Essay Database

C.S. Lewis' statement: "You can get your heart's desire, and get despair instead" is evident in both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth for the following reasons. Macbeth believed the prophecies that stated that he would become king. Thus, he killed Duncan believing that was the way to fulfill it. From then on, his ways were changed for the worse, being possibly the worse king in Scotland's history in Macduff's eyes for example, believing that he …

…very weak mentally and it is this weakness which causes the downfall and change of Macbeth. Other factors do however also contribute to this change such as his wife whose ambition is very strong at first and is much stronger mentally than Macbeth but it is also Macbeth's ambition and his trust in the witches which ultimately change him. The belief that the witches were true ultimately leads to Macbeth's downfall, due to his misinterpretations.