Recently in English, we have been reading the play, The Tragedy Of Macbeth, by William Shakespeare. In the play, Macbeth starts out as the Thane of Glamis, content with his position and how his life is going. Soon after, Macbeth meets the Weird Sisters, who told him three prophecies that will happen in the future. The prophecies were that Macbeth would become the Thane of Glamis, then the King of Scotland, and Banquo's sons would become king one day. Macbeth thought little of the prophecies, as it was completely odd that 3 witches tracked him down and told him his future, and there was no evidence that they would become true. Later that day, the Thane of Cawdor was hanged for being a traitor, and Macbeth was soon after named the Thane of Cawdor, making the first prophecy come true. Once that comes true, Macbeth tells his wife that he has become the Thane of Cawdor, but more importantly, he tells her of the 3 prophecies. Lady Macbeth’s ambitions grew very large, up until the point where she invited King Duncan over for dinner, in attempt to have him murdered by Macbeth. Over the course of the day, Lady Macbeth convinces Macbeth to kill King Duncan, and that night Macbeth killed him, and framed and killed the guards. At that point, the second prophecy became true that Macbeth would become the King of Scotland. Soon after that, Macbeth goes on a killing spree, killing all of his political rivals: Duncan, Banquo, and MacDuff’s family. The 3 weird sisters return with 3 more prophecies that were beware Macduff, no woman born shall harm Macbeth, and the Birnam Woods would come to Dunsinane. If it is even possible, Macbeth’s ego and ambition grew even larger, as he thought he couldn’t die since “no woman born shall harm Macbeth.” However, after that point, it all started to go downhill for Macbeth. MacDuff brought a large army from the Birnam Woods, and he confronted MacDuff in his dining room. MacDuff turned out be born by a C-Section, making him not a woman born, which allowed him to harm Macbeth. Shortly after, all of the remaining prophecies came true, as MacDuff killed Macbeth, no woman born harmed Macbeth, and Banquo’s son, Malcolm, became king. Although Lady Macbeth pushed for Macbeth to kill in the beginning, and Macbeth actually did the deed, the Weird Sisters were most responsible for the tragedies that occurred in the play due to the influence their prophecies had on Macbeth.
       Throughout the entire play, the three Weird Sisters were the most responsible for the tragedy of Macbeth, as their 6 prophecies had a very large influence and effect on Macbeth. At the very beginning of the book, the sisters are introduced as mysterious and weird characters, before telling Macbeth the 3 prophecies that will happen in the future. The prophecies are that Macbeth will become the Thane of Glamis, Macbeth will be the King of Scotland, and that Banquo’s sons will become the king. After first hearing the prophecies, they had little effect on Macbeth, as Macbeth thought that they wouldn’t become true. Macbeth had previously never met the 3 weird sisters, nor did he have any evidence that these prophecies were true, so quite obviously he dismissed the prophecies. However, later that night, the first prophecy became true, as the Thane of Cawdor was hanged for being a traitor to the kingdom, and Macbeth was soon after named Thane of Glamis. This had a large effect on Macbeth, as he discovered that the prophecies were going to come true, and consequently his ambition really grew to become king. The prophecies strongly increase both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s desire for Macbeth to become king. Indirectly, the prophecies start Macbeth’s murder-streak, as they strongly encourage him to kill King Duncan, as he knows that he will become the King of Scotland. The first prophecy coming true, essentially made Macbeth kill King Duncan, since he knew that he would be king, and that was his goal. Later on in the book, the 3 weird sisters told Macbeth another set of 3 prophecies that would become true. These 3 prophecies turn out to be just as detrimental to Macbeth as the first 3, as well as encouraging him to keep on killing all of his rivals. The next 3 prophecies are beware Macduff, no woman born shall harm Macbeth, and Birnam Woods will come to Dunsinane. These 3 prophecies encourage Macbeth to kill even more, as well as build his ambition and ego, as he feels invincible that pretty much no human could kill Macbeth. These 3 prophecies also encourage Macbeth to kill Macduff’s family, as he is threatened by Macduff and wants to weaken him. Overall, the 3 weird sisters were the most responsible for the tragedy of Macbeth because of the effect of their prophecies on Macbeth.
      On the other hand, many people would argue that Macbeth is most responsible for the tragedy, due to the fact that he killed all of the men. In the play, Macbeth either killed or hired murderers to kill Duncan, Banquo, and Macduff’s family. Even though the prophecies may have influenced Macbeth to kill them, Macbeth was only partially responsible for their deaths, because the 3 weird sisters encouraged him. Even though the first prophecy became true, it is still partially Macbeth’s fault for killing them, as it didn’t force him to do so. In addition, many other people would argue that Lady Macbeth is most responsible for the tragedy, due to the fact that she strongly influenced Macbeth’s decision to kill King Duncan. Ever since Macbeth sent the letter to Lady Macbeth telling her that he was the Thane of Cawdor and that the 3 prophecies existed, she constantly urged Macbeth to kill Duncan. In addition, she assisted in the crime, by putting the daggers back that Macbeth took from scene. However, this argument loses force as one considers the fact that the 3 weird sisters and their prophecies most strongly influenced Macbeth in his killing spree. The prophecies started off Macbeth’s killing by allowing him to believe that all of them will come true, after the 3 weird sisters told Macbeth that he would become the Thane of Cawdor, and later that night, he did. Also, the prophecies indirectly kept on urging Macbeth to kill Duncan, Banquo, and Macduff, by boosting his confidence and showing that everything that say will become true. Overall, the 3 weird sisters were the most responsible for the tragedy of Macbeth because of the effect of their prophecies on Macbeth.
     Although Lady Macbeth pushed for Macbeth to kill in the beginning, and Macbeth actually did the deed, the Weird Sisters were most responsible for the tragedies that occurred in the play due to the influence their prophecies had on Macbeth. In the Tragedy Of Macbeth, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and the 3 weird sisters all played a role in the tragedy, but ultimately the 3 weird sisters played the largest role due to their influence on Macbeth.