Macbeth Act III Analysis Essay Example

In Act III Macbeth progresses in causing his own downfall as he realizes that his attempts to control fate go awry, causing him to become terrorized by his own fears, and exposing to the audience that MB is powerless to alter his fate and that his downfall is predictable. 

In Act III when MB realizes that his attempt to alter fate goes awry, he is threatened, causing him to progress in his own downfall as he feels trapped into a cycle of killing as his only means of maintaining his position as king. Macbeth begins to fear Banquo as he realizes Banquo’s intelligence is a potential threat and claims that “to be the king is nothing if [he is] not safe as the king,” so, therefore, he must kill both Banquo and his descendants. This is important because Macbeth’s irrational fear of those that he has previously entrusted with his life causes him to panic which shows how he has been forced to realize that his claim to the throne is insecure and leads to his decision to challenge fate once more. Due to Macbeth’s realization, he becomes so overwhelmed with his fear that he feels forced into a cycle of killing in which he claims that “bad deeds force you to commit more bad deeds.” This is important because the murders that Macbeth commits out of fear of losing his throne show how he has become entrapped by his murderous actions and has been disappointed in his expectations in his role as king, which can only lead to a spiral towards his inevitable downfall. This portrays that Macbeth has been forced into a cycle of killing by his own mindset of panic and obsession with power that he will be forced to continue in a downwards spiral that will only cause his fear to worsen over time.

As the play progresses, MB is further impacted by fear as he becomes tormented when he realizes that his plan to control fate has failed, causing him to become irrational and propelling him into a downward spiral as he is haunted by the reality that he may lose his throne. Further, Macbeth becomes so overwhelmed by fear after learning that while Banquo has been killed, Fleance has escaped, which leads to him beginning to hallucinate the ghost of Banquo and yelling out to the ghost “Go! And get out of my sight! Stay in your grave. There’s no marrow in your bones, and your blood is cold. You’re staring at me with eyes that have no power to see.” This is important because the fact that Macbeth is able to recognize that he is able to recognize that Banquo is dead and yet is still afraid of his ghost shows how Macbeth has become so overcome by his fear that he has become irrational. Next, Macbeth decides to seek out the witches for counsel as “They will tell [him] more, because [he’s] determined to know the worst about what’s going to happen.” This is important because it shows Macbeth’s irrational inability to allow fate to take its own course and both his confidence and reliance on the knowledge of the witches show how Macbeth’s ego prevents him from accepting the reality of his situation. Thus, it is exposed that Macbeth’s fear of his inability to control fate has led to psychological torment that has forced him to spiral deeper into his already panicked state, which will now most likely lead towards his inevitable downfall.

Finally, Act III concludes as Macbeth is further impacted by forces he cannot control, which is exposed to the audience through conversations of people other than Macbeth, in order to expose how Macbeth’s arrogance, created by his ego, will be the downfall of his own existence. First, an interlude with the witches and Hecate reveals that both Hecate and the witches despise Macbeth, which leads to Hecate cursing him so that “he will be fooled into thinking he is greater than fate, he will mock death, and he will think he is above wisdom, grace, and fear,” as “overconfidence is man’s greatest enemy.” This is important because it further exposes Macbeth’s detrimental ego and confidence and others discontent for both, which shows how rather than the other people that Macbeth believes will be the cause of his downfall, the only thing that is truly harming him is himself and his own self-centered actions, as well as his lack of understanding the consequences of his actions. Next, through a conversation between an overly-sarcastic Lennox and Macduff, the audience is exposed to Lennox’s suspicion towards the validity of Macbeth’s rise to power as he claims that “all [he is] saying is that strange things have been going on” since Macbeth has claimed the throne, and proceeds to list some of the said things that have happened such as two people’s deaths that benefited Macbeth, the easy blame of the guards, and the occurrences relating to Duncan’s sons. This is important because the exposed suspicions of other people show how Macbeth has become overconfident and arrogant in his ability to get away with crimes, which is leading to him becoming suspected of committing the crimes he did which further leads to his downfall. Thus, it is exposed through Shakespeare’s use of dramatic irony that Macbeth is the one who is leading to his own demise, as his arrogance and ego are leading him to become bolder in his crimes, as well as his irrationality is leading him to commit more and more heinous crimes.