After a protracted discussion of the topic of who is to blame for the demise of Macbeth, the blame has come to rest upon the Three Witches. Within the play Macbeth, the Witches have done numerous things to cause the demise of Macbeth; influenced him through prophecies and apparitions, spurred his killing spree and manipulated him. From the outset, the Witches show Macbeth prophecies which lead to his downfall. These prophecies are the root of Macbeth’s misfortunes and evil doings, push Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to act upon their evil thoughts, and alter Macbeth from a loyal soldier to a traitor. First and foremost, the Witches were the root of Macbeth’s misfortunes and evil doings.
This shows me that Macbeth is becoming a more vengeful person foreshadowing more bad deeds “We are yet but young in deed”. The survival of Fleance also adds significance to the play in a dramatic fashion. Fleance’s survival plays a trivial role on Macbeth’s future as king because of the prophecies of the witches. The fact that Fleance is still alive brings fear and sleepless nights to Macbeth. This makes us readers to believe that Fleance will revenge the death of his father in the future.
Shakespeare further cultivates Macbeths quickly changing character through soliloquy and dramatic irony. His success in doing so is disclosed as the once ‘noble’ Macbeth goes against all odds to convey his idea of fulfilling the witches’ prophecies: to kill King Duncan. Macbeth also notifies us that to even anticipate slaughtering the sacred King is an act of treachery and betrayal nonetheless he delivers himself as quite motivated and determined to do so. The “horrid image”, “doth unfix” his hair and make his “seated heart knock”; his lust for ultimate power poisons his loyalty and decays at his integrity. As the play moves on, the audience observe the hasty crumbling of his devotion to God and the King.
The witches were the driving force of Macbeth’s guilty ambition and were the prophecies that would play on his mind continually. “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter,” (Act One, Scene 3, Line 53). Following this, readers are introduced to Lady Macbeth, another character that encounters an ambitious discourse. The audience witnesses Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s ambitious discourse being ruined when they conclude that the only way to be on the throne is to commit the murder of the loyal King Duncan. The murderous actions of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth lead to their guilty ambition influencing each other to commit deeds that would not only ruin their clean conscience, but also their cultural assumptions.
During this encounter, the withes praise Macbeth naming him three titles, Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and King of Scotland. All three titles hold great honor leaving Macbeth yearning for the positions. By the witch sisters declaring Macbeth will possess these titles plants the thought in Macbeths mind which turns into greed; he would not let anything stand in his way to obtain these titles no matter the consequences. The greed Macbeth has come to have becomes apparent after the witches praising when he begs, “Stay you imperfect speakers, tell me more” (Act l, Scene III pg 307). Greed is the sin that causes Macbeth to commit murder; killing Duncan to secure the crown for his taking.
. .] It is this synchronizing of nature and fortune that soothsayers study, and that the witches in Macbeth know something about. We call it fate, which over-simplifies it. (88-89) In his book, On the Design of Shakespearean Tragedy, H. S. Wilson explains the stand taken by Macbeth in his relationship with fate: He pits himself no merely against the threat of hell but also against the enmity of "Fate" (as represented in the prophecies of the Weird Sisters): come, Fate, into the list, And champion me to th' utterance.
Deceiving Characters In Macbeth: Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and the witches In the play Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare there are many characters with appearances that are deceiving. The three characters that are deceiving are Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and the witches. Macbeth shows loyalty to King Duncan in the beginning of the play. Macbeth’s appearance is deceiving because later on in the play he ends up killing Duncan. Besides Macbeth, Lady Macbeth also shows her character is deceiving by planning how Duncan will be killed.
Macbeth: ‘Tyrant or a tragic hero?’ In different stages of the play, Macbeth shows us that he can be both a tyrant and tragic hero. In my opinion however Macbeth is more of a tragic hero than a tyrant because in the play most of the bad deeds that Macbeth carried through with chained from the murder of Duncan. The main reasons that contribute to the degeneration of Macbeth were the 3 witches and their prophecies, Lady Macbeth’s effect on the way Macbeth acted and Macbeths drive to become king. The play begins with Macbeth being a dignified, noble soldier who has helped Scotland gain victory in the battle and is therefore given the title ‘Thane of Cawdor’ and he is described as “Brave Macbeth” by the captain, this demonstrates to us that he is respected early on in the play. In act 1 scene 3 the three witches foretold that Macbeth would become Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor and the King of Scotland.
The prophecies told to Macbeth by the Witches were one of the factors that contributed to the degeneration of his character. The prophecies made by the witches aroused Macbeth's curiosity of how he could become King of Scotland. As the play progresses, Macbeth slowly relies more and more on the witches prophecies. The influence of Macbeth's wife, Lady Macbeth also contributes to his degeneration of character. Lady Macbeth plays an important role in this play as she provides a scheme for Macbeth to assassinate King Duncan.
His own human nature, paranoia and selfishness are what leads him to his death. Macbeth is to blame for his death at the end of the play. Macbeth is manipulated by the witches and believes in their prophecies. The witches have considerable influence over Macbeth throughout the play. First, their early predictions stating that he will be king, and then the predictions of the apparitions saying that he only could be murdered by someone that was not born of a woman.