Lady Macbeth’s ambition and greed is responsible for Macbeth’s downfall. Do you agree?
William Shakespeare’s tragic play ‘Macbeth’ depicts a tale of a honourable Thane and his unethical raise to sovereignty, to his untimely destruction and death. Lady Macbeth’s ambition and greed was instrumental in her husband, Macbeth’s moral downfall, however it was not the only factor that contributed to the outcome. Macbeth himself and the deception and manipulation presented to him by ‘wired sisters’ drove Macbeth to his own downfall. It was the witch meddlesome prophecies that lead Macbeth down the destructive and murderous path and that fuelled Lady Macbeth’s ambition and greed. Macbeth must also be held responsible for his own actions that created…
Unlike Macbeth, the knowledge of the prediction, makes Lady Macbeth confident in her husbands future, and her desire for the throne strengthens and so does her impatiences. She believed her husband’s nature was ‘too full o th milk of human kindness’ to assassinate his own monarch and interpreted it, is a weakness. The controlling, Lady Macbeth manipulated Macbeth into submission by stating ‘When you durst do it, then you are a man’ to emasculate his character. Without Lady Macbeth’s persuasive ability, Macbeth would have never undertaken the unlawful murder of King Duncan and the unethical rise to the crown. Lady Macbeth was unable to control Macbeth, as he continued the heinous crimes of ‘Murder most foul’ throughout his rule. Lady Macbeth realises that her ‘desire was got without content’ as the consequences of their murderous actions, where met with remorse and insanity. Overwhelmed with guilt, the audience is able to witness Lady Macbeth fade in to the background, as Macbeth’s overshadowing, corrupt rule, grows. Through his wife’s ambition, greed and manipulation Macbeth’s morals are destroyed and his downfall as a person and a monarch becomes...
