Prophecies In Macbeth

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

William Shakespeare was an English poet and a great playwright. He still has a great impact on our history today. Shakespeare has written many plays, including Hamlet, Macbeth, and Romeo and Juliet. He had very extant works which people could not understand (6). Romeo and Juliet is considered to be one of his more famous plays. His plays were translated into many different languages and styles (6). William Shakespeare was a very talented man who had a great impact on history, during the Renaissance time and still does today.

“All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!”(1.3.47-49). The three witches prophecies throughout the play are major influences in helping the plot develop. As well they develop the character of Macbeth and reveal the morals he holds. This play by Shakespeare which of the three types he writes is a tragedy. These tragedies are all brought upon by Macbeth’s doing. The heinous murders he commits are all brought upon by the prophecies the three dark and evil witches have spoken to Macbeth. These three witches are perceived as all things evil. They are the living embodiments of darkness and are born to destruct those weak enough to listen. “Macbeth” is a play of evil, hurt and self-fulfillment which are all from the prophecies being brought to Macbeth. Self-fulfillment is “…how a belief or expectation, whether correct or not, affects the outcome of a situation or the way a person (or group) will behave.”(Menton). The witches use their knowledge of this term and idea in order to manipulate Macbeth into fulfilling what he has been told, no matter how dark the duty is.

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

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

Shakespeare uses the witches to reassure Macbeth that there is nothing to worry about; “the power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth” this leads him to believe he is invincible, he trusts them as a result of all the other prophecies told becoming true, this puts him at ease.

However, he growingly becomes suspicious of someone close to him, Banquo, trying to bring him down. Macbeth remembers that Banquo was with him when he received the prophecy, and that Banquo was told by the witches that his sons would become kings. Macbeth believes that Banquo will do anything he can for this prophecy to come true, and that killing him would be the only way. Power hungry, Macbeth has Banquo and his son killed, so the possibility of them taking his power away are no more. This shows that power has driven Macbeth to kill another one of his

He mentions how as king he is very powerful, but he would be even more powerful without Banquo to worry about stating “Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown” (Shakespeare 114). Here Macbeth refers to the three witches who prophesied Banquo would father an heir to the throne. Macbeth interprets this prophecy as he will not have an heir because Banquo’s sons will take the throne directly after him. He is not happy about this occurring because it would remove his power as well as his purpose for ruining his characteristics. In order to stop this from occurring, Macbeth decides to have Banquo and his sons assassinated. To do this, Macbeth uses his power and influence as king to convince three murderers to terminate Banquo and his son Fleance. In doing this Macbeth continues to corrupt his power and character only for the gain of more

When it comes to power, Macbeth won't let anyone or anything stand in his way to achieve his goal. His first victim to obtain his “success” is the King of Scotland, King Duncan. After letting himself be manipulated by the Three witches predictions, Macbeth and his wife ; Lady Macbeth, make a plan to kill the King. They invite him to their house where Macbeth kills Duncan in his sleep. Many would think Macbeth would remain loyal to his King, but his desire for power is so grand that not even killing the most worshiped man in Scotland scared him.

Soon after, Macbeth realizes one of the prophecies the witches say has come true and now he believes he will be thrown and is willing to murder anyone in the way. After the murder of King Duncan, Macbeth is starting to doubt who he really believes is on his side. He thinks, Banquo his friend from the start knows what he has done. As the witches said to both of them “ Banquo’s children will be king but he will not”. The second prophecy that is given by the witches makes Macbeth’s mind go spinning around on whether or not the murder of King Duncan should have been Banquo and if he knows he has killed the king.

Macbeth better judgement is clouded by paranoia. This causing him to make reckless decisions. As a result of paranoia Macbeth becomes worrisome of Banquo because he was also there when the Three Witches gave the prophecy. Banquo even received his own prophecy from the Three Witches stating: “Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none.” (I.iii.70) meaning that his children are heir to the throne. This prophecy making Macbeth suspicious of Banquo, because he believes that Banquo knows that he killed King Duncan and that Banquo will try and come after the throne. Macbeth being so paranoid, he hires murderers to execute Banquo, but first Macbeth has to convince the murderers to do the deed. So he tells them: “who wrought with them; and all the things else that might to half a soul and to a notion crazed say, “Thus did Banquo.” (III.i.88-90) By Macbeth telling them he makes the murderers believe that it is Banquo’s fault for all of the misfortune in their lives. So soon after, the murder is committed, leaving Macbeth at some ease. However not a minute too soon, Macbeth becomes paranoid of Macduff. After the Three Witches inform him on yet another prophecy which is: “Macbeth! beware Macduff; beware the thane of Fife.” (IV.i.78-79) After hearing this Macbeth begins to think that Macduff is going to go after his title of king. Macbeth then sets out to kill Macduff but ends up finding his wife and

In William Shakespeare's Macbeth, the main character, Macbeth, is a brave and loyal subject to the King of Scotland, but as the play progresses, his character begins to change drastically. Evil and unnatural powers, as well as his own passion to become king, take over his better half and eventually lead to his downfall. The three main factors that intertwine with one another that contribute to Macbeth's tragic end are the prophecies told by the three witches, Lady Macbeth's influence, and finally, Macbeth's excessive passion and ambition which drove his desire to become king to the utmost extreme. The prophecy told by the three witches was what triggers the other factors that contribute to Macbeth s downfall. In the first act, the witches

Macbeth understands that the witches "have more in them than mortal knowledge," and his trust in the witches is made stronger because out of the three prophecies, "two truths are told" (I.V..3) If it hadn’t been for the prophecy that the witches gives to Banquo and Macbeth, Lady Macbeth would never persuade Macbeth into killing Duncan to become King; and Macbeth never would plot to kill Banquo as a result of jealousy because of Banquo’s prophecy, and mistrust of Banquo after Macbeth kills Duncan. Macbeth relies on the witches throughout the

He targets Banquo thinking that since he heard the witches fortunes he will accuse him of killing the king. In order to handle this Macbeth hires two people to murder Banquo and his son. They trap them in the woods, Banquo is killed but his son escapes. When Macbeth hears of this he is angry because his son was part of the prophecy not Banquo. The murderers are killed to prevent anyone from accusing Mabeth of doing wrong. Macbeth once again knows that what he has done is wrong and guilt starts to eat at him. There is a dinner party being hosted in his castle that night and he starts to have visions of Banquo even though he is dead. Macbeth, being the only one who knows that he is dead, begins yelling and asking who has brought him here. He comes very close to revealing everything he has done, but Lady jumps in and tells everyone that he has had fits like this since he was little and it means nothing. She quickly pushes everyone out of the castle before Macbeth can say anything

William Shakespeare was a very talented man known for his various works of literature. His works include poems, plays, and sonnets. His works are then broken down into tragedies, comedies, and histories. Shakespeare left this world centuries ago, but his writings continue to live throughout the world today. He has greatly impacted the world of literature and his existence will forever be remembered.