They are very mischievous and play upon the weaknesses and ambitions of Macbeth. The witches prophecies spark Macbeth’s ambitions, just as the witches knew they would. They make Macbeth question Banquo when they prophesies that Banquo’s offspring will be king. “Lesser than Macbeth, and greater./ Not so happy, yet much happier./Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none:/So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo!.” This leads Macbeth into ordering the murders of Banquo and Fleance. The witches then manipulate him to believe he is immortal by telling him “laugh to scorn the power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth.” (Act 4, scene 1 lines 86-88).
One of them being his fatalism described the witches. The witches informed Macbeth’s of him becoming Thane and afterwards the King; however, Banquo’s son was prophesized to become the king after Macbeth. Macbeth feared that part of the prophecy and it was an additional explanation for his downfall. He became paranoid and he reacted only how a threatened individual would: by eliminating the threat. His paranoia reached the point to where he was mentally unstable.
?If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me.? (1 3) Did it happen because of fate or did Macbeth make it happen? The witches tempted Macbeth to kill the King, however, it was his own ambition that led him to do that terrible thing. Macbeth, even though he was uneasy, he chose to kill King Duncan and ascend to the throne of Scotland. ?Nothing is but what is not.?
As Macbeth became king this prophecy began to scare him. When he discovered that Macduff had fled to England he planned to destroy Macduff's family. The witches were the start of the murders but were also a source for the murders to continue throughout the play. Macbeth played the largest role in him becoming king. He was the one who murdered Duncan.
English – Macbeth Essay Brayden Schroeder “All Hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!” (Act 1, Scene 3, Page 3, Line 51) Who knew this one measly prediction would cause so much turmoil? The three witches are undoubtedly the most influential figures in what is possibly Shakespeare’s greatest playwright. The death of King Duncan came as a direct result of the witches’ prediction that Macbeth would one day be king whilst Macbeth’s superstition killed both Macduff’s family and Banquo. A result of his manipulable mind and arrogance, the witches also made him believe himself to be invincible, a mistake that would ultimately cost him his life. Although others played a role in turning Macbeth into the tyrant he became, it can be argued that this never would’ve panned out the way it did if the witches had never appeared.
/ All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor! / All hail, Macbeth shalt be king hereafter.” (I.iii.50-53). When Lady Macbeth discovered the witches’ prophecy; she encouraged her husband, Macbeth, to kill Duncan. Although Macbeth was terrified and against the idea of killing the king, one night he went into Duncan’s room and stabbed him to death.
A lust for power already existed in Macbeth, but it was his encounter with the three witches on his return from battle that triggered his thirst for the throne, and subsequently the deaths of many, Macbeth among the deceased. The witches told Macbeth that he would become the Thane of Cawdor, and when he did, he became obsessed with the idea that he will become the King of Scotland; “prophecy” said so. With the encouragement of his wife, Macbeth murdered King Duncan, and Banquo, who was a comrade of Macbeth. Macbeth then orders the deaths of Macduff’s wife and children, because he fears that they stand a chance of taking the throne. Upon hearing of his families’ death, Macduff returns to Scotland to confront Macbeth, who is slain.
Immediately after hearing the witches prophesise that he will be king, Macbeth thinks that he must kill the current king to become king himself. I believe that before hearing the witch's prophecies, Macbeth had never in his wildest dreams thought of killing King Duncan to become king himself. In Act 4, Scene 1, Macbeth meets again with the witches, who tell him through apparitions, "Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth!
The truth is that many of these decisions that Macbeth makes or follows is based on what the witches told him. One example of this is when Lady Macbeth convinces him to kill Duncan in order to become king. She specifically says, “Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be / What thou art promised. Yet do I fear thy nature / … / That I may pour my spirits in thine ear, / and chastise with the valor of my tongue” (1.5.16-17, 27-28). In this quote Lady Macbeth is thinking about the witches prophecy and how she can make it come true.
Once the witches show him his future, he becomes obsessed with speeding up the anticipated coming into power. He is told he will be King of Scotland, so Macbeth makes it happen by killing the King, which casts a shadow of doubt on his two sons, thereby allowing Macbeth to ascend to the throne. Once Macbeth seizes power through violence and murder, his life is darkened with the crime of regicide, he has killed a rightful, good and much loved king. His life begins to fall apart after this because he develops a serious case of paranoia over having the crown stolen from him. He becomes a slash and burn murderer and he loses sight of his humanity, he has no morality governing his actions.