Essay, Research Paper: Macbeth

The Witches In Macbeth
The witches could foretell the future, they can add temptation, and influence Macbeth, but they could not control his destiny. Macbeth created his own misery when he kills people. This causes him to become insecure, because of the reasons for his actions, which in turn causes him to commit more murders. The witches give great enticement, but in the end, it's Macbeth's decision to fall for the temptation. The three Witches are only responsible for introducing the ideas to Macbeth, and putting the ideas in his head, but they are not responsible for his actions throughout the play.
However it's more realistic to believe that Lady Macbeth, Macbeth's ambition, and his own responsibilities ended it for him, not the witches. Lady Macbeth is shown early as an ambitious woman who can manipulate Macbeth easily. This is shown in the line "That I may pour my spirits in thine ear"(I,V,26). She is selfless, and wants what is best for her husband. Before the speech that Lady Macbeth gives in act one scene five, Macbeth does not want to go through with the killing of the king. She manipulates Macbeth's self-esteem by playing on his manliness and his bravery. Macbeth has the final say in whether or not to go through with the killing, but he loves Lady Macbeth and wants to make her happy. Lady Macbeth is the dominating individual in the relationship. It seems that she can convince him to do anything as long as she pushes the right buttons. Macbeth's ambition is present before the witch's prophesies. He would never have thought seriously about killing Duncan without the witches. But the combination of his ambitious and the witch's prophecies leads him to kill the king. Lady Macbeth even says,"Thou wouldst be great/ Art not without ambition."(I,V,80-81). Macbeth also says, "his besetting sin: I have no spur/ To prick the sides of my intent, but only/ Vaulting ambition." Macbeth's ambition is shown while he waits to have a succession of kings after him. Macbeth has a lot of ambition in him and because of this, both the witches and Lady Macbeth are able to make him evil. It is this ambition that gets him into so much trouble not the witches. Once Macbeth kills for the first time, he has to cover up his wrong doings, or risk loosing everything he has worked so hard for. In the end, it all comes to Macbeth himself. Everyone is responsible for his own destiny. This is what I think the theme is in this tragedy. Macbeth chooses to gamble with his life and when he does this, it is only him who chooses to lose it. He is responsible for everything he does and must take responsibility for his actions. Macbeth is the one who made the final decision to carry out his actions. He made these final decisions and continued with the killings to cover the murder of King Duncan. The killing of Duncan starts an unstoppable chain of events in the play that ends with the murder of Macbeth and the suicide of Lady Macbeth. While the witches are not totally responsible for the actions of Macbeth, they are responsible for introducing the ideas to Macbeth. Macbeth's ambition led to the deadly chain of events. The witches never had any real power to affect the future in the play. It was Macbeth all along who ended it for himself.


Word Count: 573