What Is The One Dominant Force That — страница 2

prophecy. ??when the witches call him ?King hereafter,? that sets his heart knocking at his ribs, that wrings from him unsafe extremities of rhetoric, that reduces him to a maniac when Banquo walks again, that spreads from him to all of Scotland until it?s inhabitants ?float upon a wild and violent sea? (Act IV, Scene ii, L: 21)? (Van Doren, 352-353). This shows the connection from the witches? prophecy to the turmoil in Scotland very well. Lastly, Macbeth?s death is also basically caused by the prophecy, when the second apparition told Macbeth that ?none of woman born/ Shall harm Macbeth? (Act IV, Scene i, L: 80-81), he was very happy and pleased with the news. But as he was fighting Macduff and found out that ?Macduff was from his mother?s womb/Untimely ripp?d? (Act V, Scene

vii, L: 44-45) Macbeth lost his edge and lost the battle. Because of the prophecy in the back of his mind Macbeth lost the fight. He was convinced that because everything else that had been prophesied came true, he would also lose this fight as well. It can now be seen that Macbeth?s losing everything close to him, and finally his life, can be blamed on the prophecy. In conclusion, the dominant force leading to Macbeth?s downfall was the prophecy given by the witches at the beginning and by the Apparitions later in Act IV. Macbeth committed three murders: Duncan, Banquo and Macduff?s family. The motive for all of these murders came, if not directly, indirectly from the prophecy. Macbeth also lost everything that was important and close to him. This can also be blamed on the

prophecy. He lost his wife to insanity caused by guilt from Duncan?s murder, he lost the trust of all his nobles and friends because he was ruling like a maniac because of his guilt from his murders and finally he lost his life because he believed the prophecies handed down to him, which at the time had seemed so good. Even if the prophecies were pure luck, and did not mean a thing, that does not take away from the fact that if the witches had not proclaimed Macbeth to be ?King hereafter,? (Act I, Scene iii, L: 50), there would be no play. Works Cited