Introduction
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a tale of war, power, betrayal, and murder. The play focuses on Macbeth a character who uses evil to achieve his ambitions but in the end, is repaid with evil when he is murdered. This paper will analyze factors that contributed to Macbeth’s death; if he is solely to blame for his demise or whether other factors and characters contributed to the tragedy.
Macbeth's Tragic Flaw
A tragic flaw can be defined as a weakness or fault in a hero’s character that results in the downfall of the hero. Macbeth does have a tragic flaw which is his unchecked ambition for power. He is willing to sacrifice everything to claim the crown and remain king even at the expense of other people’s lives.
Macbeth's Transformation
Macbeth is portrayed as a hero respected and liked by everyone at the onset of the play. His lust for power transforms him from the honored warrior into a murderous king. Even though Macbeth is enticed into committing evil deeds by other characters such as Lady Macbeth and the Witches, it is Macbeth himself who commits the murders. For instance, even though the witches’ predictions enticed Macbeth’s mind, it was he that took the initiative of killing King Duncan. Although at first Macbeth feels guilty and knows that his actions are wrong, he keeps murdering and instilling fear to retain the crown. This unchecked ambition that overtakes Macbeth’s good character is his tragic flaw.
Other Factors and Characters
Despite Macbeth’s flaw, he is not solely to blame for his tragedy because other factors and characters played a part in driving him to the edge. Presence of some elements and events acted as driving forces to Macbeth actions. Some responsibility for Macbeth’s tragedy can be attributed to the witches’ predictions, Macbeth’s visions, Banquo’s ghost and even Lady Macbeth’s compelling character.
Witches' Predictions
When the witches predicted that Macbeth would be the next king, this fueled his ambition and marked a start to his journey of destruction (Shakespeare 57). Further prophecies by the witches that Banquo’s sons would be king caused Macbeth in a quest to protect his power to have his friend Banquo murdered.
Macbeth's Hallucinations
Other events such as Macbeth’s hallucinations contributed to his tragedy through fear and guilt. Macbeth is haunted by Banquo's ghost (Shakespeare 45). This is seen when at a banquet, Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost seating in Macbeth’s seat, crippled with fear he shouts at the ghost to leave him alone. Macbeth has visions of a dagger and hears voices admonishing him over the murder of King Duncan. These events contribute to the downfall of Macbeth because fear for losing his life and the crown control his actions.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Macbeth is not solely to blame for his downfall. Even though he took upon himself to do evil things, there were always other driving forces behind him. One of the external forces to take responsibility is the witches because had they not given Macbeth the prophecy of being king, he would not have started the journey driven by ambition. Lady Macbeth is also to blame for Macbeth’s tragedy because she always used her character to persuade him into doing things such as murdering King Duncan (Shakespeare 47). Finally magical events such as hallucinations also drove Macbeth over the edge because they instilled fear in him and as a result, he did more evil things. However, Macbeth is ultimately to blame for his downfall and even his death because no one forced his hand into doing any of the things he did.
Work cited
Shakespeare, William. The tragedy of Macbeth. Vol. 2. Classic Books Company, 2001.
