Essay on Macbeth: Macbeth and Great Birnam Woods

Submitted By hpatel97
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The Downfall of Macbeth
There are many factors in life that may suddenly bring someone to the top of the society and some that can bring someone to the very bottom. The one surprising factor that leads to someone’s downfall is the person him or herself. Of course it is not always only the person’s fault; someone can have an influence over what and how a person thinks. In the play The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the main character Macbeth goes from being the bravest and the best soldier in the army to being a menace murderer. Macbeth meets the three witches and they prophesied Macbeth’s future The downfall of Macbeth is caused by the Three Witches and by Macbeth himself.
The Three Witches have one of the major influences over the downfall of Macbeth. When Macbeth first meets the Three Witches and they say “ All hail, Macbeth! Hail to the, Thane of Glamis..., to the Thane of Cawdor,....to that shalt be the King hereafter”(Act 1, Scene 3, 51-53). The Three Witches prophesize that Macbeth is going to become the Thane of Cawdor and eventually the King. This has an influence on Macbeth’s downfall because it gives Macbeth the idea to kill Duncan. Macbeth starts to believe the Witches after he is been made the Thane of Cawdor and he starts to think about how and when he is going to become the King. The Prophecy encourages Macbeth to kill Duncan. After Macbeth starts to believe in the prophecy but doubts whether he can go through with it, a floating dagger leading him to Duncan’s chamber appears. This vision that the witches created shows that the Three Witches have power over what a person can see. This also shows that the Witches had an influence in Macbeth’s choice of killing Duncan by creating the dagger to lead him into Duncan’s chamber.This vision has an influence on the downfall of Macbeth because the illusion of the dagger then leads into Macbeth killing Duncan. Later in the play, the Witches show Macbeth three apparitions. The first apparition tell Macbeth to beware of Macduff. The second apparition tells Macbeth that any man born out of a woman can not kill him. The third apparition tells Macbeth that he can not be defeated until the Great Birnam Woods come marching against him. These apparitions influence Macbeth to take actions before even thinking about what the consequences are going to be. Also, it makes Macbeth feel confident and powerful because it makes Macbeth think that he can not be killed, and it is impossible for a forest to march against him. These are the assumptions that the Witches create in Macbeth’s mind, but the Witches do not tell him that if a man is ripped apart from his mother he can kill Macbeth. These all lead to Macbeth’s death and his ultimate downfall. The Witches are to blame for Macbeth’s downfall because they make him kill innocent people and make him overconfident, which leads to his death. The choices that Macbeth makes himself also have an influence over Macbeth’s downfall. One of the choices that Macbeth makes was right before Duncan’s murder : “ I am settled and bend up... false faces must hide what the
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