Another prophecy made by the witches was that Banquo's son will be king. Fuelled by paranoia, lack of sleep andvisions, Macbeth was thrown into a state of confusion and a belief that the prophecies were inevitable. Lady Macbeth urged her husband to commit murder and it was this action that sparked Macbeth's downfall. When Lady Macbeth heard about the prophecies made by the witches, and how one of them had already come true, she called upon evil spirits to guide her through her task - killing the king. ."..
that is a step on which I must fall down, or else o’er-leap, for in my way it lies” (I.IV.55-57). With the help of his wife, Lady Macbeth, Macbeth was able to take a dagger and kill the present King of Scotland, Duncan. “My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, Shakes so that my single state of man that function in smother’d in surmise, and nothing is what but is not”(I.iii.52-55). His ambition becomes so powerful he begins to think the witches are the ones who told him to murder Duncan! His first thought was killing the King, so they may have triggered his murderous ambition that has been
The witches never told Macbeth to kill; they merely stated that he was to become king. Macbeth makes the choice himself. Their prophecies were believed by Macbeth and lead him with a tormenting need for power where he kills in order to achieve his goals. Macbeth falls on his own accord because of how he chooses to let the supernatural govern his actions. One can look at Macbeth’s actions as the play unravels and see that he is clearly headed down a path towards disaster resulting from one source: his ambition.
He now sets himself up to become to become the king, because the witches told him he would become king. After Macbeth slays the current king, Duncan, Macbeth is named the king of Scotland (Shakespeare 75). This event is truly significant because it demonstrates the power of the witches to see the fate of Macbeth and how his actions fall into place to make his fate a reality. Although the witches
Macbeth Essay TOPIC: Macbeth is responsible for his own demise. Discuss. In the play ‘Macbeth’ by Shakespeare, Macbeth is the “valiant cousin” of the King and is a very well respected soldier. As the play goes on, Macbeth may seem to be responsible for his own demise but other factors play a role in his actions. Witches come and reveal to him a prophecy of his future, which makes him want it straight away.
With the witches’ prophecies mulling over in his mind, and knowing that he was not the successor of the throne, he knew he had to take matters into his own hands. With the support and persuasion of Lady Macbeth, he kills King Duncan and gains his kingship. When Banquo makes his vow to find out who killed Duncan, Macbeth knew he had to silence him. After Macbeth is named king, he seeks out hired murderers to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance. Macbeth does this because he is afraid that Banquo will get in the way of his new title and Fleance, because he is prophesied to be king.
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is an intriguing play that was written and performed for James I, King of Scotland at that period of time. Macbeth consists of many different influences that drive noble Macbeth to a variety of murders and in mental disintegration of his mind the concept of misguided ambition is developed by those persuading him to kill. Three influences of Macbeth’s disintegrated mind would be the weird sisters, Lady Macbeth, and then his plots to kill out of fear and jealousy. First, in act one of Macbeth, noble Macbeth and Banquo meet three very odd witches, also known as the weird sisters. These witches are the true start of the disintegration of Macbeth’s mind and misguide him into a situation of rather to believe or not to believe for the sake of his future.
That all changes when he returns home after telling his wife what had happened. She says “ Make thick my blood/ Stop up th’access and passage to remorse” (1.5 33-34) Lady Macbeth is the one who encourages Macbeth to become King. Now that they both believe that Macbeth is going to become king, there is nothing that will get in their way. Soon after, Macbeth decides that one of the only ways that he is going to become king, is to kill the current king, Duncan. He realized that the plan might not be reasonable and he started to second guess himself.
Summary of the whole of act 3 Banquo is reflecting on the coronation of Macbeth, he is wondering to himself “are the witches prophecies true? Macbeth became Thane of Cawdor, now he has become king, maybe it is true that I shall be the forefather of Scottish kings to come” Macbeth and Lady Macbeth ask Banquo to attend the feast they will host that night. Banquo accepts their invitation. Macbeth intends to murder Banquo; his wife and him feel that the business that they began by killing Duncan is not yet complete because there are still threats to the throne that must be eliminated including Banquo. Macbeth got an assassin to kill Banquo and his son.
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Donalbain says that, “Where we are there are daggers in men’s smiles” (2.4.141)… And in this play, perception plays a big role. Hence, the reoccurring main theme “fair is foul and foul is fair” (1.1.10). Macbeth and his devious plans become his downfall, and unfortunately for him the murders will not cease. Corruption begins with the predictions of the witches and their paradox statements about future events. Since Macbeth is so hung up on their words, he and Lady Macbeth develop this growing ambition to take the throne.