Macbeth Is Accountable For The Ruination of Scotland

Death and Destruction. In the play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, these topics surround the characters. Death and destruction; Two words that could’ve been avoided if some decisions were made more carefully. If only Macbeth had decided not to kill the King, Scotland would not be drowning in those two issues; Death and destruction. However, choices were made and the ones responsible will be blamed. Although some believe that other characters are answerable for the downfall of Scotland, Macbeth is accountable because he is ambitious, violent and unwise.

Macbeth’s ambition led him to do many things that were not in favor of Scotland.

First and foremost, was the murder of King Duncan. After being declared a war hero because he defeated Macdonwald, Macbeth was met with three witches, known as the Weird Sisters. The Weird Sisters told Macbeth three prophecies, one being that Macbeth would become King of Scotland. Macbeth decided to take matters into his own hands and kill King Duncan so he could have the throne.

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When planning the murder, Macbeth admitted, “ I have no spur/ To prick the sides of my intent, but only/ Vaulting ambition, which o’erlaps itself/ And falls on the other”. By murdering King Duncan, solely due to Macbeth’s need for authority, he put Scotland under his tyrannical rage and led them into a disaster. Unlike Macbeth, King Duncan was an admirable leader who was liked by all and truly benefitted Scotland during his time in office. So, by killing him and taking his spot, Macbeth did Scotland a disservice.

Furthermore, after killing Duncan, Macbeth was left with all of Scotland under his reign, and no idea how to successfully lead the country. The one thing he did know was that he had to cover up the murderous deeds and make sure he would reap the benefits of them. One person standing in the way of this “accomplishment” was his loyal subject and friend Banquo. Since Banquo knew Macbeth very well and was present when the Weird Sisters gave the prophecies, Banquo started to suspect Macbeth of murdering Duncan. Plus, the Weird Sisters told Banquo, “Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none”. This was threatening to Macbeth because he went through all this trouble to become king and was at risk of losing it to one of Banquo’s descendants. So, when Macbeth planned to murder Banquo, he also planned to kill his son Fleance.

The fact that Macbeth was willing to kill his friend in order to secure the role as king shows just how far Macbeth will go to get what he wants and that he won’t let anything stop him from achieving his goals. Although sometimes determination can be a good thing, in this case, it is a destructive trait of Macbeth. It is this characteristic, in addition to others, that guides Macbeth to make immoral decisions. Moreover, while Macbeth is king he is plotting murders and causing demolition, while he should be leading the country and trying to help it. This proves what a terrible leader Macbeth is, and how he is disastrous to Scotland. On the other hand, some people argue that the Weird Sisters are to blame for the downfall of Scotland, and not Macbeth, because of their prophecies. They argue that the divinations caused Macbeth to kill King Duncan and Banquo, so therefore the Weird Sisters are to blame. Even though the prophecies did “ignite the fire,” in the end Macbeth by no means had to murder anyone. This can be clearly illustrated by Banquo’s reaction to the prophecies. After initially laughing at the Weird Sister’s prediction, Banquo questions, “ … have we eaten on the insane root/ That takes the reason prisoner?”.

Basically, he’s doubting if what he’s witnessing is real or not, which is extremely striking when compared to Macbeth’s reaction. Macbeth immediately believes the prognostications and jumps into action to make them come true, never stopping to question the factuality of them. On the other hand, his character foil (a character who contrasts and highlights another character’s traits), Banquo, does no such thing, reflecting Macbeth’s desire for power. Due to this, Macbeth is behind the undoing of Scotland because of his ambition.