Macbeth is responsible for his own downfall. Do you agree?

In Shakespeare's Macbeth, there is a long chain of events that eventually leads to Macbeths demise. Although the aforementioned chain was initiated by the manipulation of the Three Weird Sisters, the actions that Macbeth actively decided to take were the true cause of his death. Macbeth did have a choice whether to perform all the deeds that he did; he did not have to listen to Lady Macbeth and kill King Duncan, nor did he have to kill Macduffs family. Shakespeare put much emphasis in this work that Macbeth was not just a puppet controlled by the prophecies of the witches and his wife, but that he, like any human being, had enough choice to influence the path of their lives. While it may seem that the witches were quite deceitful in their prophecies, which were more like riddles, they were completely honest and truthful. Macbeth had misinterpreted the prophecies, but did not have to listen to them, and even less so act on them. Lady Macbeth was an extremely influential person, and had persuaded Macbeth to perform the initial murder; the killing of King Duncan. But whatever happened to morals? Was it worth ending a persons life to become King? Macbeth would have asked himself that, and made a conscious decision to continue with the plan to kill Duncan. He also decided to order the killing of Banquo and Macduffs family, without being manipulated to do so at all. Macbeth had a choice to not do what he did, however he despite his conscience urging him not take the path to death and destruction, he continued to repeatedly murder various characters, which made him ultimately responsible for his own downfall.

The three witches were the first characters that we were introduced to in Macbeth, and they were the main cause of Macbeth actions, but they did not tell him to do any of the deeds. Witches have always been stereotypically described as very magical, wise and ugly women. Shakespeare incorporated the exact same characteristics in Macbeth, with the witches being described as the Three weird sisters. The witches act as an informant, and under the orders from Hecate, the main witch, they convey information to Macbeth. This information is what indirectly causes Macbeth to murder the King, Banquo and the Macduff family. But did they actually tell him commit murder? All they stated the first time is that he would be the Thane of Cawdor, and then King. All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis...

All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter! There is no evidence that they made him kill Duncan, nothing they said suggests such a thing. The true cause of these actions is Macbeth himself, as he misunderstood the witchs prophecies to mean something completely different. He blindly believes the witchs prophecy after he was dress[ed] in borrowed robes, and crowned the Thane of Cawdor. Even before he was made Thane of Cawdor, just after the witches greeting, Macbeth thinking about what he would have to do to become King, as he knew that Malcolm would naturally be heir to the throne. Banquo notices Macbeth deep in thought, and asks him Good sir, why do you start and seem to fear / Things that do sound so fair?. Although the thought of killing Duncan may have surfaced in Macbeths thoughts, the actual idea of doing it had scared him, so in a bid for external opinion, Macbeth writes off a letter to his wife, Lady Macbeth.

Macbeth was contemplating murdering Duncan, but needed another push, which is what Lady Macbeth delivered. Lady Macbeth, after receiving Macbeths letter, was ecstatic about the promotion of Macbeth to the Thane of Cawdor, but she wanted more. She knew that Macbeth was too full o the milk of human kindness, and that he would not take matters into his own hands without encouragement. So Lady Macbeth then targets Macbeths ambitions and manhood, and tells him that she would kill her own baby to carry out their plan. And Macbeth then agreed to do it, completely ignoring his morals, just because his wife had questioned his manhood. It is true that Lady Macbeth manipulated him to some extent, but it was Macbeths own fault for caving in so easily to his wifes requests.

After Macbeth had killed Duncan, he consciously decided to order for the killing of Banquo. Going through much trauma after murdering Duncan, Macbeth reconsiders the witches prophecy regarding Banquo. Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none, meaning that Banquos children would be heir to the throne after Macbeth. Macbeth then is extremely frustrated that he murdered Duncan, and Banquos children would reap the rewards, For Banquos issue have I filed my mind / For them the gracious Duncan have I murdered. He is

outraged enough to command men to kill Banquo, ironically also questioning the manhood of the men. At this point, all of the sympathy for Macbeth has vanished, and his actions were no longer justifiable by the act of manipulation by other characters. That command alone makes Macbeth responsible for his downfall.

The second time Macbeth meets the witches, he already knew that he was starting to get into trouble, which is why he wanted to ask them whether he would be fine. The witches, being very cunning, delivered their prophecy, which Macbeth totally misinterpreted. Macbeth took None of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth and Macbeth shall never vanquished be until / Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill / Shall come against him to mean that he was invincible, which was perfectly reasonable, because he did not know that they were riddles. Beware Macduff / Beware the thane of Fife. Macbeth took that to mean eliminate the entire Macduff family, which after a slight consideration, he ordered men to do. Undeniably, Macduff would have been exceptionally angry at Macbeth, triggering him to summon an army to confront Macbeth. If Macbeth did not kill Macduffs family, Macduff may not have tried to raid Macbeths castle, but he did. And when Macduff did arrive at his castle, Macbeth very arrogantly challenged Macduff, and lost to him. In this case, Macbeth truly was responsible for his own downfall.

Shakespeares Macbeth is a story of deception, manipulation and responsibility. Macbeth had many chances to correct his ways, and listen to his morals, all which he totally ignored. Even though the witches and Lady Macbeth may have manipulated Macbeth to a certain extent, ultimately the choices were up to Macbeth. And nothing can pardon Macbeth for murdering more innocent people after Duncan, because no one manipulated him specifically to do that. Macbeths downfall was inevitable after the first two murders, but the murder of Macduffs family had significantly cut his time short. Every person makes their own choices in life. Everyone who is sane is responsible for their actions. Macbeth is responsible for his own downfall.