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Macbeth's nonchalant attitude towards the prophecies from the three witches foreshadows his downfall through his hubris in Shakespeare's Macbeth. Upon meeting the three evil witches, Macbeth learns of his opportunity to gain higher titles: All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of Cawdor! / All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter! (I. iii. 5 - 6). Currently, Macbeth reigns solely as thane of Games. He becomes thane of Cawdor at the courageous death of the original thane.
Macbeth then seizes his destiny when he kills Duncan, king of Scotland, the title promised to him by the witches. Macbeth grows trust in the three evil witches due to their accurate predictions of his current standing as the thane of Cawdor and king of Scotland. With all of this trust in the three evil witches, Macbeth conjures their tainted knowledge again. This time he seeks to learn of his destiny: Tell me, thou unknown power, (IV.
i. 53). He requests knowledge from the apparitions rather than from the witches themselves. The witches now brew three apparitions of evil wisdom to visit Macbeth. The first, a head, fully dressed in armor, greatly foreshadows Macbeth's death both visually and with his words: Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth!
beware Macduff; / Beware the Thane of Fife (IV. i. 53). At these wise words, Macbeth is initially scared. He fails, however, to comprehend the visual itself. Towards the end, he insists on wearing full armor: Give me my armour Ill put it on Give me mine armour (V. iii. 74).
Macbeth's insecurity relates to the apparition of the armored head because in full armor, Macduff decapitates Macbeth. It is with uneasy patience that he awaits the next apparition. Much like the first, the second apparition, a bloody child, foreshadows its own warning as well as the death of Macbeth: for none of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth (IV. i. 54).
Macbeth ignores the visual hint and with great hubris, focuses on the words spoken. He then decides to let Macduff live: Then live, Macduff; what need I fear of thee? (IV. i. 54). His hubris causes him to disregard the visual foreshadowing of his death, a bloody child: Macduff was from his mothers womb / Untimely rapid (V. viii. 80). Macbeth eventually learns that Macduff, ripped from his mothers womb, represents a bloody child who fails to be born of woman as the apparition says.
As he is incapable of realizing the hint of a bloody child, Macbeth contributes to his own downfall. Finally, the third apparition, a crowned child with a tree in his hand, foreshadows the plan of attack on Macbeth slyly losing that clarity when he foretells Macbeth of his destiny: Macbeth shall never vanquished be until / Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill / Shall come against him (IV. i. 54). Again, Macbeth overlooks the visual aide so blatantly obvious before him. The third apparition fails to explain to Macbeth that Birnam woods will come to Dunsinane hill, therefore Macbeth is far from safe when soldiers creep up to Dunsinane hill using broken limbs to camouflage themselves thus paralleling the third apparition. His Hubris, however, prevents his capability to see these foreshadowing hints.
As the apparitions fade away, one last visual floats past Macbeth. Eight kings now pass Macbeth followed by Banquos and all he seems to do is ignore them and wish them away when in fact, Macbeth calls upon them: Shall Banquos issue ever / Reign in this kingdom? (IV. i. 54). When the eight kings pass, Macbeth fails to realize his reign eventually ends; however, his continually growing hubris, keeps him from realizing that the eight kings represent the answer to his question. Banquos children are the future kings. Shakespeare now uses irony to display the arrogance of Macbeth directly after the witch scene: Infected be the air whereon they ride, / And david all those that trust them! (IV.
ii. 56). Macbeth entrusts his life with the advice of the witches and currently reigns as king because of their advice yet he damns all those who do the same. This level of conceitedness provides great proof of Macbeth's own cause in his downfall: This hubris far exceeds his general knowledge of himself and causes his death. His arrogance exceeds his common sense.
The three apparitions come together in Macbeth's own words: / Though Birnam wood be come to Dunsinane, / And thou opposed, being of no woman born, / Yet I will try the last: before my body / I throw my warlike shield: lay on, Macduff; / And david be him that first cries Hold, enough!' (V. viii. 81). Unfortunately for Macbeth, his hubris is still far too great for him to realize his own part in his obvious and nearby death as the play nears end. He still denies his cause in his great downfall and refuses to see his fault in the matter. As the title of king approaches him he alters destiny to improve his label. By murdering the king, he had impact on his future.
Now, Macbeth denies all opportunities to seize his fate concerning death after learning of his downfall from the apparitions; thus allowing his own death by his incapability to take action due to his overwhelming hubris. 324
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Research essay sample on Thane Of Cawdor King Of Scotland
