Factors That Cause Macbeth's Downfall
In any literary tragedy, the protagonist always ends up in a
bad situation through a series of unfortunate events. In the play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare,
the central character, Macbeth, is a good example of this. Macbeth has many forces behind him that
lead him into events that eventually cause his downfall. The most important forces are supernatural
influences, Lady Macbeth, and Macbeth himself. To begin, one of these factors is the supernatural i
nfluence that Macbeth experiences. The first supernatural factors are the witches and their prophec
ies. When the witches first speak to Macbeth they say, "All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of G
lamis! ... hail to thee, thane of Cawdor! ... All hail, Macbeth! that shalt be king hereafter."(1.3.
50-53). After hearing the prophecies, Macbeth thinks that, "This supernatural soliciting/ Cannot be
ill; cannot be good: if ill, / Why hath it given me earnest of success, / Commencing in a truth? ..
."(1.3.140-143). Macbeth believes the prophecies, and they fuel his ambition. They cause him to tr
y to fulfill their promises no matter what it takes. This disregard for anything except power leads
to his death, because he has to lose many friends and allies to obtain his goal. Similarly, the ha
llucinations Macbeth sees and his insanity are supernatural forces behind Macbeth. Immediately befo
re Macbeth kills Duncan he says to himself, "Is this a dagger which I see before me, / The handle to
ward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee."(2.1.40-41). After Banquo is killed, Macbeth sees Banquo's
ghost and says, "Avaunt! and quit my sight! Let the earth hide thee!"(3.4.113-114). Macbeth is beco
ming insane and he starts to see hallucinations which lead him to commit evil deeds. These evil dee
ds turn out to cause his death. Therefore, supernatural influences have a large impact on Macbeth a
nd cause his death by leading him into bad situations. In addition to supernatural influences, Macbe
th is strongly influenced by Lady Macbeth. One of the ways that Lady Macbeth is a strong force behi
nd him is the fact that Macbeth is reassured by her confidence. During a conversation between Macbe
th and Lady Macbeth on whether or not Macbeth will kill the King, Lady Macbeth says, "But screw your
courage to the sticking place, / And we'll not fail. ..."(1.7.67-68). While he disagreed with her
before, Macbeth now agrees with Lady Macbeth and tells her that he will, "... bend up/ Each corporal
agent to this terrible feat."(1.7.89-90). Even when Macbeth has already made a decision, Lady Macb
eth can get him to do what she wants because of her confident nature. Her strong, manipulative can
influence Macbeth to do anything she wants. This weakness causes Macbeth to do many things he does
not wish to do, and causes him much inner conflict. Likewise, Macbeth is easily controlled by Lady
Macbeth, and her evil nature and lack of conscience cause him to turn evil. Lady Macbeth shows her
evil side when she says, "... Come, you spirits/ That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, / And
fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full/ Of direst cruelty! ..."(1.5.43-46). She shows that sh
e has no conscience or regard for others when she asks Macbeth, "What cannot you and I perform upon/
The unguarded Duncan? What not put upon/ His spongy officers who shall bear the guilt/ Of our great
quell?"(1.7.76-79). Lady Macbeth's evil nature is transferred to Macbeth and causes him to have ev
il thoughts himself. The evil actions, such as murder, that result from the evil thoughts are the e
vents that end up causing Macbeth's death. In summation, the actions that lead to Macbeth's death a
re greatly influenced by Lady Macbeth's confident and evil personality. Finally, a strong factor tha
t contributes to Macbeth's downfall is his own character. For example, one of Macbeth's strongest t
raits is his ambition. When contemplating whether or not to kill Duncan, Macbeth says to himself, "
... I have no spur/ To prick the sides on my intent, but only/ Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps it
self/ And falls on the other."(1.7.25-28). Macbeth realizes that his own ambition is too strong and
will cause him trouble. His ambition to be King causes him to push away all his other emotions and
do anything to become King, even if he has to murder his own friends. It makes him lose his sense
of morals, which helps to cause his misfortunes. In contrast, Macbeth is very loyal to the King and
has a good conscience. When Macbeth is convincing himself to end the plan to kill Duncan he says,
"... He's here in double trust:/ First, as I am his kinsman and his subject, / Strong both against t
he deed: then, as his host, / Who should against his murderer shut the door, / Not bear the knife my
self. ..."(1.7.12-16). Deep inside Macbeth is still a good person and loyal to his King, even thoug
h he is plotting the King's murder. His ambition eventually wins over every other emotion and force
, but his conscience and loyalty are still present, causing Macbeth much inner conflict. This inner
conflict causes him to go insane and causes his downfall. Therefore, Macbeth's personality traits,
especially his ambition and loyalty, and the inner conflicts they create lead Macbeth to his death.
In conclusion, different forces influence Macbeth, and these forces all play a part in causing his
downfall. There are three main influences on Macbeth, which are supernatural forces, Lady Macbeth,
and himself. There are always many things that guide a person into a decision or action, and in the
tragic story Macbeth; the protagonist's journey is no different.
Works Cited
hakespeare, William. Macbeth. Ed. M. Kortes. Toronto: Harcourt Brace and Company, Canada, 1988.
fac
tors that cause macbeth downfall literary tragedy protagonist always ends situation through series u
nfortunate events play macbeth william shakespeare central character macbeth good example this many
forces behind that lead into events that eventually cause downfall most important forces supernatura
l influences lady himself begin these factors supernatural influence experiences first supernatural
factors witches their prophecies when witches first speak they hail hail thee thane glamis hail thee
thane cawdor shalt king hereafter after hearing prophecies thinks this soliciting cannot cannot goo
d hath given earnest success commencing truth believes prophecies they fuel ambition they cause fulf
ill their promises matter what takes this disregard anything except power leads death because lose m
any friends allies obtain goal similarly hallucinations sees insanity forces behind immediately befo
re kills duncan says himself dagger which before handle toward hand come clutch thee after banquo ki
lled sees banquo ghost says avaunt quit sight earth hide becoming insane starts hallucinations which
lead commit evil deeds these evil deeds turn death therefore influences have large impact death lea
ding into situations addition influences strongly influenced lady ways lady strong force behind fact
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reassured confidence during conversation between whether will kill king says screw your courage sti
cking place fail while disagreed with before agrees with tells will bend each corporal agent terribl
e feat even when already made decision what wants because confident nature strong manipulative influ
ence anything wants weakness causes many things does wish causes much inner conflict likewise easily
controlled evil nature lack conscience turn shows side when come spirits tend mortal thoughts unsex
here fill from crown full direst cruelty shows conscience regard others asks what cannot perform up
on unguarded duncan upon spongy officers shall bear guilt great quell nature transferred causes have
thoughts himself actions such murder result from thoughts events causing summation actions lead gre
atly influenced confident personality finally strong factor contributes downfall character example s
trongest traits ambition contemplating whether kill duncan have spur prick sides intent only vaultin
g ambition which erleaps itself falls other realizes will trouble king push away other emotions anyt
hing become even murder friends makes lose sense morals helps misfortunes contrast very loyal good c
onscience convincing plan kill here double trust first kinsman subject both against deed then host s
hould against murderer shut door bear knife myself deep inside still person loyal even though plotti
ng murder eventually wins over every other emotion force loyalty still present causing much inner co
nflict inner conflict insane therefore personality traits especially loyalty conflicts create conclu
sion different influence these play part causing there three main there always things guide person i
nto decision action tragic story protagonist journey different works cited shakespeare william korte
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