The other interpretation is that something supernatural and scary is at work, that the dagger is a sign from the witches Macbeth spoke to. This part of his soliloquy uses a rhetorical question, as if he is questioning his own sanity, especially when he realises that it is his own blade, ‘such an instrument I was to use’, covered in ‘gouts of blood’. This shows the reader that Macbeth is already seeing the horror of Duncan’s murder and it creates tension for the reader. It then moves onto the dagger and how it ‘marshall’st’ Macbeth towards Duncan’s chamber, suggesting that the witches are beckoning him to kill the king. This in turn makes the reader feel apprehensive and afraid of the supernatural beings corrupting Macbeth, as it gives a feeling that they are always watching, and also highlights the mystical powers they seem to have.
Is Macbeth Responsible For His Downfall? Who is responsible for the downfall of Macbeth? He is manipulated by the witches, encouraged by his wife, but ultimately he chooses to act. His first conference with the witches, Macbeth’s ambition was planted and his mind was overwhelmed with thoughts of murder and betrayal. It fair to say, in addition, that if his betrayal caused this extensive pain that clouded him after he murders Duncan, Banquo and the Macduff’s that it wasn’t a case of fate and was his own doing.
This is right before Macbeth will kill Duncan. On his way to murder King Duncan, Macbeth sees the vision of the bloody dagger leading the way. Significance: It is clear that Macbeth is insane. Macbeth has been convinced into the action not by his own reasoning, but by his personal insecurities, played upon by his wife, the witches, and his own ambition. By the time Macbeth’s mind conjures up a dagger for him, he can see the murder as a conclusion, not a question for his consideration.
As the play goes on, Macbeth slowly looses his morality as he strives for more control whilst Lady Macbeth steps into a frantic stage of guilt. After killing the king, Macbeth starts to plot other evil undertakings as he becomes nervous that someone will take away his power. At one point he goes from wanting to needing the sovereignty, which makes him loose sight of his integrity. As Macbeth begins to immorally act in order to achieve what he hungers, the line between good and evil starts to fade. “I am in blood / Stepp’d in so far, that, should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o’er.” (3.4.136-138) In this quote, Macbeth is telling himself that because he has stepped into evil so deeply, it will be hard to go back to morallity because he will never be able to rid of this guilt brought onto him.
With the witches’ prophecies mulling over in his mind, and knowing that he was not the successor of the throne, he knew he had to take matters into his own hands. With the support and persuasion of Lady Macbeth, he kills King Duncan and gains his kingship. When Banquo makes his vow to find out who killed Duncan, Macbeth knew he had to silence him. After Macbeth is named king, he seeks out hired murderers to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance. Macbeth does this because he is afraid that Banquo will get in the way of his new title and Fleance, because he is prophesied to be king.
His own human nature, paranoia and selfishness are what leads him to his death. Macbeth is to blame for his death at the end of the play. Macbeth is manipulated by the witches and believes in their prophecies. The witches have considerable influence over Macbeth throughout the play. First, their early predictions stating that he will be king, and then the predictions of the apparitions saying that he only could be murdered by someone that was not born of a woman.
This statement, supported with ambitious desires and a thirst for power, the Scottish thane planned to kill the king to become one. Shakespeare uses a variety of soliloquies to show the changing thoughts of Macbeth. The “dagger” soliloquy centralises the change in his rational thinking and changes his perspective towards the king. Macbeth is a man who logically thinks of everything that he does. In this speech however, we see an insight in Macbeth’s mind which is confused and distorted as he gathers his thoughts on whether to kill the king.
These witches are the true start of the disintegration of Macbeth’s mind and misguide him into a situation of rather to believe or not to believe for the sake of his future. All three witches name two truths of Macbeth; one that is occurring in the present and the other occurring in the future. He is now Thane of Cawdor and predicted to be the future king of Scotland. The witches have stirred up an important conversation in the showing of Macbeth’s character. He is rational about the chances of him becoming king but he decides to let chance take its own course, as he says, “If chance will have me King, why, chance may crown me, Without my stir.” (1.3.144), which proves that he is a good man with a noble mind.
Duncan announces that he is going to Macbeth's castle. Lady Macbeth convinces Macbeth that he has to fulfill his prophecy himself and kill Dunncan. Duncan's sons leave the country believing they will be killed next and Macbeth becomes king. Macbeth remembers the witches prediction to Banquo. He wants to solidify his power so he kills Banquo and attempts to kill Banquo's son Fleance, but fails.
Macbeth relies on the witches who feed him prophecies and glimpses of the future. After Macbeth hears the witches prophecy, “All hail Macbeth that shalt be king hereafter”(Shakespeare I, iii, 50)! Macbeth immediately thinks that he should be king. When Lady Macbeth finds out about the witches, she leads Macbeth into her plan which involves cold blooded murder. Macbeth is a little nervous at first, but Lady Macbeth is able to get Macbeth to agree with her to kill King Duncan.