The Downfall of Macbeth, Miscellaneous, College Term Papers.com


		Data Bases
		• Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism?

		Links
		• Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com

		Free Essays
		• Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers

Search Lots of Essays

Back to Subjects - Miscellaneous

The Downfall of Macbeth

The Downfall of Macbeth The Downfall of Macbeth In the play Macbeth, It appears that the motivation to succeed in life becomes overpowering. One may decide on wrongful actions to achieve a goal. Some of the influences on Macbeth include the witches, Lady Macbeth, and Macbeth’s own insecurities and misguided attempts to control his future. The witches and their prophecies are the first major influence on Macbeth’s actions. Macbeth seems happy and content with himself until the witches tell him he will be king. He immediately begins to consider murdering Duncan: If good, why do I yield to that suggestion Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair And make my seated heart knock at my ribs, Macbeth immediately writes Lady Macbeth. He obviously has great faith in the witches’ words. Later in the play, the apparitions, called by the witches, influence Macbeth by making him believe he is invincible: Rebellion’s head, rise never till the wood Or Birnam rise, and our high-placed Macbeth Shall live the lease of nature, pay his breath Lady Macbeth is a second major influence of Macbeth. As soon as she learns of the witches’ words from Macbeth’s letter, she decides to influence him to kill Ducan because she believes he is to kind and good hearted to do it himself. She says: That I may pour my spirits in thine ear, An chastise with the valor of my tongue All that impeded thee from the golden round Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem When Macbeth decides not to continue with their plan to murder Duncan, his wife urges him to act on his desires or he will think of himself as a coward. Then, she makes sure he will perform the deed by taking an active role in preparing for the murder. After he is named king, Macbeth’s misery and eventual downfall is caused by his own insecurities and misguided attempts to take control of his future. First of all, the witches’ prophecy concerning Banquo’s descendants and acmbeth’s feeling of inferiority to Banquo lead Macbeth to arrange for the murder of Banquo and his son, Fleance. Having Banquo around him is a constant reminder to Macbeth of the evil deed he has committed, and the knowledge that Banquo’s children, not Macbeth’s, will be king is also bothering him. Also, Macbeth’s insecurity of Macduff’s support for Banquo leads him to suspect Macduff. When he learns Macduff has fled to England before he could have him killed, Macbeth takes immediate revenge by having Macduff’s family murdered. He says: The very firstlings of my heart shall be He is determined from that moment on to take control by acting immediately rather than talking and thinking. His insecurities cause him to see the positive side of immediate action. He is unable to appreciate the negative side of rash actions. Certainly, killing Macduff’s family contributed to Macbeth’s downfall as the act inspired hatred and revenge. Finally, Macbeth is made miserable by the deterioration of Lady Macbeth. He begs the doctor to find her disease. She is eventually full of regret and kills herself. In this play, the witches awaken Macbeth’s ambition and Lady Macbeth encourages the crime necessary for his ambition to be realized. Both these influences help lead to Macbeth’s eventual failure and death. His insecurities lead him to rash actions to get rid of his perceived enemies. These are actions he regrets later. Also, he relies of the apparitions’ prophecies that he will be safe. Only in the end did he realize he was misled and betrayed. Bibliography:

Word Count: 629