Bronnen Macbeths mistakes
A Macbeth's most serious mistake was allowing his ambition to overcome his conscience. Macbeth
despised the idea of killing King Duncan to gain the throne of Scotland. He knew such an act was
abominable, but he ignored his conscience and his personal regard for Duncan. Instead, he chose to
murder King Duncan while he slept--stabbing him to death in a horrible act of violence. Macbeth
willingly gave up his own soul to gain political power.
After this first violation of moral behavior, Macbeth committed one crime after another, including
the murder of Banquo and the destruction of Macduff's entire household. Macbeth accomplished
each of these terrible deeds to maintain his power. He failed to realize that murder upon murder
would make his countrymen despise him so thoroughly that they would rebel and join the English
forces in overthrowing him.
Macbeth also made a serious mistake in underestimating the character of Malcolm, Duncan's son.
Although he was young and inexperienced, Malcolm proved to be an effective leader who gained the
help of the English in defeating Macbeth and regaining his place as rightful monarch in Scotland.
Finally, Macbeth's faith in the witches' prophecies clearly led to his undoing. It is only at the end of
his life that he realizes how completely they had tricked him. Had he followed his own conscience,
however, nothing the witches said could have hurt him. Their prophecies simply gave him a sense of
security as he acted to fulfill his own selfish ambitions.
B Macbeth Was Murdered by His Flaws
Macbeth s lack of will power and his great ambitions led him down the road of a tragic figure.
At first, Macbeth and nobility were synonymous terms. This was shown when Duncan spoke of
Macbeth to the captain. Words one heard of Macbeth floated into one ear and out the other and left
a stamp of grandeur associated with his name. Macbeth s reputation soon earned him the position of
Thane of Cawdor. This carried Macbeth to the top of his mountain that he was soon destined to
plummet from, after ambition and greed pushed him off the peak.
Macbeth was never neither wholly depraved nor virtuous. At times of integrity, a twinkle of malice
could be seen within his left eye. At times of evil, a twinkle of reason and remorse could be seen
within his right eye. This is a characteristic of a tragic figure as classified by Socrates in that a
protagonist is neither good nor evil. However, as the story progressed, the twinkle of malice soon
evolved to a blinding light of hatred.
Although Macbeth could not see himself sending Duncan to his grave, Macbeth s wife could. Lady
Macbeth was able to persuade Macbeth, who lacked will power but possessed extreme ambition, to
kill Duncan, as she controlled her husband like a puppet on a string. Although Macbeth felt guilt stab
him in the heart with a dagger, Macbeth s unquenchable thirst to be king was too strong. Another
quality of a tragic figure manifests itself in this. A tragic figure always has a fatal flaw that will send
him down a cataclysmic road. One of Macbeth s flaws was his lack of will power, displayed when
Lady Macbeth was able to convince him to kill Duncan.
Macbeth s final flaw, and possibly his largest mistake, made him look upon himself as an invincible
god. Upon listening to the divination of the witches, Macbeth was told that no man borne of woman
could harm him. Macbeth had interpreted the witches words too literally and threw all caution to the
wind. In Macbeth s eyes, his skin had turned into an impenetrable stone. He had been stripped from
fear and was no longer calculating in his moves, for who was not borne of woman?
Macbeth s final flaw was the last stride towards his downfall. Macduff, whose family had been slain
by Macbeth, killed Macbeth. It was seconds before he died that Macbeth realized his mistake in
interpreting the words of the witches. Macduff was not directly borne from his mother. Instead, he
was stripped untimely from her womb. Realizing his mistake was the last quality of a tragic figure
displayed by Macbeth. Although it seemed as if Macbeth never shed a tear of pity for those that he
murdered, one could almost feel Macbeth shedding a tear for himself as he realized the blemish that
delivered him to his untimely grave.
C Macbeth's tragic flaw is excessive ambition; ambition by itself is not a bad thing. But Macbeth's
ambition gets the best of him, and he begins to feel "bulletproof" -- no man born of woman can kill
him and he will come to ruin when Birnam Wood doth come to high Dunsinane Hill. How can a man
NOT be born of woman? And how can a wood move? But Macbeth's undoing comes when he allows
Fleance to escape. He returns with the army disguised as trees that move toward Dunsinane and
Macduff was "untim'ly ripped from his mother's womb." Fleance's escape is the beginning of his
undoing.