All great leaders have their rise and fall. Some throw themselves into failure, others are pushed into it. Those who are pushed into it are usually influenced by the evils that surround them. In Shakespeare's play Macbeth, the main character, Macbeth, is driven to failure. The play is set in Scotland and is about a young warrior called Macbeth. Macbeth is told that he would be king by three witches. Macbeth kills the existing king and becomes a cruel and unjust king. Eventually he goes mad and is killed and humiliated. Many may think that Macbeth's downfall was his fault, but these people are wrong. There were three main external influences responsible for Macbeth's downfall. The first influence is his wife, Lady Macbeth, who seeks to become queen and pushes Macbeth to pursue the crown. The second is Macbeth's good friend, Banquo, who was with Macbeth when he was told that he would become king in the future. Banquo's silence made Macbeth paranoid and this caused Macbeth to order his men to kill Banquo. This was one of the main causes of Macbeth's madness. The final influences are the three witches who push Macbeth to kill Duncan, and make him weak by making him believe he is invincible. Macbeth may have been a bad king, but he was not responsible for his downfall. Macbeth's downfall was partially caused by Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth's influences made Macbeth feel less of a man. One part of the play shows Macbeth denounced by his wife as she essentially calls him a coward for not wanting to kill Duncan. She says, "Would you have what you consider the ornaments of life, and live cowardly in your own esteem, letting the 'I dare not' serve the 'I would,' like the poor cat of the adage?" .” (Act 1, Scene 7, Lines 40-45) ...... middle of paper ...... end because they pushed Macbeth to kill Duncan and let him relax, which led to his death. Macbeth may have been a bad king, but he wasn't responsible for his downfall. The first reason is because Lady Macbeth questioned his manhood and pushed him to kill Duncan, which led him to kill more people while he got away with the first murder. The second reason is because of Banquo's suspicion which causes Macbeth to be afraid and later go mad. The final reason is the witches who encouraged him to lower his guard and told him that he would become king, which led him to kill Duncan. These three influences were the main causes of Macbeth's downfall. If they hadn't been there, maybe he would have been a just and just king. These evil outside influences have cast a great man into the earth. But as Geoffrey Chaucer said: “All great things must come to an end”