The three
points which contribute greatly to Macbeth's degeneration are the
prophecy which was told to him by the witches, how Lady Macbeth
influenced and manipulated Macbeth's judgment, and finally Macbeth's
long time ambition which drove his desire to be king. Macbeth's
growing character degenerates from a noble man to violent individual.
The prophecies which were told by the witches were one of the
factors which contributed to the degeneration of his character. If it
had not been for the witches telling him that he was to be Thane of
Cawdor, Thane of Glamis, and King of Scotland, Macbeth would still be
his ordinary self. As a result of the prophecies, this aroused
Macbeth's curiosity of how he could be King of Scotland. As the play
progresses, Macbeth slowly relies on the witches prophecies.
Shakespeare uses the witches as a remedy for Macbeth's curiosity which
corrupts his character.
The influence of Macbeth's wife, Lady Macbeth also contributed
to his degeneration of character. Lady Macbeth's character in the
beginning reveals that she is a lovable person. When Lady Macbeth was
ready to kill King Duncan herself, it showed that Lady Macbeth could
not murder King Duncan because he reminded her of her father. This
proves that Lady Macbeth has a heart deep inside her. Lady Macbeth
plays an important role in this play because she provided a scheme
which caused Macbeth to assassinate King Duncan. After Macbeth had
killed King Duncan, he later regrets on his wrong doing. At the point
of this play the audience can note the change in Macbeth's character.
Macbeth's first murder was a trying experience for him, however after
the first murder, killing seemed to be the only solution to maintain
his reign of the people of Scotland. Therefore, it was Lady Macbeth
who introduced the concept of murder to Macbeth.
Macbeth's ambition also influenced his declining character.
However, Macbeth's ambition had not been strong enough to carry the
motive to kill King Duncan. Lady Macbeth's influence also comes in to
play because if not for Lady Macbeth, his ambition would not have been
intensified enough to drive him to obtain and maintain his title of
King of Scotland no matter what it took, even if it meant murdering.
Macbeth's ambition influenced the cause of his new character. This new
character of Macbeth contained greed, violence, and power hunger.
Macbeth shows this when he kills King Duncan.
In conclusion, the prophecies given to him by the witches, Lady
Macbeth's influence and plan, and his intensified ambition, all
contributed greatly to his degeneration of character which resulted to
his downfall...death. Therefore Macbeth character displays strong
signs of a tragic hero, making him the ideal classic example.
At first, Macbeth refuses to fight Macduff. He has already killed his family and besides he believes himself to be invincible so Macduff could not win. Macduff points out that he actually can defeat Macbeth, and then Macbeth does not want to fight him because he is pretty sure he'll lose. Fine, says Macduff, then we'll capture and humiliate you. Macbeth then insists on fighting to the bitter end to avoid the humiliation. It has nothing to do with whether he admits that what he has done is evil.
Malcolm lies so he can trust Macduff and to see if Macduff was loyal to him or to see if it was just anothe plan of Macbeth to kill Malcolm
He was testing Macduff to see if he genuinely had the interest of Scotland at heart. When Malcolm says "He hath not touched you yet" (IV, iii, 14) it means that he suspects Macduff is in league with Macbeth to take him prisoner and kill him. Malcolm then makes up all his vices to make sure that Macduff wants a good king and not just Malcolm. When Macduff responds that with his vices, Malcolm would make a terrible kind, Malcolm responds that he made the vices up and he knows that Macduff has Scotland's best interests at heart.
Because they were mad at him, they wanted to kill him and make Malcolm king instead.
The witches show Macbeth a procession of Banquo's descendants as kings.
Macduff assumed at first that Malcom and Donalbain hired the soldiers to kill their father and they fled to avoid any confrontations. However, it is evident that they fled because they suspected that they were the targets of a conspiracy.
Malcolm goes to England and Donalbain goes to Ireland (and that's the last we hear of him). They are taking a powder, believing rightly that they will be suspected of murdering their father. Ross, who loves to find out and deliver news, is going to Scone to check out Macbeth's coronation. Macduff, who doesn't like Macbeth much and is anyway somewhat antisocial, goes home to Fife. There he will make a point of refusing invitations to Macbeth's dinner parties.
Malcolm hesitates to accept Macduff's offer of assistance because he is testing Macduff's loyalty and sincerity. Malcolm wants to make sure that Macduff is truly loyal to him and not trying to trick or betray him. Additionally, Malcolm is feeling distrustful and cautious due to the corrupt and treacherous nature of the world around him.
He was testing Macduff to see if he genuinely had the interest of Scotland at heart. When Malcolm says "He hath not touched you yet" (IV, iii, 14) it means that he suspects Macduff is in league with Macbeth to take him prisoner and kill him. Malcolm then makes up all his vices to make sure that Macduff wants a good king and not just Malcolm. When Macduff responds that with his vices, Malcolm would make a terrible kind, Malcolm responds that he made the vices up and he knows that Macduff has Scotland's best interests at heart.
Because they were mad at him, they wanted to kill him and make Malcolm king instead.
Malcolm deceives Macduff by claiming to be unfit for kingship in order to test Macduff's loyalty and commitment to overthrowing Macbeth. Malcolm wants to ensure that Macduff is not in league with Macbeth before revealing his true intentions of leading the fight against the tyrant.
Malcolm told Macduff that he was greedy, and lustful and had absolutely no desire to be king. He even tried to convince Macduff to accept the opportunity to become king but instead Macduff turned down the offer and told Malcolm that despite all of his bad qualities he would still make an excellent king.
Malcolm suspected Macduff of having designs on the crown and throne of Scotland. In Act 4 Scene 3, Macduff had arrived in England from Scotland. He had joined the group of discontented Scotsmen that had formed around the subsequent King Malcolm III [d. November 13, 1093]. Malcolm wanted to take the throne of Scotland away from Macbeth [c. 1014-August 15, 1057]. He wanted someone else to kill and behead Macbeth. But he didn't want Macbeth's murderer to gain the Scottish crown and throne. Malcolm knew that Macbeth had had Macduff's entire family and household murdered. So he wanted Macduff to be Macbeth's murderer. But he wanted to make sure that Macduff would do the killing only to avenge his lost family and household. He wanted to make sure that Macduff wouldn't try to claim the crown and throne as his.
Malcolm is convinced of Macduff's loyalty when Macduff reveals his grief over the deaths of King Duncan and his own family at the hands of Macbeth. Macduff's genuine sorrow and commitment to seeking justice for these atrocities proves to Malcolm that he is a trustworthy ally in the fight against Macbeth.
Macduff brings Malcom Macbeth's severed head.
In Shakespeare's play "Macbeth," Malcolm tests Macduff by pretending to be a horrible person and unworthy of ruling Scotland. Malcolm wants to ensure that Macduff's loyalty is true and that he truly seeks to rid the country of Macbeth's tyranny. By testing Macduff's reaction and allegiance, Malcolm can assess his trustworthiness.
Macbeth was killed by Macduff because Macbeth had send men to kill (successfully) Macduff's wife and son. Also, since Macbeth was the tryant ruler of Scotland, Macduff (and the English forces brought by Malcom) were in battle with Macbeth and his men.
Macbeth's chief opponents were Macduff, Malcolm, and the English forces led by Siward. Macbeth was ultimately defeated in battle by Macduff, who was able to avenge the murder of his family by killing Macbeth. Malcolm then became the new king of Scotland.
The witches show Macbeth a procession of Banquo's descendants as kings.