Back to: Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Table of Contents
Introduction
Macbeth by Shakespeare is a tragedy in which the protagonist, who is a loyal and brave warrior at the beginning of the play. However, a number of factors lead him to choose a path of killing and murders.
He kills King Duncan, then Banquo and later on the wife and the son of Macduff in order to secure the throne for himself as well as for his future generation. Following are the reasons that lead to his tragic death:
Prediction of Witches
The seed of evil is sown in Macbeth when the witches predict that he will become the king of Scotland. He thus kills kind Duncan to get his end. He succeeds, but later on, he wants to secure the throne secured for his children & kills Banquo.
His second meet with witches compels him to kill wife & innocent children of Macduff. Thus the prediction of witches excites him to dip himself in the sea of crimes.
Lady Macbeth
Macbeth agrees to what his wife says. She is over-ambitious, thus forces Macbeth to kill Duncan by telling him her plan. She has a significant role in taking his husband to ruins. This is why she is also called the 4th witch.
Macbeth’s Nature
In addition to the role of Witches & Lady Macbeth, his own nature is also responsible for his tragic end. He is over-ambitious. He can’t predict the consequences of his acts.
Throughout the play, he does every crime in confusion. The situation would have been different if he had not followed the path showed by the witches or the one suggested by his wife.
The greed of the throne makes him listen to the witches, his wife and his own desire as well. These all reasons collectively lead to his tragic end.
