"…Go pronounce his present death,/ And with his former title greet Macbeth."
(Act 1, Scene 2, 64-65)

    Though the word "death" in this sentence refers to the former thane of Cawdor’s demise, Shakespeare uses the clever trick of foreshadowing Macbeth’s downfall by coupling the word "death" with the word "Macbeth" so early in the tragedy.  The quote has another importance ­ it introduces the ideas of treachery and personal gain from less-than-legitimate means, two characteristics Macbeth picks up on as the story advances.  We are introduced to Macbeth as a hero, a slayer of the Norweyans, even "Bellona’s bridegroom, lapped in proof" (Act 1, Scene 2, 54), but by the end of the play Macbeth is a ruthless killer of his own people and possibly cannibalistic*.  The cause of Macbeth’s downfall is two-fold ­ the unhealthy influence Lady Macbeth has on him and his tragic flaw.

    In scene 7 of the first act, we see a hesitant, nervous Macbeth with a calm, bloodthirsty Lady Macbeth.  Macbeth’s doubts about killing the king reside in the fact that Duncan is a good king, an honest man and a relative of Macbeth.  When Macbeth registers his doubts with the Lady, she scolds him for breaking a vow:

"…I have given suck, and know
How tender ‘tis to love the babe that milks me;
I would, while it was smiling in my face,
Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums,
And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you
Have done to this."
    (Act 1, Scene 7,  54-59)

We see what power and conviction Lady Macbeth has in her persuasion of Macbeth.  But she is not all talk; as Macbeth forgets and fears to return the daggers to the murder scene, the Lady carries them and smears the king’s grooms with blood.  She then remarks, "My hands are of your color; but I shame/ To wear a heart so white" (Act 2, Scene 2, 64-65).  During the famed banquet scene, the Lady again saves Macbeth by covering up his fear of Banquo’s ghost.  However by this time, her ruthlessness has taken root in Macbeth ­ and to the end of the play, her mental state deteriorates from clear-headed to death, hitting the intermediary stages of remorse, insanity and sleepwalking.

    In the third scene of the first act, Banquo** asks, "…have we eaten on the insane root that takes the reason prisoner?" in response to the witches’ prophecies.  Banquo is partly right in the assumption that Macbeth’s mind is not pure.  When Macbeth says "The Prince of Cumberland!  That is a step/ On which I must fall down, or else o’erleap" (Act 1, Scene 4, 48-49), we see that Macbeth may have already the idea of killing Duncan.  Macbeth’s ultimate goal is to become king; he does this with a certain amount of ease, but the process somehow awakens his tragic flaw, the ruthlessness with which he destroys his own reign.  After he kills the dead king’s servents, his targets are Banquo and Fleance, who have heard or are involved in the third prophecy.  Macbeth sends the three murderers who stab the famous dying words out of Banquo’s mouth: "Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly! (Act 3, Scene 3, 17).  Macbeth must crush dissent ­ he kills Macduff’s wife and children.  Macbeth’s reign of non-stop killing erodes Scotland’s confidence in him and he has no chance once the invading forces creep up to the castle under the cover of brush.

    Overlooking his tragic flaw, Macbeth was a good man in a bad situation.  He was an instrumental part of saving Scotland from the Norweyans.  Lady Macbeth drew him into a plan to kill the King of Scotland and her reckless, bloodthirsty fervor became nested in Macbeth’s mind.  She contributed to the mental downfall of Macbeth, which ultimately led to his physical downfall.  Once king, the paranoid Macbeth felt he had to kill, he had to have the blood of all that could oppose him.  He alienated his country and he lost the country to Macduff in the end.  Macbeth’s downfall was brought upon by forces he could barely control: his Lady and his tragic flaw.