Who Is Responsible For Macbeth's Downfall

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The play Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a classic tragedy where the protagonist, Macbeth kills anyone that gets in his way to become king. He puts his faith in the prophesies of the three witches. Macbeth's wife, Lady Macbeth, is instrumental in Macbeth's ambition, urging him on when he fears he is doing the wrong thing. Later in the play, Lady Macbeth's own conscience begins to torture her and she imagines that she can see her hands covered with blood. Consequently, she commits suicide while Macduff kills Macbeth and Malcolm becomes king. By the end of the play, it is conveyed that Macbeth’s downfall is caused by both, himself and outside forces such as Lady Macbeth and the three witches. Macbeth causes his own downfall in several scenes…show more content…
His conscience repeatedly tells him that what he is doing is not the correct thing to do, however, he lets himself be manipulated by Lady Macbeth and the pressure she puts on him. In the scene that portrays Duncan’s murder, Macbeth finds himself in a constant battle with his own conscience and proclaims, “We will proceed no further in this business” (Act 1, scene 7, 31). Consequently, Lady Macbeth speaks with him and convinces Macbeth to continue his plan while he shouts, “I am settled, and bend up / Each corporal agent to this terrible feat” (Act 1, scene7, 79-80). Throughout the scene, Lady Macbeth urges Macbeth to follow with his plans by questioning his manhood. She proclaims to Macbeth, “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... (Act 1, scene 7, 49-51). She does this to make him believe that if he is a true man then he would continue with his plan of action without fear and remorse. With this constant battle between Lady Macbeth and his own conscience, he decides to kill the king. After this occurs, his unchecked ambition develops even more and throughout the rest of the play kills all that gets in his
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