Macbeth's Character Flaws Ever since The Tragedy of Macbeth was written there has been speculation about the cause of Macbeth's downfall. Readers wonder whether Macbeth's downfall was caused by a flaw in his character, Lady Macbeth, or by an external force of evil. Although the witches create a certain mood and Lady Macbeth exerts some influence on him, Macbeth's downfall is caused by his own character. Macbeth's tragic character flaw was the paradoxical pairing of his ambition with his passivity. Throughout the play we see many examples of Macbeth's conflict between his ambition to obtain the crown and his passive attitude towards the actions necessary to obtain it. Macbeth's ambition is first illustrated in his susceptibility to the idea of ​​becoming king, introduced by the witch's prophecies. When the witches greet Macbeth by saying, "Hail, all, Macbeth! That shall be king henceforth" (I, iii, 50) Banquo observes that Macbeth seems "ravished" (I, iii, 58) and Macbeth says, " Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more? Tell me whence you owe this strange intelligence??. Speak, I command you" (71-79). ] only because there is something in him that leaps to light at their sound" (289). However, this ambitious attitude soon turns into passivity when he realizes the serious actions that are required of him. The contrast between the ambition of Macbeth and his passivity, caused by an unwillingness to do evil, is clearly represented by his actions and thoughts that occur before Duncan's murder Macbeth focuses "on the deterrent, not on the inducements"; bloody dagger" rather than by the thought... at the center of the card... or Macbeth, indicate the unfolding of his evil. He was ambitious enough to want to be king, but not shrewd enough to think through the possible consequences of his connivance. While there were many factors that contributed to Macbeth's downfall, the primary cause was his own character flaw. His internal contradiction between ambition and passivity allowed him to become susceptible to the prophecies of the witches and the wickedness of Lady Macbeth and ultimately led to his downfall and death. Works Cited Bradley, AC Shakespearean Tragedy. Fawcett Publications: Greenwich, Connecticut, 1965.Shakespeare, William. The complete works of William Shakespeare. Oxford University Press: London, 1964. Stoll, Elmer Edgar. “Source and Motive in Macbeth and Othello.” Ed. Leonard F. Dean. Oxford University Press: New York, 1961, 282-93.