Who Is Most Responsible for Macbeth's Downfall?
As I am writing this essay, Newton’s first law of motion, “for an object to be set in motion, a force has to be applied to it”, comes to mind. Every object has potential energy to be kinetic, but another object must exert physical force to propel it forward. Macbeth has potential energy from his inner desire to be king, and his rapt reaction to eliminate foilers in his way proves that. However, Macbeth’s innocence and goodness makes it impossible for him to commit murders. Lady Macbeth’s relentless persuasion is the outside force that “propels” Macbeth. Out of the three characters who lead to Macbeth’s downfall, Lady Macbeth gives the greatest momentum that drives Macbeth into furies of inconceivable acts against human nature.
At the beginning of the novel and before the killing rampages, Macbeth is a noble and selfless leader who leads his troops to victory against the invading Irish and Norwegian armies. He gains Scottish King Duncan’s recognition, and goes on to be crowned Thane of Cawdor. Originally, Macbeth doesn’t want to kill Duncan because he is loyal and understands he may face repercussions. He doubts himself in soliloquies, but due to his great respect for his wife and ever mounting unease from taunts of his masculinity, Macbeth succumbs to Lady Macbeth’s exhortations and kills Duncan. Later, Macbeth regrets disrupting Duncan’s longevity and hallucinates- his guilty conscience kicks in and this further shows his goodness. All in all, Macbeth is the least to be blamed because he is sensitive and gentle- hearted- and thus killing Duncan is an adequate excuse for his paranoia.
The witches are also responsible for the evil in the play. In Act 1 Scene 3, their evil is clear in their discussion before meeting Macbeth and Banquo, who are traveling across the heath at the time. They are planning to cast a spell on an innocent sailor by controlling winds to make his homeward voyage difficult, merely because his wife insults them. (Odyssey
At the beginning of the novel and before the killing rampages, Macbeth is a noble and selfless leader who leads his troops to victory against the invading Irish and Norwegian armies. He gains Scottish King Duncan’s recognition, and goes on to be crowned Thane of Cawdor. Originally, Macbeth doesn’t want to kill Duncan because he is loyal and understands he may face repercussions. He doubts himself in soliloquies, but due to his great respect for his wife and ever mounting unease from taunts of his masculinity, Macbeth succumbs to Lady Macbeth’s exhortations and kills Duncan. Later, Macbeth regrets disrupting Duncan’s longevity and hallucinates- his guilty conscience kicks in and this further shows his goodness. All in all, Macbeth is the least to be blamed because he is sensitive and gentle- hearted- and thus killing Duncan is an adequate excuse for his paranoia.
The witches are also responsible for the evil in the play. In Act 1 Scene 3, their evil is clear in their discussion before meeting Macbeth and Banquo, who are traveling across the heath at the time. They are planning to cast a spell on an innocent sailor by controlling winds to make his homeward voyage difficult, merely because his wife insults them. (Odyssey