Friday, July 19, 2019
The Downfall of Macbeth Essay -- Macbeth essays William Shakespeare Pa
       Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, is the tragic tale of Macbeth, a virtuous man, corrupted by power and greed. This tragedy can be classified by one of two theories. One theory suggests that the tragic hero, Macbeth, is led down an unescapable road of doom by an outside force; namely the three witches. The second suggests that there is no supernatural force working against Macbeth, which therefore makes him responsible for his own actions and inevitable downfall. Macbeth is indeed responsible for his own actions which are provoked by Lady Macbeth, the witches, his ambition, and an unwillingness to listen to his own conscience. These forces had no direct control over his actions but simply pointed out different paths for him to follow. Ultimately, Macbeth chose the path of darkness.         Throughout the entire play Macbeth ignores the voice of his own conscience. He knows what he is doing is wrong even before he murders Duncan. His own conscience is nagging at him but he allows Lady Macbeth and greed to cloud his judgement. In referring to the idea of the murder of Duncan, Macbeth first states,"We will proceed no further in this business"(I, vii, 32). Yet, after speaking with Lady Macbeth he recants and proclaims, "I am settled, and bend up /Each corporal agent to this terrible feat"(I, vii, 79-80). He allows himself to be swayed by the woman he loves. Lady Macbeth gave him an ultimatum and provoked him by saying:                        When you durst do it, then you were a man;                       And to be more than what you were, you would                       Be so much more the man..... (I, vii, 49-51)  She provokes him ... ...cally cause an increase in his desires. He willingly committed the crimes to fulfil his ambitions; not because of a spell cast by the witches.         While purposely played in a mysterious setting, the location is not meant to cloud the true theme of the play with the supernatural. Macbeth simply succumbs to natural urges and his own ambitions which lead him to a fate of his own making. The provocations of Lady Macbeth, the witches, his ambition and his reluctance to listen to his conscience were the deciding factors in his life. He was not supernaturally controlled by the black magic of the witches nor was he purposefully led down a path of destruction. He was fully aware of the consequences of all the decisions he made. Everyone has character flaws that they must live with; Macbeth simply allowed those flaws to destroy him.
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