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Lynette Saldana

Miss Figueroa

Senior English 2

19 February 2019

To Love Is to Worry

William Shakespeare portrays his real life issues and relationships in all that he writes.

Shakespeare has wrote a popular play, Macbeth, about a man who was once noble and saved

Scotland. The protagonist becomes evil due to his power hungry mind and manipulative wife. At

the beginning, three witches, also known as the “weird sisters,” give him his prophecies and

plant a seed of evil in him. Due to their prediction, his wife, Lady Macbeth, makes sure that it

comes true, even though it will lead to violent convictions. Lady Macbeth is the main reason for

the downfall of Macbeth which is portrayed when she is peer pressuring him and leads everyone,

including himself, to believe everything is perfectly fine.

Macbeth is peer pressured by his wife into killing King Duncan; this is the beginning of

his downfall. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth portrays himself as a noble, good person.

However, after being manipulated into thinking he is a coward by Lady Macbeth, he is peer

pressured into convicting murder on King Duncan. Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth, “screw your

courage to the sticking place and we’ll not fail…when in swinish sleep their drenched natures lie

as in death,” (Shakespeare 1.7.358). She explains to him that it is not important how he feels, he

needs to do this to prove his masculinity, knowing he is easily manipulated. After Macbeth kills

Duncan, he becomes a different person and suddenly thinks everyone is after his throne, he

becomes extremely power hungry, making his downfall deeper. He kills his best friend and his

son. Macbeth knows Banquos’ son is in line to reign, so convinces two servants to kill the both
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of them. He states, “Fleance, his son, that keeps him company, whose absence is no less material

to me than in his fathers, must embrace the fate of that dark hour” (Shakespeare 3.1.378-379).

After being peer pressured into killing once, he began killing on his own and started going

downhill. Lady Macbeth pulled the monster out of him.

Lady Macbeth also contributes to his downfall by covering his poor choices. She plots

and frames the murder of the king as well. Lady Macbeth states, “when in swinish sleep their

drenched natures lie as in a death, what cannot you and I perform upon th unguarded Duncan?

What not put upon his spongy offices, who shall bear the guilt of our great quell,” (Shakespeare

1.7.358). In this scene, she convinces him to commit the crime but also frames it so neither of

them are caught. Another part of Macbeth’s downfall was that he begins to hallucinate and Lady

Macbeth simply brushes it off as if there is no importance in it. She explains to everyone, “hath

been from his youth pray you, keep scat the fit is momentary, upon a thought he will again be

well if you not him you shall offend him and extend his passion feed and regaurd him not,”

(Shakespeare 3.4.384). She pulls him aside and lets him know, “you lack the season of all

natures sleep” (Shakespeare 3.4.388). Lady Macbeth covers for her husband’s psychotic break

down and leads him to believe it is just because he is tired. She sees the struggle Macbeth goes

through and still chooses to ignore it and makes him feelings have no value.

The person mainly responsible for Macbeth’s downfall is his wife, Lady Macbeth

because she peer pressures him and covers and supports his poor choices. His wife causes him to

feel obligated to kill Duncan when he begins to spiral. She makes him feel as if it is normal and

he needs to relax or brush it off and move on. Peer pressure is something everyone will have to

face up into their life; but no one should not be found into doing something they do not want to

do.