Shakespeare enthusiasts often ask, “How Macbeth was flawed to death?”. The answer to the question is very complex and there are plenty of factors that are responsible for the final demise of Macbeth.
“I have no spur
To prick the sides of my intent, but only
Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself
And falls on the other” (Act 1, Scene 7).
Macbeth himself at the end of the play, considers himself responsible for his own downfall because of his ambition. There are plenty of reasons behind the downfall and death of Macbeth. Initially, he starts as a valiant warrior and a loyal subject to King Duncan. For his bravery in battle he earned the title “Thane of Glamis” and later “Thane of Cawdor.”. Despite all this, he had inherent flaws. Mainly he is responsible for his unchecked desire. Macbeth is also vulnerable to manipulation and moral decay.
How Macbeth was Flawed to Death
Macbeth’s unchecked ambition is the fatal flaw that leads to his own demise. To seize the throne he murders his own king. Later, his paranoia and tyranny led him to commit further killings. Thus alienating himself from allies and provoking rebellion. Ultimately, His overconfidence and misinterpretation of the witches’ prophecies lead to his downfall and death at the hands of Macduff.
Ambition is the root of Macbeth’s Demise
At the beginning of the play, Macbeth appears to be a brave and honorable warrior. He has already earned great honor and respect for his bravery in the battle. With his valor he has defeated the rebel Macdonwald and the Norwegian forces. His loyalty to the throne is unquestionable. Even the King himself bestows Macbeth with the title of “Thane of Cawdor,” replacing the previous Thane, who was a traitor. This shows how trustworthy Macbeth was at the beginning.
Impact of witches prophecy
On a desolate heath, when Maceth and Banquo are returning from battle, they encounter three witches who foretell the future events of Macbeth becoming a thane and later the king of Scotland and hail him by saying “king hereafter”. This prophecy sparked high aspirations in Macbeth. At first, Macbeth is unsure about the prophecy but when the first prediction of becoming a Thane is fulfilled, he takes the witches’ word seriously. In turn, it begins his internal struggle between his loyalty to Duncan and his greed for power.
Macbeth could not resist his ambition
The mystery of how Macbeth was flawed to death lies in his failure to resist his ambition. Macbeth is now seriously thinking about murdering Duncan for the throne. He understands that his motivation is ”vaulting ambition” and knows it could lead to his downfall. His inner conflict is evident as he tries to weigh the moral and practical outcome of the murder. He recognizes that killing a rightful king would disrupt the natural order and could set a dangerous precedent. Lady Macbeth also plays a critical role in pushing Macbeth’s desire and wants to be the queen manipulating him to follow through with the murder questioning about his manhood.
Result of his Ambition
After being blinded by dark longing Macbeth commits a series of reckless actions. These acts set off a chain reaction of fear, chaos, and further violence. At first, he kills king Duncan and then to secure his crown he orders the murder of his close friend Banquo and his son, Fleance. This is because of the fear that the witches say that, after Macbeth, Banquo’s descendants will inherit the throne. Later, Banquo’s ghost haunts Macbeth, furthering his guilt.
Macbeth’s impulse got the better of him, and he committed further crimes. He even murders the entire Macduff’s family. This is not only a strategic move but also a testament to his tyranny and moral corruption. All these acts make him isolated and drive away all his allies. It can be said that ambition is one of the reasons how Macbeth was flawed to death.
Vulnerability to Manipulation
Witches Manipulation
When Macbeth encounters the witches they use hard-to-understand language and half truth to manipulate Macbeth. They present him with visions which are achievable but shrouded in mystery. Macbeth further seeks prophecies from the witches which indicates that he is now reliant on their words. They further give Macbeth a false sense of invincibility and contribute to his reckless decisions. Now, Macbeth becomes overly reliant on the prophecies and thinks their words are a guarantee of his future success. This overreliance on the witches makes him blind to the outcome of his actions and makes him take rash decisions.
Lady Macbeth’s Manipulation
After hearing from the witches, Macbeth sends a letter to Lady Macbeth and she immediately begins to plot the murder of King Duncan. She sees this as a great opportunity to fulfill their evil wishes and work as the driving force behind Maceth’s action. To force his husband, she taunts him by questioning his masculinity. These words challenge his sense of identity and compel him to prove his moral hesitation. A soliloquy by Lady Macbeth reveals her own ruthless desire to cast off any feminine weakness. She even calls upon the spirits to “unsex” her, showing her desperation. This is eventually how Macbeth was flawed to death.
