].
The tragedy in Macbeths fall from grace lies in the fact that his ambition distorted his perceptions of the truth. The tragedy not only lies in his actual fall from glory through his ambitious actions, but also his ambitious nature overriding his total understanding of the consequences of his own actions. In I(vii), before murdering King Duncan, Macbeth actually analyses the situation because he acknowledges that the consequences of murdering Duncan would be much greater than the benefits: [If th"assassination could trammel up the consequences and catch success .that but this blow might be the be-all and end-all here. We still have judgment here that we but teach bloody instructions, return to plague th"inventor.] However, later, Macbeth ambitious nature becomes the sole perpetrator of this murder and because of this, he is willing to face all the consequences of his action. [I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition which o"erleaps itself And falls on the other-] This ambitious nature eventually causes his tragic death. This is also shown in Macbeth's belief and interpretation of the witch's prophecies. This is especially seen in the second instance where Macbeth visits the weird sisters, his arrogance resulting from his ambition causes him to distort his perceptions of second batch of prophecies. [Macbeth, Macbeth, Macbeth beware Macduff .for no woman born Shall harm Macbeth Macbeth shall never be vanquished until Birnam Woods to high Dunsinane hill Shall come against him.] Because he believed that the second batch of prophecies were completely empty threats, he failed to act properly as he believed himself to be invincible. Macbeths thoughts to himself was: "how could trees uproot themselves and move? "[Rebellious dead, rise never till the wood Of Birnam rise and our high-placed Macbeth Shall live the lease of nature, pay his breath to time and mortal custom] However, as a result of lack of action, Macbeth causes his own defeat at Dunsinane.
