In William Shakespeare's MacBeth, MacBeth was a well-respected man of noble birth, but his fortune was reversed after he turned to darkness. He plummeted endlessly into a chasm of evil until his corrupt life was ended on the edge of Macduff's blade. Whose actions opened up the path of darkness to MacBeth? Whose actions led to MacBeth's downfall? Three people are responsible for MacBeth's downfall. The Witches set MacBeth's fate into motion. Lady MacBeth motivated her husband towards the acts of evil that doomed him. MacBeth himself made the choices that cemented his dreadful end. The Witches, Lady MacBeth, and MacBeth himself are responsible for MacBeth's downfall. .
The Witches is a malicious trio that were bent on destroying MacBeth. The Witches play an important role in the killing of King Duncan ones who plants the idea into MacBeth's head. With the prophetic greeting, "All hail, MacBeth, that shalt be King hereafter" (Act I, Scene III, Line 49), the weird sisters gave MacBeth the confidence to fulfill his scheme of regicide. Without the Witches prophecy that his plans would succeed, MacBeth may never have the nerve to murder the King Duncan and force his way to the throne. Without the evidence of the witches, MacBeth would have remained an honorable thane and would have averted the path of darkness. An apparition summoned by the Witches told MacBeth, "Be bloody, bold, and resolute, laugh to scorn the power of man, for none of woman born shall harm MacBeth" (Act IV, Scene I, Lines 78-80). This prophecy gave MacBeth a sense of security because all men are born of woman. Unfortunately for MacBeth, Macduff was untimely ripped from his mother's womb. Macduff eventually killed Macbeth. If the prophecies of the witches had not inspired a false sense of invincibility, Macduff may not have killed Macbeth. The Witches played a role in the downfall of MacBeth, but they were not the only ones to blame.
