Macbeth Essay (Shakespeare))

Francesca Rael Mr. Reese English 2Pre AP/Period 7 11 October 2012 Macbeth and His Contribution to His Tragic End The main character, Macbeth, in Macbeth written by William Shakespeare is the epitome of a tragic hero. At times, he seems a casualty of inevitable fate. Though he is absolutely accountable of arrogance and gluttony, there is a certain amount of doom implied in the witches' prophecies. Along with his seemingly predestination, an amount of free will also contributes to Macbeth’s demise. The witches’ prophecies, his own arrogance, and Lady Macbeth influence him. The witches obscure his thoughts with what he believes should and will happen to his life, and he tries extremely hard to make the prophecies become a reality. His arrogance leads him to believe that he is invincible, which ultimately leaves him ill-prepared for the troops that will be set upon him. The witches drove Macbeth to his own tragic end by weaseling their way into his mind and by essentially “taking over” all of his actions. They did not actually control him, but the mere thought of their prediction pushed him towards his downfall. The witches “hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor” (Shakespeare 17). After they say this, Macbeth becomes confused. He first wonders how they know of him, and then realizes that he is not Thane of Cawdor. This causes him to have an eerie feeling. Then the weird witches give Macbeth another insight – that he will become king. This lets the reader know that Macbeth has fallen into the witches trap. They have

successfully gotten into his head and the thought of their calculation will assist him in making bad decisions. Macbeth demands that the witches say from where they “owe this strange intelligence” (Shakespeare 19), but they vanish. Ross comes to tell Macbeth that he is now Thane of Cawdor. Since the former prophecy became a reality, he “knows” that the latter will also turn into a truth. This lets the reader know that Macbeth has fallen into the witches trap. They have successfully gotten into his head and the thought of their prediction will assist him in making bad decisions. Banquo warns Macbeth that if bad people tell you good things, bad things may happen in place of the good ones. Despite Banquo’s advice, Macbeth now thinks that the kingship will fall into his lap, and has fallen below the reader’s expectations. Ian Johnston explains how the witches in Macbeth are agents of evil in his lecture named “Studies in Shakespeare: Introduction to Macbeth.” The witches are one of the most famous symbols in Macbeth. The three women have malevolent intentions and predictive powers. Macbeth seizes the information that they present to him. When the news that he is now Thane of Cawdor arrives, he is told what he most wants to accept as true – that “the witches tell the truth” (Johnston). Ian Johnston describes how the women appeal to “what Macbeth wants to believe” (Johnston) and how they definitely do not force him to believe what they are saying. They do not prophesize the murder of Duncan, which means that they cannot be the basis of his assassination. They may influence that scheme, but they do not construct it. This is also true of their predictions about Birnam Wood and no one of woman born being capable of damaging Macbeth’s life. The prophecies do not offer “any specific instructions about immediate actions” (Johnston). Macbeth depends on his own free will to choose how he will act. He may be influenced and weighted by the witches’ prophecies, but he has the ability to make his own decisions. Therefore, the witches are steady reminders of the expected evil that runs through a human being’s mind.

Macbeth’s arrogance also leads to his catastrophic end. The witches told him several prophecies, one which he simply disregards. First, they let him know that he is going to become king. He believes this outright and in a spell of pride, kills the current king and his best friend (Banquo). They told him that “none of woman born” (Shakespeare 89) would be able to hurt him. Macbeth “knows” that everyone must have a mother and be born of her. He takes this to indicate that he is unconquerable which essentially made him overconfident and arrogant. Macbeth’s superciliousness is like a plague; once it started spreading it could not be stopped. Soon his haughtiness and egotism became him. Macbeth could not contain nor restrain this hamartia, and it became so controlling that it caused his death. At first, Macbeth believes that he is in no danger unless the witches’ prophecies come true. He is making his servants uneasy around him, calling them cowards and whatnot. He also considers the opposing army to be languid. He does not panic when he hears that troops are coming to kill him and wants his kingdom to be courageous too. He tells a servant to “hang those that talk of fear” (Shakespeare 110). Because of his conceit, he was ill-prepared when Malcolm’s troops came to ravage his castle. Macbeth finally gets beheaded – a result of his attitude and thoughts about himself, his power, and his strength. Macbeth was not born to be a killer; his wife simply influenced him to kill Duncan by using her cunning and manipulative ways to get what she wants. In Lady Macbeth’s soliloquy, she lets the audience know about her feelings towards her husband. She thinks that his heart is “too full of human kindness” (Shakespeare 31) and is afraid that he does not have enough emotional strength to murder an innocent human being. When his wife demands that they murder Duncan, Macbeth could have refused and stopped the plan in its tracks. Instead, he let his wife’s deceitful ways get the best of him. Lady Macbeth seems to be an authoritative

figure who is extremely demanding of her husband, and Macbeth lets her get away with it. Although Lady Macbeth cannot be placed under blame because Macbeth went along with her, she makes up the details of the plan even before she has told Macbeth what she has decided to do. Lady Macbeth is a cunning, sly, and mysterious woman who is able to manipulate her husband by saying “he would be so much more the man” (Shakespeare 47) if he kills Duncan to gain the throne. Her ways put Macbeth under her power, which eventually helps to lead to his downfall. In the article “Depraved or Determined? Macbeth and the Problem of Free Will” by Regis Martin, the author describes the fine line between fate and free will in the book Macbeth. Macbeth seems to have a fixed fate, but could he reverse the destiny and take matters into his own hands? Macbeth, in fact, does not have a fate determined for him. He can decide to refuse the promptings of the weird sisters whose design for his life is filled with agony and despair. There would be no play if we lived in a world where our choices didn’t matter because our future is controlled by “crushing determinism” (Martin). Macbeth is not a “mere automation of evil” (Martin) even though him murdering his king is unnatural. Although it may seem that Macbeth has been “forced” into his demise, he has actually taken matters into his own hands by trying to fulfill the prophecy he was given. The audience of the play Macbeth must be careful not to blame Macbeth’s influences for his downfall. He has fallen into a pit of despair and he must be accountable for creating his own demise. Lady Macbeth, his own arrogance, and the witches have all influenced Macbeth’s downfall, but he ultimately led himself to his tragic end. The play of Macbeth is of a tragic hero, who is greatly influenced by his own feelings and those who surround him.

Works Cited Johnston, Ian. "Lecture on Macbeth." Lecture on Macbeth. July 1999. Web. 09 Oct. 2012. . Martin, Regis. "Depraved or Determined? Macbeth and the Problem of Free Will “Ignatius Insight. Web. 12 Oct. 2012. Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. New York: Dover Publications, Inc, 1993. Print.