Macbeth was not a victim of the Witch’s misleading prophecies and he is guilty of committing murder not because of Lady Macbeth’s manipulation but rather his ambitions to be king and have power. The struggle Macbeth underwent was his desires to get to the throne of Scotland and know right from his rights and wrongs. His wife, Lady Macbeth however urged him to commit murder and it was in their interest to get power no matter what the consequence also making Macbeth fall in the wrong steps of becoming a murder.
Macbeth was given Cawdor’s title because he had defeated Duncan’s traitor. The new hero was to receive this news from Ross. But, Macbeth and Banquo were on their way to see the king. Both men were in mere shock when they stumbled upon the witches, for they were a horrific sight. To Macbeth’s surprise they hailed him Thane of Cawdor and they called Banquo “lesser than Macbeth, but greater”. The witches tell them that he will never be King but his future generation will be able to sit on the throne. (Act. 1 Sc. 3. Lines 63-65).
Macbeth and Banquo reminisce the prophecy they had just heard and Ross enters the scene. They convey about the king’s decision, in which Macbeth is Thane of Cawdor. The prophecy had been fulfilled but Macbeth wondered if he would ever reign over Scotland and his ambitious made him think if there would be obstacles that would stand in his way in becoming king. This showed signs Macbeth for being responsible for the murders. He not only started thinking about getting to the top of hierarchy but he also wondered how he would he become king and when.
Macbeth understood that in order to reign, it would require conspiracy and murder. Soon after, Lady Macbeth found out about the witches’ prophecy, she got filled with mischief thoughts and ambitions as well to how they would become king and queen. They soon conspire a plan on how to get rid of Duncan but Macbeth tells his wife that he no longer intends to kill him because he was afraid that if they went through with the murder, there would be harsh consequences.
She merely calls him a coward and taunts his manhood but he was the person who put the plan in motion. He knew right from wrong because he says, “If we should fail? ” (Act. 1 Scene 7. Line 59). In order for him to be a victim of committing such a crime he would not be able to distinguish the results of the murder and he would not plan this out with his wife. Although Lady Macbeth is able to manipulate her husband, he knew the consequences he would be in for and his will of saying no is stronger then the desires from others such as his wife.
Lady Macbeth shared the “blood-stained hand” with her husband and was unaware that the murder would come back to haunt them. Both encounter dreams or hallucinations in which the king is in it. His daunting figure frightens them and results in Macbeth’s mental breakdown. While he was going through that, Lady Macbeth was tormented by the evil that followed her. Throughout the story Macbeth reveals how cruel of a tyrant he was and how the murder troubled his mind. he is in full responsibility of his own actions.
The witches and his wife nearly played a role as instigators. Overall, deception and ambition caused Macbeth’s death. The decision to kill Duncan was morally repulsive that death for him was the only relief. In the end Macbeth was a man who should have been smart enough to know what troubles he would get into and is a grown man to be able to make his decisions. Unfortunately he will wasn’t good enough to deny lady Macbeths ambitions making him want them to. This all lead to chaos and worst of all his death.
