Macbeth, By William Shakespeare

The witches manipulate Macbeth into becoming a murdering, power-hungry evil being, by telling him, “someday you’ll be king.” “I'll drain him dry as hay. Sleep shall neither night nor day Hang upon his penthouse lid. He shall live a man forbid. Weary sev'n nights, nine times nine, Shall he dwindle, peak, and pine.” (I,i) The witches use the two other prophecies to get in the mind of Macbeth. They say that Macbeth will be Thane of Cawdor, and Banquo will be the father of future generations of kings. Though his bark cannot be lost, Yet it shall be tempest-tossed.They give Macbeth a false sense of security with the visions they perceive. These influential women are the ones that instill the idea of murdering the king. Macbeth lets greed get the best of him. The witches sway Macbeth into killing Duncan for the throne. “Fair is foul, and foul is fair.” (I,i) The Witches intend to turn Macbeth from his good ways, into something evil. As the only character that understands their cruelty, the witches want Macbeth dead. The witches give Macbeth the temptation to kill the king by telling him their prophecies. In the end,

In Act I, the three witches visit Macbeth and Banquo on the heath. The witches make three predictions; Macbeth will be the Thane of Cawdor, he will be King, and Banquo’s sons will be king but not Banquo. Even though the witches did make these prophecies, Macbeth’s fate was

These prophecies severely change the lives of both soldiers.  The three witches surprise Macbeth and Banquo but tell Macbeth the prophecy of him being given the position of Thane of Cawdor.  Secondly speaking, ¡§All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter!¡¨  (Act 1, scene iii p.12)  They then tell Banquo that his sons will be kings but he will never rule a King.   This news frightens Macbeth and both try to put it in the back of their minds, thinking of it as a prank.  This is until Ross, one of the kings men, greets Macbeth and Banquo and gives great news to Macbeth in these words:

It is now seen that the tides have shifted, and Macbeth is now very much engulfed in the prophecy, as Macbeth discovers that a portion of the prophecy has been fulfilled with the title ‘Thane of Cawdor’ being placed unto him. As Macbeth continues to be animated about the possibility of the entire prophecy being fulfilled, Banquo becomes hesitant towards the prophecy. It is this speech by Banquo that defines his reasons for being so cautious in his reaction to the prophecy.

The Play “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare is shaped by supernatural forces with the use of the weird witches, the apparition of the ghost, and the floating dagger. These forces lead Macbeth to act in the way he did and add suspense to the play. The play opens with the three witches, and later on Macbeth and Banquo encounter them. They prophesized that Macbeth will be promoted to Thane of Cawdor, and then become King of Scotland. In addition to that, Banquo was told that his sons shall be kings, but never himself. Macbeth was skeptical about the prophesies, but until some of King Duncan’s men came to inform Macbeth that that he was to be named Thane of Cawdor due to the betrayal of the previous and condemned to death. Then Lady Macbeth

The witches prophecies and Lady Macbeth’s influence intensifies his ambition and drives Macbeth to obtain and maintain his title of Scotland by whatever means, even murdering his best friend, Banquo. “Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown, ...no son of mine succeeding. If’t be so, for Banquo’s issue have I filed my mind; For them the gracious Duncan I have murder’d; ...To make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings! (Act III. sc.I) At this point Macbeth’s passion becomes more and more extreme to the point where no one stands in his way. His greed, violence, and hunger for power drastically declines his

In Shakespeare play, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth’s character progresses in an interesting manner. Lady Macbeth is made to act as an incentive to Macbeth's immoral actions. Even though Macbeth is generally the person to have a final say before killing someone, Lady Macbeth plays the role of his “sidekick”. She mocks her husband if he worries over a sinful deed (which usually she instructs him to do), saying he would be less of a man if he does not follow through with their plan (I. vii. 56-57). She gives Macbeth a short lecture in deceptiveness when they are planning to kill King Duncan (I. vi. 73-78). She also prepared the daggers for Macbeth to kill Duncan in advance (II. ii. 15-16). Although her husband was still having doubts, she was always ready to go in for the kill. She did not think twice about it or feel any remorse. This shows that Lady Macbeth evolved into looking like a humble and quieter person on the exterior, but being an insane woman and criminal due to the events that have affected her.

