Macbeth

In Shakespeare's "Macbeth" there are three main compenents that contribute equally to Macbeth's behavior: the three witches, Lady Macbeth, and Macbeth's own personal character flaws. All of these factors are intermingled and could not work solely by theirselves. Macbeth's behavior, like that of many, is affected by more than one thing.

The first cause Macbeth is submitted to is that of the three witches. These "secret, black, and midnight hags"(Act IV, Scene I, line 48) represented a supernatural evil, playing a satan like role. The witches utilized traits associated with satan such as forecasting the future "Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!"(Act I, Scene III, line 50). Macbeth is somewhat stifled by the witches on his first encounter and doesn't know what to make of it, "cannot be ill, cannot be good"(Act I, Scene III,line 130). The witches at this point do not have much influence on Macbeth other then to make him pnder about being king, "If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir."(Act I, Scene III, line 143). However, this prophecy starts a chain reaction of events that ultimately ends up proving itself. At the moment when the witches and Macbeth first met was a moment of vulnerabilit

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Macbeth again acts on his fears when he decides to murder his good friend Banquo. Macbeth's inability to make his own decisions was discarded with this comment, "The very firstlings of my heart shall be the firstlings of my hand"(Act IV, Scene I, line147). The motive behind the witches seems to be of nothing but for the pure sake of evil and wickedness.

The final factor influencing Macbeth's change and actions is his own personal character flaws. Lady Macbeth acts as an authoritive figure towards her husband, and is clearly the boss in the relationship when she tells Macbeth to "leave all the rest to me"(Act I, Scene 5, line 70). In other situations it seems that Lady Macbeth is helping her husband, but she is really only doing this because it indirectly helps herself. Comments like this, "Here's the smell of blood still"(Act V, Scene I, line42), show how that even in her sleep she shows guilt over what she has done. Ambition is now totally gone and fear of the future or unknown is the complete motivation of his actions. "For none of woman born shall harm Macbeth"(Act IV, Scene I, line 80), is an example of one of the witch's deceiptfull apparations. Instead of Macbeth coming clean he is forced along by his wife, and ends up "Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o'er"(Act IV, Scene III, line137). Examples of this are when she disposes of the two daggers, and even faints to draw attention away from Macbeth right before he is about to give away the whole murder. Another aspect of his fear that motivates him is that heis afraid to face the consequences of his actions. This seemingly "worthy gentleman"(Act I, Scene II, line 24) was transformed by the witches and his wife exploiting his ambition, fear, and paranoia. He fails to see that the witches are acting on their own behalf and using him as a tool. answer me"(Act IV, Scene I, line 50), and hangs on every word they say to him.

Approximate Word count = 1064
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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