Macbeth Downfall Essay

Factors Leading to Macbeth’s Downfall

All people are affected by internal and external factors, but it influences everyone differently. This relates to Macbeth, a tragedy by Shakespeare in which the main character falls in the end. In many ways, Macbeth is influenced by both his own character, and by the people he knows well. The initial character begins his pursuit to hold power and take the crown to Scotland. Getting deeper into the play, Macbeth is viewed as a threat to many people, even the people he was close with. As more people start to pose Macbeth as a threat to society, it is easy to get a glimpse of the internal and external forces that affect him in the end. Overall, many factors led to Macbeth’s downfall, including the dominance …show more content…
She is one of the most important external factors in the play for many reasons and is known for playing the more dominant role in the relationship in Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is best known for questioning Macbeth’s manhood, to get what she wants. A significant scene is when she receives a letter telling her that her husband is going to kill Duncan and take the throne. Lady Macbeth demonstrates her opinion when she says: “It is too full o’ th’ milk of kindness” (1.5.17). She is showing her belief that Macbeth is a coward and that he is not a man. Throughout the play, she uses this to her advantage, especially when she wants Macbeth to kill King Duncan and the Macduffs. Lady Macbeth also uses her dominance to make Macbeth feel good about his actions. When she says: “What’s done cannot be undone” (5.1.71), she is explaining that Macbeth shouldn’t feel any guilt. She is telling Macbeth to hold his feelings and secrets internally, which results in more complications than any person should have. This shows that she has not just influenced Macbeth’s actions throughout the play, but has also shaped her husband’s character and personality to how she wants it. Overtime, Lady Macbeth taught her husband the wrong way to cope with his stress. Eventually after holding in these bad memories for so long, Macbeth just broke down internally, leading to his …show more content…
Throughout the play, the Witches were able to manipulate Macbeth’s actions. For example, when Hecate says: “Shall draw him on to his confusion / He shall spurn fate, scorn death, and bear / His hopes ‘bove wisdom grace and fear” (3.5.39-31), it is showing how Hecate and the Witches really drive Macbeth to his eventual death. In other words, the Witches made Macbeth believe things that were not true, giving him a false sense of security. The majority of Macbeth’s actions were in the result of the Witches. For example, Macbeth was told that Macduff was harmless, when really, this wasn’t true. In result, he had high expectations for himself leading up the war. When Macduff came for Macbeth, his confidence lost the war, and he was slain in his own home. Also, the Witches had Macbeth’s fate planned out since the beginning. When they said, “Fair is foul and foul is fair” (1.1.12), they are foreshadowing Macbeth’s prophecy. They are explaining how Macbeth’s outcome will result in something terrible, which it did. This shows that the Witches knew how they were going to exploit Macbeth from the start. It is hard to think that one external force, can do so much damage to the main character. With the help of Macbeth’s trust, Hecate and the Witches, were able to manipulate Macbeth to how they wanted, making them the ultimate force to his