then they still chose Macbeth to do these wicked deeds because of who he was and who they could easily make him. If fate controlled Macbeth then fate also made Macbeth's disposition.

Without Macbeth's hermatia none of the situations which arose could have occurred the same. Therefore I believe Macbeth was the architect of his own downfall.