Macbeth Essay, Daphne Chiao p3t4

Slowly inching towards success seems much more compromising than a painful, gruesome death. Unfortunately, the character Macbeth in William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, is only informed of the successful half of his fate, creating more agony when he realizes his triumph is also his downfall and the end of his legacy. Macbeth’s perception of fate, endowed by the wicked witches, has clearly affected his actions because he tries relentlessly to achieve the prophecy of him becoming king; this goal of becoming king and maintaining the position drives the action of the play forward. Characterizing Macbeth through a rich mix of traits, Shakespeare masterfully intertwines the prophecy with Macbeth’s life, illustrating how Macbeth’s perception of fate has dramatically changed his character.

There are many examples in the play that show Macbeth’s drastic alteration in attitude and actions led to by the prophecy. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth often relies on Lady Macbeth to propel him because he is confused and hesitant, strained from committing murder of the king by his morals. However, Macbeth’s lack of confidence does not fade after he becomes king. He begins to view everyone as a suspicious threat to his throne, especially Fleance, Banquo’s son, who is prophesized to become king in the future. Macbeth, being the paranoid and perplexed leader he has become, decides to kill Banquo and his son. The deed of murdering his best companion drives Macbeth mad; his madness is shown to the Scottish lords at their dinner, leading many of them to distrust and fear Macbeth. Macbeth seems like a game piece on a board game, continuously inching toward the next step as the witches predict them. His strong ambition to maintain king has turned him from a virtuous and valiant man to a paranoid, ruthless, and brutal leader.

A deadly potion that leads to one’s downfall consists of madness, brutality, and arrogance. Macbeth happens to acquire all of these traits from the witches’ prophecy. After Macbeth murders Banquo, he visits the witches and retrieves another prophecy that declares that he should beware of Macduff, who opposes Macbeth’s rise to the throne, and that Macbeth himself must be killed by a man of woman-born, and he will not die until the forest of Birnam Wood moves to Dusinane. Hearing this prophecy, Macbeth starts to feel invincible because he knows that no man is not of woman-born, and forests cannot deliberately move themselves. He quickly decides to kill Macduff’s family after Macduff flees to England to unite with Malcolm. This brings all his enemies together, who are determined to bring him down from his throne. Macbeth sets himself for his untimely and gruesome death when he again decides to be influenced by the prophecy and eliminates his alleged enemies. It is ironic because if he were to stay calm and just rule as an effective, instead of a ruthless and blood-thirsty ruler, he might not have caused so much hate and disagreement from his subjects. Macbeth’s perception of his fate practically determines the plot of the story; thus the prophecies can drive the plot forward, as they are clear foreshadowing of upcoming events.

Macbeth’s insanity finally leads to an uprising against him, organized by the vengeful Macduff and appalled Scottish noblemen, including Duncan’s son, Malcolm. Clearly, Macbeth’s reputation as the courageous man has been overwritten by his repulsive behavior lately. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth calls Macbeth weak at the beginning of the play when he refuses to carry out the plan of murdering Duncan. Towards the end, those near him wish to be as far as possible because he seems to spontaneously eliminate anyone close to him. The prophecy has changed Macbeth’s behavior and has also altered the way others view Macbeth in the play. Fearing the passionate animosity against him, Macbeth frantically holds onto the prophecy, which guarantees that he will not die. Unfortunately, Macbeth, like many heroes in other epics, is fooled by fate and is finally beheaded by Macduff.

Transforming from a valiant and respected elite to a despicable and disgraceful leader, Macbeth is completely ruined by his perception of fate and his desperate attempts to follow this destiny. Macbeth hears the first prophecy and kills the king and Banquo; he hears the second prophecy and kills Macduff’s family, and ultimately, his own career and life. Macbeth’s acknowledgement of the witches’ prophecies has led him to change his thought and actions, therefore changing the respect that others has had for him. Without the support of his people, Macbeth finally dies lonely and without any honor.