for Macbeth to handle, his instinct is to go back to the Witches (Act 4, Scene 1). They are his only hope. It is an admission that he cannot control things any longer. The witches are the ones who raised the point that one day Macbeth could become King, and he believes that they will help him get out of this situation. When he sees them next, they show him bloody and gory apparitions, which tell him of Macduff and his supposed treachery. Macbeth then hires murderers to kill Macduff, but he has fled to England. Instead they kill Macduff’s family. He is now known by the other lords as a tyrant. He is no longer ruling as a good king, he only has thoughts of murder on his mind. Macbeth no longer feels guilt, he has seen so much evil and involved himself in so much that he has distanced himself from any guilt or remorse. When Lady Macbeth dies he is weary. His reaction is strange, he is very quiet subdued and thoughtful. He says, “she should have died hereafter, there would have been time for such a word” (act 5, scene 5). His power and motivation also seems to vanish, “…it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” It is as if he no longer sees any point in trying to hold on to the kingship. He cannot understand why he ever wanted it. He also realises at Act 5, Scene 5 that he is near his own death, “all our yesterdays have lighted fools, the way to the dusty death.” We get the impression that he knows he will die, even though the Witches have told him otherwise. He seems to accept it. Also he no longer believes the Witches, does this show a breakdown of everything for him?Who is responsible for the tragedy of Macbeth? It could be argued that he was weak man or plan evil. I believe that Macbeth was a weak man; the Witches and Lady Macbeth were able to influence him easily. But looking at the evidence in the text, it shows that he actually takes things into his o...
