Park 1

Ella Park

Ms. Steele

English 12 Period 7

October 21, 2021

Macbeth Final

Considering William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, the characters to blame for all that

happens in this tragedy are the witches because they took advantage of Macbeth’s ambition in

order to purposely cause chaos. Although one might argue that Macbeth is to blame because he is

the one who kills Duncan and becomes corrupt, the truth remains that If the witches never

sabotaged Macbeth’s conscience, then Macbeth would have never thought to kill Duncan in

order to become king. In this play, Macbeth discovers that he is next in line to become king if the

current king dies. The three witches use this information in order to corrupt Macbeth and take

advantage of his ambitious personality to create chaos. Throughout the play Macbeth is

constantly faced with challenges and becomes filled with guilt because of the choices he makes.

To start, Macbeth meets the witches, and they deliver their news to him. “(First Witch) All hail,

Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis! (Second Witch) All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of

Cawdor! (Third Witch) All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (act 1, scene 3). The

witches call Macbeth “Thane of Cawdor” and inform him that he will be crowned king. They put

the idea into Macbeth’s head that it is possible for him to become the new king if the present

king dies because they are aware that Macbeth is extremely ambitious and has always wanted to

become something more than he already is. Some might instead believe that the character to

blame for all that happens in the play is Macbeth because he is the one who went through with
 Park 2

his and Lady Macbeth’s plan to kill Duncan so that he can become the king. In fact, when

Macbeth comes to the witches for more prophecies, the witches tell him he is in the wrong for

what he did. “(Second Witch) By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes”

(act 4, scene 1). The witches go from telling Macbeth that he is going to become the king and

people are going to praise him, to telling him that he is evil for murdering someone to get what

he wanted. The witches had planned on doing this even before they informed him that he is

destined to kill Duncan and be crowned king. Therefore, The witches are at fault for everything

that happens in this tragic story because they tricked the trusted and ambitious leader known as

Macbeth.