The want and desire for more can make humans do terrible deeds. This is clearly evident in William Shakespeare's Macbeth. The main character Macbeth is introduced as a noble war hero. His efforts push Scotland to victory over the Norwegians. Impressed with Macbeth, King Duncan names him the Thane of Cawdor. After these eventsMacbeth's life would never be the same. His ambitions run wild and take control of his life. As the play goes forward, Macbeth continues to degrade as a human being. Unfortunately, Macbeth never regainsconsciousness of what he is doing and eventually his actions lead to his death. Shakespeare is not just showing how greed, jealousy and ambition affects Macbeth, but all humans alike. Although, there is no mention of .
Macbeth's physical characteristics, there is an evident psychological progression from "brave Macbeth" (Shakespeare 1.2.18) to "dead butcher" (Shakespeare 5.8.81). There are many factors that account for Macbeth's degeneration of character. The prophecies told to him by the Weird Sisters, the influence of Lady Macbeth's manipulation and finally, Macbeth's long time ambition to become the King of Scotland play the most prominent role in the demise of Macbeth.
The Witches prophecies were an extremely large factor in Macbeth's demise. If Macbeth had not encountered the witches in Act 1: Scene 3, he would likely be his ordinary self. It was the Witches who first told Macbeth that he was to be Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and King of Scotland. All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane ofGlamis! All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter!(Shakespeare 1.3. 48-52) They were responsible for creating the mental picture in Macbeth's head that he could become king. Although the fist two prophecies are important, it is the third that started Macbeth's epic downhill turn off the edge of humanity. Through the third prophecy Macbeth grew aware of the situation he was in.