Moral Corruption and descent to Tyranny
At first, Macbeth is hesitant about murdering Duncan. He is aware of the moral consequence of disturbing the natural order. He seeks the reason against killing his long time partner, Duncan. The King is his kinsman and a guest in his home and these facts should be enough to protect him. Macbeth’s soliloquy reveals his inner turmoil. He acknowledges that his ambition and moral corruption will eventually become the reason for his disappointment.
Moral decay
The first instance of moral decay from Macbeth is his decision to kill Duncan. After committing the murder, he is immediately wracked with guilt. This also starts his psychological disturbance. Macbeth further commits murder by killing Banquo and his son Fleance. This represents Macbeth’s transition from a reluctant murderer to a calculating tyrant. His fear of Banquo’s descendants becoming kings drove this decisions.
Macbeth falls to the nadir when he murders Macduff’s wife and innocent children. This act is motivated by a desire to eliminate any threat to his power. This incident is testament to his fall from a hesitant murderer to a ruthless tyrant willing to slaughter innocent people. Moral decay certainly plays a role in the mystery of how Macbeth was flawed to death.
Impact of Guilt
At the banquet, Macbeth now sees Banquo’s ghost because he is stressed about all the incidents. This Is a hallucination born out of guilt. He says to the ghost,
“Avaunt! and quit my sight! Let the earth hide thee!”
Showing his deep seated guilt. This shows his psychological instability. He even sees a floating dagger which symbolizes his deteriorating mental state. All these scenes are further proof of his mental turmoil.
Eventually, Macbeth becomes increasingly detached from reality as the play progresses. He takes more extreme measures to maintain power such as brutal slaughter of an innocent family. His descent is unavoidable and at the end he meets his own doom.
Macbeth’s Alienation and Loss of Support
Macbeth’s tyranny grows and he becomes increasingly alienated from those who once supported him. As he loses ally and support he becomes vulnerable and this is one of the most important factors to how Macbeth was flawed to death. His long time companion Banquo becomes suspicious and eventually turns against him because he senses Macbeth’s moral decay. Macbeth’s brutal actions like killing the Macduff family, alienate him from the nobility. People like Lennox, Ross and Angus begin to speak against him. They describe him as “tyrant” and land their support for Malcom.
The common people and soldiers are also against him now. They see him as a usurper. He tries to dominate them with fear and violence and loses respect for the people. This fuels rebellion against him. Macbeth’s enemies begin to unite against him. Duncan’s son, Malcom, forms an alliance with the English force which is led by Siward. Malcolm also tests the loyalty of Macduff and they plan to reclaim Scotland from Macbeth.
Macbeth’s grip in the throne weakens as key supporters abandon him. Scottish soldiers joins Malcom’s army motivated by the loyalty and patriotism. The mixing of these forces highlights the growing consensus against Macbeth’s rule. So loss of support eventually led to his downfall and this is how Macbeth was flawed to death.
Fulfillment of Witches’ Prophecy
Macbeth feels assured because of the prophecy by the witches that he will not be vanquished until the Birnam trees move to Dunsinane. The prophecy is now fulfilled as the soldiers cut down branches from Birnam trees and use them as camouflage which make it like that the forest itself is moving. Macbeth realizes this and understands the inevitability of his downfall.
Another prophecy claiming that Macbeth cannot be killed by a man born of a woman is also proved to be futile as Macduff was “from his mother’s womb untimely ripped,” meaning he was born via cesarean section. This finding shatters Macbeth’s last hope. There are also some prophecies shared by using bird imagery. This is how Macbeth was flawed to death.
Final Confrontation and Death
The final battle between Macbeth and Macduff is the last nail in the coffin for Macbeth. Macduff motivated by the vengeance of his family’s murder confronts Macbeth. Eventually, Macduff kills Macbeth and end his tyrannical rule. With Macbeth’s death, Malcom ascends to the throne which represents the restoration of natural order in Scotland. The play ends on a note of renewal and Malcolm promises to heal the wounds caused by tyranny.
Wrap up
So, how Macbeth was flawed to death? Macbeth’s death is a direct result of his tragic flaws which are unchecked ambition, vulnerability to manipulation and moral decay. These flaws drove his rise to power and also led to his downfall. Shakespeare wants to warn his readers about the dangers of unchecked ambition and the moral consequences of unchecked ambition and greed and he wants to emphasize that eventually the rightful ones will triumph over tyranny.
Comments 1