Macbeth Cause and Effect

Macbeth’s untimely death was due to his unfortunate, tragic downfall; and all because he wanted to be a King. The causes and the effects of Macbeth becoming king are not that of a well mannered, or righteous king. But surprisingly, Macbeth was once a well-mannered, righteous man of the king himself. He was a victorious fighter in battle and an honorable solider whom people looked up to. But isn’t it funny how someone can change in a split second? The causes of Macbeth becoming king were him being told by “witches” who foretold his future, and from that sprung the power hungry Macbeth. The effects of Macbeth becoming king were his tragic downfall and a heavy conscience that ultimately killed him. The first cause of Macbeth becoming king is that the witches told him that he would, in fact, be king. The witches had a vision of Macbeth being crowned, and when they summoned him he was taken up by the shocking news. He went home and told his wife. She, on the other hand, became quite aroused by the idea of royalty, and cursed herself to kill her conscience causing her to have a self-destructing thirst for hunger. Thus, rubbing off on Macbeth, leading to the second cause, which is a lust for power. After Lady Macbeth convinced Macbeth to kill Duncan (the current king ) and he succeeded at the task, Macbeth was one step closer to becoming king, there was nothing to lose.

He soon went to drastic measure, making sure his men were killing anyone who posed as a threat to his throne. This was the peak of his downfall, complete and utter hubris. Macbeth had what he wanted. He was a king, not a very good one, and not one that anyone else wanted, but he had power. And it felt good. Until, he was heavy with guilt. One effect of Macbeth being king was he experienced the most outrageous tragic downfalls in Shakespearian writing. Macbeth started off as a humble, gallant and noble solider who was know for his heroic fighting and victories in battle. As soon as he let his ego spin out of control, he too spun, but downwards. After realizing all of the chaos and pain he had caused (which did not take long) he was sick with guilt. When he was faced with his conqueror, he was so guilt ridden that we was looking for anyway to be free of it. In the end he accepted his consequence of death, knowing it would rid him of the unhealthy weight of his tragic flaws. The causes and affects of Macbeth becoming king is the perfect example of a tragic hero’s traits leading to his downfall. Him believing the witches and taking it all into his own hands so he could be sure he could have that power, was selfish and egotistical of him. One redeeming factor of Macbeth was how he accepted his final outcome. He knew he was going to be killed, but he fought anyways. For the person that he used to be.