When the witches present Macbeth with his first prophecy, he becomes consumed by greed and ambition, marking the beginning of his insanity. The witches predict that Macbeth will not only be Thane of Glamis and Thane of Cawdor, but he will also be Scotland's future king which gives Macbeth hope for his fated future. As a result of the prophecy, Macbeth develops dark thoughts after hearing King Duncan declare his son, Malcolm, as the heir to the throne. .
"The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step .
On which I must fall down, or else o'erleap,.
For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires; .
Let not light see my black and deep desires;.
The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be.
Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see." (I.iv. 48-53).
Macbeth is perturbed and confused to why he is not chosen to be heir to the throne. His mind fills with thoughts that suggest killing Malcolm to clear the position for the throne. However, Macbeth suppresses the urge to do so and attempts to hide his wicked desires. This provides insight to the audience about the lengths Macbeth will go to to become king. Although Macbeth is hiding the thoughts of any possible murder, they are revisited when King Duncan announces that he will be visiting Macbeth's castle. His wife, Lady Macbeth, encourages him to murder Duncan to remove the obstacles in the way of his future reign on Scotland. The two devise a plan to murder Duncan and that night, Macbeth heads to Duncan's room to stab him. On the way to Duncan's room, Macbeth hallucinates and sees dagger floating in front of him. He attempts to reach out to grab the dagger, but finds that he cannot grab it, he is appalled:"Is this a dagger which I before me,/ The handle toward my hand? . A dagger of the mind, a false creation,/ Proceeding from the heat-oppressèd brain?" (II,i, 33-39) Although Macbeth acts horrified of the idea of killing Duncan and seeing the fake dagger, the false image Macbeth creates in his mind foreshadows his future hallucinations due to his maniac actions.
