-Inevitable Doom-

In the last act of Macbeth, our fool of a protagonist finally realizes his inevitable doom. Macbeth realizes that all three of the apparitions’ visions/predictions have come true. The first is an armed head, come to warn Macbeth of Macduff’s bad intentions. He tells Macbeth that Macduff is coming back to Scotland to ruin him. The second apparition is a bloody child and it tells Macbeth that no man born of a woman can do him harm. This gives Macbeth great confidence: "Then live Macduff: what need I fear of thee?” The third apparition is that of a child wearing a crown and holding a tree who says “Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him.” The apparitions give Macbeth a false pride making him think that since every man is born of a woman, no man will kill him and that if he avoids Birnam woods, he will not die. He is terribly mistaken.

                Macbeth blind pride leads him to lock himself in his castle, avoiding the forest of his doom. Little did he know, the apparitions’ visions would all come true. Macduff and his men, marching towards Macbeth’s castle, decide to hold branches from the forest they were emerging from, which just happens to be Birnam woods, to hide their numbers. So technically, the forest came to Macbeth and apparition 3 came true. Then later, while fighting Macduff, Macbeth finds out that Macduff was not exactly “born from a woman” but surgically removed rather in a C section. So apparition 2, check. And lastly, Macduff kills Macbeth and takes his head for a prize, so check for apparition 1.
                In class we discussed that the first apparition, the armored head, was Macbeth’s bloody head that Macduff took after he killed him. Macbeth was warning himself. The second, the bloody child, was Macduff as a baby torn out of his mother’s womb. The last one, the baby holding a tree with a crown, was Macduff with the branches from Bernam woods and a crown because he will end up king.

                I think when he has the talk with Macduff while they’re fighting is when it hits him. That’s when he realizes that he has gone so far so blinded and the realization of his doom. He puts all the pieces together and his false pride and courage slowly crumble revealing the foolish coward he is. From then on, both the audience and Macbeth sense tragedy in the future. Before, although the audience knew Macbeth's downfall was near, Macbeth himself was still unaware so the audience had some hope of his escape for his situation but after he notices his fall too, both sides just wait for his inevitable doom.