Here are the facts: we have my defendant Macbeth who has been charged with the murders of King Duncan, Banquo, and Macduff’s wife and children. There is no denying that these are heinous crimes, but this is not solely Macbeth’s fault. He was indeed duped the three witches he came across. These crimes did not come from Macbeth, but instead the witches. Although they may have not been the ones who physically committed the crimes, they are most definitely to blame. The witches are responsible for Macbeth’s actions, as they used their supernatural powers to make him commit these terrible acts. They went out of their way to meet Macbeth, told him he would become king, and finally tricked Macbeth with the three apparitions. Ladies and gentlemen of …show more content…
In Act 1, Scene 1 the witches discuss when and where they are going to meet Macbeth, “There to meet with Macbeth (Act 1, Scene 1, line 8).” This shows from the very beginning the witches had planned their meeting with Macbeth. It was not mere coincidence that Macbeth and Banquo saw the witches, it was already prearranged. On top of this, when Macbeth met with the witches, they told him he would become Thane of Cawdor, and then king (Act 1, Scene 3, lines 48-50). In telling Macbeth this, it set into action Macbeth’s quest to become king and fulfill the witches’ prophecy. If Macbeth had never encountered the witches and be told he would become king, he would have just continued being Thane of Glamis. The witches are the one to blame, as they were the ones who told Macbeth he would become …show more content…
The witches gave Macbeth a false sense of security because they convinced him that he would be safe from Macduff. In Scene 1 of Act 4, the witches showed Macbeth three apparitions. The first apparition was a helmeted head, which told Macbeth to beware of Macduff. The second apparition was a bloody child, which said Macbeth does not have to fear anyone born from a woman. The third apparition was a child crowned, which said Macbeth won’t be killed and shouldn’t be worried until the forest moves to his castle. The witches’ apparitions ended up tricking Macbeth, as they turned against him. It is true that Macbeth should beware Macduff, but that is where the truth ends. It turned out that Macduff was born from a C-section as his mother died at birth, so Macduff was actually a man who wasn’t born from a woman. Also, Macduff and his troops used limbs of trees from the forest to disguise themselves when they were going to attack Macbeth, so the forest technically did move to Macbeth’s castle. The three apparitions from the witches duped Macbeth, as he was not actually out of harm’s way, which led to his ultimate downfall and
In Act 2 Scene 3, Macbeth attempts to shift the blame for the crime away from himself. He had just murdered Duncan the night before, and he was desperate to avoid suspicion on himself, saying some things that would raise questions normally. Macbeth’s actions start fairly mundane, with him acting as if he didn’t know the murder occurred, saying, “What’s the matter?” (2.3.75). Macbeth acts as if he had no idea about Duncan’s death, which is a logical step to cover up his involvement in the murder.
Trevor Reznik from The Machinist hasn't slept in over a year. He suffers from severe insomnia from guilt after killing a young girl on accident with his car. He begins to lose weight drastically, hanging around the wrong crowd, takes the blame for a fellow coworker who lost his arm after Trevor starts up a machine on accident, and even begins to hallucinate committing murders and much worse. The guilt we feel can take over our lives and lead us to our own moral demise. Many characters in Macbeth understand guilt whether its Macbeth seeing the ghost of a murdered friend or unable to scrub off blood that may or not be there.
Who is responsible for Macbeth’s downfall, the witches, or Macbeth? Who is responsible for the scorpions in Macbeth’s mind, the savage killing of several people in cold blood, the conception near the end of the play that Macbeth grasps of nihilism, and Macbeth getting so shielded in the prophecies that he can barely see straight? Is it Macbeth... or the witches? The play by William Shakespeare, Macbeth, has many motifs and famous quotes. However, it raises a lot of questions.
