He wasted no time and ceased the opportunity to become King. The brutal cold hearted murder of King Duncan which .
immediately followed was a clear example of Macbeth's impatient and greed filled mind. Early in Act 4 Macbeth returns to the same spot where he first meets the witches to restore his crumbling pride and confidence. Macbeth receives another three prophecies that come in the form of apparitions which make him feel untouchable. "Who can impress a tree/ Unfix his earth-bound route?" (Shakespeare 4.1. 105-106). Shakespeare often uses the Witches to soothe Macbeth's curiosity. In the end this curiosity corrupts his character. .
The influence of Macbeth's wife, Lady Macbeth, is also a key contributor that leads to his degeneration of character. At first Lady Macbeth strikes the reader as a lovable person. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are deeply in love at the beginning of the play. "My dearest love" (Shakespeare 1.5. 63). When she first hears about the witches prophecies, her ambitions also ignite. Like her husband, Lady Macbeth has strong desires to become the leader of Scotland. Lady Macbeth uses her great manipulation skills to convince Macbeth to kill King Duncan. "We fail?/ But screw your courage to the sticking-place/ And we"ll not fail" (Shakespeare 1.7. 66-68). Lady Macbeth introduces her husband to the idea of assassination. Lady Macbeth is vital in Macbeth's degeneration because she provides a scheme which causes Macbeth to assassinate King .
Duncan. Without Lady Macbeth's manipulation Macbeth would not have killed King Duncan. Their relationship is close until the murder of Banquo and Macduff's wife and son. It is at this point Shakespeare shows the vast separation of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's relationship. When Macbeth is informed that his wife dies, he remarks, "She should have died hereafter" (Shakespeare 5.5. 19). Even though Macbeth is a powerful lord and a brave general he seems easily persuaded by his wife.
