Hernandez

Sylvia Hernandez

Figueroa

Period 3

20 February 2019

Self Destruction

The hunger for power and selfishness can lead to an ultimate downfall and one’s own self

destruction. In Shakespeare’s play, “The Tragedy of Macbeth” the protagonist Macbeth starts off

as the Thane of Glamis until he learns of prophecies from the ‘sister witches’. It is said that he

will be King, and he and his wife fall down a tale of unfortunate events. They go mad with

power and they hurt a lot of people along the way. The responsibility of being King proves to be

too much for Macbeth and he loses control. Macbeth can be held responsible for his own

downfall because of his tendency to fall gullible and his blind ambition.

Macbeth is easily manipulated and shows no capabilities of reasoning for himself. As the

beginning of the play commences, Macbeth is confronted with the prophecies of three sketchy

witches. “Stay, you imperfect speakers. Tell me more. By Sinel’s death I know I am Thane of

Glamis. But how of Cawdor... Say from whence you owe this strange intelligence or why upon

this blasted heath you stop our way with such prophetic greeting. Speak, I charge you”

(Shakespeare 1.3.70-80). Macbeth is stuck between the possibility of his future as King or his

better judgement. Lady Macbeth is seen making decisions for him as well as covering for him as

she manipulates him to follow through with her plans. She states, “What beast was’t, then, that
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made you break this enterprise to me? When you durst do it, then you were a man; And to be

more than what you were, you would be so much more the man. Nor time nor place did then

adhere, and yet you would make both” (1.7.47-54). Macbeth is easily influenced by name calling

and being degraded, therefore forcing himself to value his self-esteem. In his relationship with

Lady Macbeth, she is more of a leader and he is more a follower, he cannot reason with himself

for the better.

Macbeth is now enwrapped in an evil scheme alongside Lady Macbeth to secure his

thrown of high power and he has no limits to what he is capable of doing. In honor of the witch’s

prophecies, Lady Macbeth has convinced him to kill King Duncan in his sleep so that he can

become King. He says to Lady Macbeth, “Methought I heard a voice cry ‘sleep no more,

Macbeth does murder sleep’ the innocent, sleep that knits up the raveled sleeve care, the death of

each day’s life, sore labors bath, balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course, chief

nourishers in life’s feast” (2.2.33-38) The murder of King Duncan is placed upon his shoulders

and now that he is gone, Macbeth is now King and thus, the blood bath begins. Macbeth loses

control over his consciousness and he can no longer keep his composure as he grows more

anxious and paranoid. “I am in blood stepped in so far that, should I made no more, returning

were as tedious as go’oer. Strange things I have heard, that will to hand, which must be acted ere

they may be scanned” (3.4.135-140). Macbeth has sent his servers to kill Banquo, he grows more

paranoid about someone coming to avenge him for the murders. There is a fine line between

Macbeth’s reality and guilt. He is overcome with hallucinations and suspicion grows.

Manipulation comes easy to him and his blind ambition leads him to his downfall

because of his eagerness to become King. Macbeth feeds into everyone else’s ideas and loses the

ability to reason with himself and differ right from wrong. The crown he has possessed is now
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covered in the blood of others. The murders slowly eat him away and take a toll on him as he

spends countless nights awake and loses his sanity. Could the price of power equal the loss of

control over yourself? The brighter side is not always brighter and attempting to control your fate

is costly.
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“The tragedy of Macbeth”

Shakespeare, William,, Mowat, Barbara A.Werstine, Paul.The Tragedy Of Macbeth. New York :

Washington Square Press, 2004, c1992. Print.