Essay: The sources of Macbeth’s downfalls

The downfalls in Macbeth’s life derive from the three witches’ prophecies in the tragic play, Macbeth written by William Shakespeare. Macbeth encounters the Weird Sisters’ supernatural forces and chooses to depend his destiny as a prosperous leader on their prophecies, which ultimately lead to paranoia, greed and manipulation in his thoughts. Macbeth’s death and downfall in his life as a leader and husband arose due to his reliance on the Weird Sisters’ prophetic claims. Shakespeare uses Macbeth’s life choices to inform readers about the consequences that follow if one chooses to alter their fate.
Macbeth faces a downfall as a leader due to the paranoia he receives upon hearing Banquo’s prophecies from the Weird Sisters. Macbeth feels his position as King is being threatened by Banquo and his bloodline when he says, “Our fears in Banquo stick deep, and in his royalty of nature reigns that which would be feared” (Macbeth 3.1.51-53). Macbeth expresses his fear in the possibility that Banquo and his future generations will jeopardize his status as king. In addition, this sparks Macbeth’s desire to take whatever action he can in order to secure his title, causing his desperation. As a result, the uneasiness drives Macbeth to assassinate Banquo due to his paranoia caused by the Witches’ correct claims. Macbeth does not live the moral life a leader should, as he puts his faith into the Weird Sisters’ proclamations in an attempt to remain as the king.
Macbeth experiences a downfall as a husband when he involves his wife, Lady Macbeth, within his faulty actions to ensure the claim’s validity. Lady Macbeth meddles in the murder of King Duncan in order to fulfill the Witches’ prophecy. As a result, she experiences an infiltration of guilt in the mind and goes mad as the doctor informs Macbeth, “Not so sick, my Lord, As she is troubled with thick-coming fancies that keep her from her rest” (5.3.39-41). Macbeth is to blame for Lady Macbeth’s involvement with the heinous murder as their main focus is remaining king. Macbeth fails in his responsibility as a supportive husband to reassure the mental health of his wife. In this case, Macbeth fails to take into account the level of guilt and consequences that follow their crimes. Thus, Lady Macbeth commits suicide as she can no longer cope with the terrorizing thoughts that keep her awake. Greed evidently takes over Macbeth and his wife as both prioritize a plan to kill Duncan so that the fates are authentic, unfortunately their actions follow impactful consequences.
Macbeth’s downfall to his death comes in response to overconfidence in his thoughts from the Weird Sisters’ manipulation. Hecate and the other witches purposely plan for Macbeth to be filled with overconfidence in the battle against Macduff and trust within her prophecies when she states, “He shall spurn fate, scorn death and bear. His hopes ‘bove wisdom, grace and fear. And you all know, security is mortals’ chiefest enemy” (3.5.30-34). Hecate takes advantages over Macbeth’s prideful sense of self and lack of awareness. Through the use of her apparitions, Hecate intentionally manipulates Macbeth into thinking he will guarantee to win the war. Macbeth puts belief and faith into the previous prophecies and believes the next ones are true too. As a result, Macbeth’s pride takes over as he does not feel threatened by the army awaiting and eventually dies at the discretion of Macduff. Thus, Macbeth constantly tries to alter his fate, so far to the point of facing the consequence of death.
The sources of Macbeth’s downfalls in his treacherous life emerge from the Weird Sisters’ cunning and manipulative predictions. All tragedies Macbeth faces stem from his materialism and fear of status degradation. Macbeth’s decision to involve Lady Macbeth eventually drives her insane and results to suicide. Macbeth’s desire to alter his fate to fulfill his craving for royalty in the Monarch eventually catches up to him in the form of death. Shakespeare’s characterization of Macbeth reveals the precarious consequences of altering one’s destiny with supernatural forces.