Everyone has a quality that they do not like about themselves. Some people struggle to be social, others may be too controlling of people. The list goes on and on, but the point is that everybody has a particular quality that they must learn to control or else that particular quality can get out of hand. Of course, one could write a list of characters that have major flaws. There is no better example than William Shakespeare’s character, Macbeth, in The Tragedy of Macbeth. Anyone who has ever read it, could easily identify the fatal flaw that the character Macbeth possesses which is greed. Even though many readers can all agree that greed is Macbeth’s fatal flaw, the argument as to whether or not

The three witches or “weird sisters”, are only one of the contributions to Macbeth's destruction and downfall. The prophecies that the witches make are merely temptations for Macbeth. The weird sisters never tell Macbeth what to do with these suggestions, leaving him curious and in disbelief about what the witches have to say. The witches make predictions about the future of Macbeths kingship: "All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor” (I.III.50). Macbeth becoming Thane of Cawdor increases his thirst for ambition and eventually drives him into demise. They also tell Macbeth that no man born of woman can kill him, making Macbeth believe that he is invincible. "The power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth" (lV.I.81-83). Macbeth and Lady Macbeth take the prophecies too rigorous and try to put them into action immediately. The prophecies predicted by the witches do result in the end, however not exactly how either of them imagined.

The three witches make three initial predictions. The first witch says, "All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Glamis", the second witch then goes onto say, "All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor", the third witch then says "all hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter". They also tell Banquo that his sons shall become King. The prophecies have a lot of influence over Macbeth. The witches are clever in coming to Macbeth at the right time and in what they said. They chose exactly the right moment to approach Macbeth. He is full of triumph and fresh from the fighting ad killing. He is at a particularly vulnerable time to have his head filled with thoughts of becoming king and fame. He says to Banquo "… Why do I yield to that suggestion whose horrid image doth unfix to my hair, and make my seated heart knock on my ribs, Against the use of Nature." The text states clearly that Macbeth has murderous thought in his mind that are prompted by the prophecy, "Present fears, are less than horrible imaginings: My thought, whose murder is fantastical shakes so single state of man." It is an important point, it shows his reaction that someone has read his mind. The Witches are actually speaking Macbeth's innermost thoughts. Does this

throughout the play, Macbeth was faced with many hard decisions but constantly made cruel ones which led him to his tragic downfall. In Act one Macbeth encounters the witches and learns the prophecies as he was to be Thane of Cawdor and to be King, Banquo by his side was also told he is to be a father to a king. After the first prophecy

Duncan is the most unlikely character to be killed because of his personality, but because he is the King of Scotland, Macbeth loathes him. In the play there is very interaction between Macbeth and Duncan, showing the little time in which Macbeth gets more power. Prior to the witches’ prophecies Macbeth is loyal to Duncan, and would never imagine killing him. After the one of the witches’ prophecies comes to be true, the thought of killing Duncan, Macbeth "yield[s] to that suggestion / whose horrid

At the start, Macbeth is still holding doubts about the prophecies- he questions whether they are “ill” or “good” (1.3.130), although it can be inferred that he is deeply penetrated by the thought of a possible “[fantasy]” (1.3.138). However, as the prophecies start to come true, the “[fantasy]” seems like something tangible and approachable, and Macbeth cannot help but to increasingly build up his trust towards the prophecies. Besides predicting Macbeth to be King of Scotland, the witches also say that Banquo’s posterity will eventually replace Macbeth; and since Macbeth is gradually developing a deep trust in the prophecies, he is also increasingly disturbed by the thought of Banquo and his sons. Such disturbance turns to fear and a sense of danger, which gives Macbeth the hallucination of Banquo’s ghost after he killed him. This strongly affects Macbeth’s state of mind, and stimulates him to go to the witches, hoping to hear more prophecies that will secure him with perpetual monarchy.

In the play Macbeth, Shakespeare highlights the similar and contrasting characteristics of Lady Macbeth and Macbeth to convey the negative effects of ambition. Although both characters share both contrasting and comparable traits, the outcomes they face are drastically different. Shakespeare cleverly emphasizes the detrimental implication of unreasoned ambition and showcases the negative repurcussions through these two characters. On hearing the Weird Sisters prophecy, the reaction of both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth is inherently similar. The two, sharing the desire for a royal position, aim to seek their power with whatever means necessary, however, Lady Macbeth thinks to accomplish her goal, she must take drastic action, in contrast to her husband’s belief in pure prophecy.

After Macbeth and Banquo receive prophecies, the foil characters start to diverge as Banquo’s takes the moral path of goodness while Macbeth takes the immoral path towards his ultimate decline. Banquo and Macbeth have the opportunity to pursue the same path, but because of his unchecked ambition, Macbeth deviates from Banquo's path of good morals. Immediately after the witches tell their prophecies, Banquo’s mindset is wary and rational. He warns Macbeth that, “oftentimes, to win us to our harm, / the instruments of darkness tell us truths...” (1.3.125-126). Banquo is not obsessed with the prophecies and the idea that one day his ancestors will be kings. On the other hand, Macbeth speculates, “Two truths are told, / as happy prologues to the swelling act / of the imperial theme.” (1.3.130-132) Because two of the three prophecies have come true, Macbeth is blinded by his ambition and seems to fantasize about the idea of being king. These contrasting reactions show that Macbeth takes a