Macbeth by: Wiliam Shakespeare
Lia Knippa
Who fault was Macbeth's madness?
The person to blame for Macbeth’s downfall is the three witches. They told Macbeth he was untouchable and gave him false hope. In Act 1 Scene 3 the third witch says, “All hail, Macbeth, that shall be king hereafter!” (I.III.LVII-LVIII). This shows that they are making Macbeth believe he will be king and giving him ambition. The second apparition in Act 4 Scene 1, “The pow’r of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth” (IV.I.XCI-XCII). This also give Macbeth ambition by making him think he will be unstoppable. The witches have also put in Macbeth’s mind that he should do whatever he can to be king making him see things. “Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee” (II.I.XLII-XLIII). This proves that the witches messed with Macbeth’s head and lured him to the king's room with a dagger.I feel that Lady Macbeth did take a strong part in the madness of Macbeth, but not as much as the witches did. If the witches didn’t tell Macbeth about him being cawdor, king, and untouchable he wouldn’t have gotten all these ideas for murder and domination.