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GIVE A VERY BRIEF ACCOUNT OF WHAT MACBETH'S TREAGEDY IS AND THEN GO ON TO SAY TO WHAT EXTENT THIS TRAGEDY IS HIS OWN FAULT AND HOW FAR HE IS AFFECTED BY CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND HIS CONTROL. Macbeth by William Shakespeare is the story of a brave, honourable soldier who ruins his life due to his own greed for power, respect and wealth. The story starts with Macbeth as the kings favourite soldier, a very respectful, honourable man. Macbeth then is told by the witches his life will change for the better All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter! .
In a desperate effort to obtain this promised position of King, Macbeth takes his fate in his own hands. He kills, lies and betrays to get what he wants. This changes him, into a mean, suspicious and evil man. The story ends with the pathetic Macbeth being killed, therefore losing all that he finally had. The dead butcher discovered cheating fate does not pay. I believe much of what happened to Macbeth was his own fault.
However, there are times when the blame lies elsewhere. The first example of this is the appearance of the witches near the beginning of the play, who tell him his fate is to be Thane of Cawdor, then King. Before this incident, Macbeth's thoughts were fairly honourable toward the king and although he understood that if Duncan died, he could take his place, he did not think of killing him. However, after his encounter with the witches, Macbeth found out that he was the new Thane of Cawdor. This made him have no doubt in what the witches said. Macbeth now had two choices.
The first option was what Macbeth originally decided upon to ignore what the witches said, and wait and see if anything else happened; If chance will have me king, why, chance my crown me, without my stir. The other option was to do what Macbeth chose to do eventually, and to take fate into his own hands and make the predictions happen. Macbeth decided to leave it to fate first, then changed his mind, to kill Duncan. The fact he changed his mind is the first example of how his personality changed throughout the play. Macbeth returns to the witches at the beginning of Act 4, desperate for new information However you come to know it answer me. This shows he places much faith in the witches, which is his choice, therefore their words are not beyond his control.
Lady Macbeth's reaction to the news of the witches, which she received in a letter, was outwith Macbeth's control. Her love for Macbeth and her ambitions for his happiness were what caused her decision that Duncan should be killed. However, Lady Macbeth realises in Act 3 that noughts had, alls spent they have what they want but are not enjoying it. I think that after Lady Macbeth's decision in scene 5 of Act 1, Macbeth had his own choice to make. He decided to listen and to follow Lady Macbeth's instructions, even though he needed further encouraging. I believe that agreeing with Lady Macbeth was not his only choice.
Macbeth is an impressionable man, as can be judged by his first reaction to the witches. While Banquo laughed at the witches predictions, Macbeth takes them very seriously and wonders how he can become Thane of Cawdor if the Thane is still alive. Being a soldier, Macbeth has learnt to only trust himself, and I believe that the incident with the first Thane of Cawdor lying to his country only escalates Macbeth's urge to only trust himself, and not fate, therefore leading him to believe he will only be king if he takes fate into his own hands. Macbeth is very honest and faithful at the beginning of the play for brave Macbeth-well he deserves that name.
As exhibited at the end of Act 1, he is worrying much about what Lady Macbeth expects him to do about Duncan but this blow might be the be-all and end-all. When he objects to her plan, his loyalty and love to her is the reason that Lady Macbeth is able to persuade him. At the beginning of Act 2 his apprehensions of Duncan's murder are still haunting Macbeth, as he envisions daggers similar to those with which he must kill Duncan Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand? . This conscience is one of the main elements of Macbeth's personality which has allowed him to become part of this tragedy; perhaps if he had been less loving and loyal, and more assertive, he would have been able to decide for himself what he should do and be less influenced by his wife.
Macbeth is a jealous man, because he is competitive, as many soldiers are. He lived in an ambitious world where power and respect are much wanted. After the possibility of receiving this is revealed by the witches, he is perhaps quite thankful that Lady Macbeth hatches a plan to murder Duncan. This would mean that Macbeth would have the power and respect of everyone. However, as he tells Section in Act 5, he ends up with nothing but mouth honour.
All these aspects together are what makes Macbeth react to the witches words the way he does. The fact he is impressionable makes him think of the witches and how he could get what they said he would receive. His loyalty to Lady Macbeth allows him to be persuaded into committing the act of killing Duncan. His jealous streak encourages his actions, he believes he deserves it as the witches told him it was his to be in the future, and so decides to take his place as king sooner. Macbeth starts as an honourable, loyal man who stands for his king and country, however, as the play progresses, he becomes an evil man who no longer cares for the honour and loyalty of a soldier.
His evil deeds start with the killing of Duncan, which was regretted deeply by Macbeth, as can be told from his upset mind after the event I am afraid to think what I have done. Despite this, he still manages to lie about the guards committing the murder. This evil continues in Act 3 when Macbeth orders the killing of Banquo and France. Despite this, Macbeth blames the murder on the soldiers and also Malcolm and Donaldbain. This does not fool many of the Lords, and as they join Malcolm in England, Macbeth becomes more evil, and much less affected, unlike Lady Macbeth Out, damned spot!
Out, I say! . This behaviour leads me to believe Macbeth is responsible for much more of the tragedy than is first apparent. The witches may have triggered the idea within his mind, and Lady Macbeth may have convinced him that the murder was a good idea, but Macbeth was in the centre of this. He was a righteous man, and easily could have stopped it, should he have really wanted to.
My belief is that Macbeth was to blame for his own tragedy, through his greed for power, respect and wealth, despite encouragement from others.
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