Essay/Term paper: Who is most to blame for macbeth's downfall?

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Shakespeare

Who Is Most To Blame For Macbeth's Downfall?


I have chosen to write my essay about the cause of Macbeth's downfall. I
believe Macbeth had an immense build up of hatred inside him waiting to be
released. I will discuss the possible factors that could have placed the final
straw on the camel's back and lead to the releasing of brave soldier Macbeth's
bloodthirst, and why he committed the acts he did.
The first suspects are the witches. After all it was their voices that
implanted the thoughts into Macbeth's head that he would be king. When Macbeth
heard this, he figured that no matter what he did he would become the king.
After hearing King Duncan's desire to have Malcom carry on the throne, Macbeth
quickly lost faith that he could achieve the throne without doing anything, so
he took it upon himself to make things happen. After killing Duncan he feared
Banquo for his knowledge of the witches prophecies and had him killed as well.
Macbeth seemed to be losing himself after Duncan's death due to his obsession
with the witches prophecies, so in turn, the witches could be partly responsible
for Macbeth's downfall.
Lady Macbeth can also be held accountable for Macbeth's decline of sanity
and power. Although it didn't take much, her persuasion lead to the killing of
Duncan. She wanted Macbeth to take the rank of king as much as he did.
Pressure from his spouse added on to all the other pressures from the prophecies,
also helped tempt Macbeth to murder. Not only did her doings contribute to
Macbeth's turmoil, but it also lead herself to become mad.
The character most guilty of Macbeth's physical downfall would have to be
Macduff. He was the one that actually removed Macbeth's head from his spine.
Also when Macduff left, Macbeth became more ensnarled by his anger and responded
by prooving himself a cold hearted savage when he had Macduff's innocent wife
and children slaughtered.
Out of all the external elements that affected Macbeth's downward spiral, I
believe Macbeth himself was the most to blame. It was his weak conscience that
was so easily molded. He always had a choice as to what he would do, and more
often then not he chose the wrong path. In the end it all caught up to him, and
it was only then that he realized that the witches had gotten the best of him.
His greed and his selfishness was easily worked on by the witches until he
forgot he needed to stop and think for himself. In my opinion, Macbeth's soul
was already bad, and it was only helped to escape by the other contributors. I
think too much violence through Macbeth's live desensitized him to the value of
human life, (similar to modern day prime time television) and Macbeth's downfall
was the price he was destined to pay.