After hearing from the prophecy from the Weird Sisters, Macbeth realizes his potential to become king of Scotland. His ambition and wife drive him to take action and kill King Duncan. “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself and falls on the other— (1.7.25-28)” Although Macbeth handled the murdered the of King Duncan very well, he did leave some holes in which people could figure out that he did kill Macbeth. For example he kills the guards which causes Macduff and the other
Lady Macbeth was the blame for the murders, and the first reason is because she called evil upon herself. In the play she called evil upon herself when the text states, “Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe topful Of direst cruelty! Make thick my blood; stop up the access and passage to remorse, that no compunctious visitings of nature shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between the effect and it! Come to my woman's breasts, and take my milk for gall.” This shows she was to blame for the murders because she basically was saying that she wants to turned into a cold blooded killer.
Firstly, the witches’ revelations prompted Macbeth to murder his loyal companions. When the three witches spoke of Macbeth becoming king, it sparked the idea that this could be a realistic goal. On page 13, Act I, scene iii, Third Witch created insight, "All hail, Macbeth, who will soon be King." After sharing
From honored soldier to murderous tyrant, Macbeth killed his way into power. He was informed of his “destiny” and stopped at nothing to achieve it. He had multiple chances to rethink his actions. He didn 't however, he kept on his march to power leaving only himself to blame. Macbeth is the only one to blame for his actions and ultimately, his death.
At the start of the play, Macbeth visits the witches with Banquo at the closing of the battle. The witches speak to Macbeth and Banquo and get the idea of a prophecy in Macbeth’s mind. “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” (1.3.46-48). When the witches get the prophecy in Macbeth’s mind, he believes it will come true and misunderstands the prophecy of the witches. Although the witches make Macbeth believe in the prophecy of becoming the King, Macbeth is responsible for his downfall because they do not recommend Macbeth to kill Duncan.
This is why the witches are the true villains, because they had planted murderous thoughts in Macbeth’s mind and then tricked him with illogical prophecies. With all this said, the witches’ absolute supernatural powers corrupted them
Macbeth is firstly at fault due to his own hubris. From the start of the play we hear praise for Macbeth from the captain when he addresses Duncan, “For brave Macbeth—well he deserves that name—Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel,Which smoked with bloody execution,Like valor’s minion carved out his passage” (1.2.16-19), this sort of praise was likely commonplace after the battle, and likely was heard by macbeth himself, and being the proud man he was may have led him to feel deserving of greater power and authority. Another way his hubris is to blame is for being convinced by his wife's scorning oh his manhood should he not kill duncan “When you durst do it, then you were a man; And to be more than what
When Macbeth is told by the first vision that he needs to beware of Macduff, his fears are confirmed that Macduff is a threat. When Macbeth is told this, he decides to kill Macduff’s family (Mac IV.i.71-74). Just like the witches, the apparition does not force Macbeth to act upon what he has been told, but still steers Macbeth towards violent
The witches played a colossal role in Macbeth’s downfall and ultimately, his death. Since the first part of the prophecy stated Macbeth as being the new Thane of Cawdor, he believed he could continue to become king as well. In knowing his prediction, Macbeth also realized that since the king was in good health, so he would have to kill the king himself. For the rest of his prophecy to come true he would have to kill the king for himself. “All hail, Macbeth that shalt be king hereafter!”
The presence of the witches is the first supernatural element that Macbeth meets. One would assume that the witches could be blamed for influencing Macbeth with their prophecies. The witches are able to make Macbeth acknowledge his own dark desires. In Act I, Scene III, the three witches call out one after the other claiming “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to you, Thane of Glamis! /
Macbeth is responsible for his destruction because in life we make our own decisions however he was heavily influenced by the three witches and Lady Macbeth. The witches foretell Macbeth becoming king and Lady Macbeth persuades him to kill the king, which backfires on her. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth can be compared to Ahab and Jezebel in the Bible in that they both got selfish and went after things that would catch up with them and cost them their lives. Macbeth is ultimately responsible for the decisions he made but he was first influenced by the three witches visiting him telling him he would be king.
In Macbeth’s downfall, the witches and Lady Macbeth played a part and they did affect Macbeth’s life. The three witches were the ones who planted the seed in Macbeth’s mind with deep dark thoughts. “All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!” The words of the witch.