Essay/Term paper: Who is most to blame for macbeth's downfall

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Macbeth

Who Is Most To Blame For Macbeth's Downfall?

I have chosen to write my essay about the cause of Macbeth's downfall.
I believe Macbeth had an immense build up of hatred inside him waiting to
be released. I will discuss the possible factors that could have placed
the final straw on the camel's back and lead to the releasing of brave
soldier Macbeth's bloodthirst, and why he committed the acts he did.
The first suspects are the witches. After all it was their voices
that implanted the thoughts into Macbeth's head that he would be king.
When Macbeth heard this, he figured that no matter what he did he would
become the king. After hearing King Duncan's desire to have Malcom carry
on the throne, Macbeth quickly lost faith that he could achieve the throne
without doing anything, so he took it upon himself to make things happen.
After killing Duncan he feared Banquo for his knowledge of the witches
prophecies and had him killed as well. Macbeth seemed to be losing himself
after Duncan's death due to his obsession with the witches prophecies, so
in turn, the witches could be partly responsible for Macbeth's downfall.
Lady Macbeth can also be held accountable for Macbeth's decline of
sanity and power. Although it didn't take much, her persuasion lead to the
killing of Duncan. She wanted Macbeth to take the rank of king as much as
he did. Pressure from his spouse added on to all the other pressures from
the prophecies, also helped tempt Macbeth to murder. Not only did her
doings contribute to Macbeth's turmoil, but it also lead herself to become
mad.
The character most guilty of Macbeth's physical downfall would have to
be Macduff. He was the one that actually removed Macbeth's head from his
spine. Also when Macduff left, Macbeth became more ensnarled by his anger
and responded by prooving himself a cold hearted savage when he had
Macduff's innocent wife and children slaughtered.
Out of all the external elements that affected Macbeth's downward
spiral, I believe Macbeth himself was the most to blame. It was his weak
conscience that was so easily molded. He always had a choice as to what he
would do, and more often then not he chose the wrong path. In the end it
all caught up to him, and it was only then that he realized that the
witches had gotten the best of him. His greed and his selfishness was
easily worked on by the witches until he forgot he needed to stop and think
for himself. In my opinion, Macbeth's soul was already bad, and it was
only helped to escape by the other contributors. I think too much violence
through Macbeth's live desensitized him to the value of human life, (similar
to modern day prime time television) and Macbeth's downfall was the price
he was destined to pay.
483 words