Brief Summary:

Because we first hear of Macbeth being victorious in defending Scotland from some betrayers allying up with the Norwegian, our initial impression is that he a victim; but, as the play moves along the truth unfolds and shows how cruel and murderous his mind actually is. At first he was all loyal and noble Thane. The same day after the battle on his way home he sees three witches and they have four prophecies. These four Prophecies is what leads to the corruption of his mind. At first he Is thane of Glamis, then after the victory he becomes Thane of Cawdor. That’s the point where starts thinking of killing King Duncan his cousin. Then he comes up with a plan and the third prophecy comes true because Donaldbain and Malcolm escape. After all is done and he becomes king he wants to prevent the fourth prophecy to coming true. He doesn’t want Banquos sons to become king. Then he hires three murderers to kill Banquo and Fleance. They weren’t totally successful in doing that. Fleance had escaped. That leads him to return to the witches to ask them what his future is. They give him a potion and then he sees all what is going to happen. A voice Says the “None of Women Born shall harm Macbeth”. He gets relieved after hearing that but doesn’t know that Macduff was cut open from his mothers body so he could possibly kill Macbeth.

The four Prophecies:

The First Prophecy is that Macbeth will become Thane of Glamis which he already is.
(All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!) - ( I.i.1-2)

The Second Prophecy is that he will become the Thane of Cawdor. This prophecy came true right after he has defeated the old Thane of Cawdor that was a betrayer.
(All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!) - ( I.i.3-4)

The Third Prophecy is that Macbeth will become King of Scotland. After the second prophecy comes true he is very impatient to become the next King. King Duncan makes his oldest son Prince so he will inherit the Kingdom. He comes up with a plan to kill the King. That isn’t a very smart choice. So then he invites Duncan to his castle and at the same night he murders him. The death of King Duncan frightens away Malcolm and Donaldbain. That leaves Macbeth the only one to be the next successive heir to the throne. The next day they go to Scone and Macbeth is crowned king there.
(All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be King here after!) - ( I.i.5-6)

The Fourth Prophecy is that Banquos sons will become king. This prophecy comes true too. He doesn’t want that to come true. This leads him to give the witches another visit to ask them about his future. There they give him a potion and after drinking it he sees all what is going to happen to him. A voice Says the “None of Women Born shall harm Macbeth”. He is mistaken about that, because Macduff was cut open through his mothers womb. So if anyone Macduff would be the one to kill Macbeth. A few years after that Banquos sons become King.

The witches influence on Macbeth:

The witches have a big part on converting Macbeth into a complete Villain. Before he met the witches he was completely pure good. They had cast a spell before the battle had even begun. The witches also keep on repeating this quote after and after again “foul is fair and fair is foul.” This means that what seems right isn’t really right and what seems wrong isn’t really wrong. They had such a deep influence on him that they returned to him even after he killed Duncan and became King.

Lady Macbeth’s influence on Macbeth:

Lady Macbeth was very impatient for becoming Queen. She was even more impatient than Macbeth. At first when she heard about the four prophecies she couldn’t wait so she says “Come, you spirits
that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full, Of direst cruelty.” What she is asking for is that the sprits and fairies give her the strength and bravery of a man to go murder Macbeth. The reason she says this is because Macbeth is a coward and is to afraid to do it himself. But later on in the play Macbeth turns 180° from what he used to be; he goes up to Lady Macbeth and says leave it on me and you don’t have a thing to worry about, I will handle this business all by myself.

Macbeths stability of mind:

Macbeth’s mind is not very stable at all. Before killing Duncan he has all these thoughts in his head and tall this causes his mind to become unstable. He starts to see illusions like the dagger floating in air. Referring back to an often said quotation “foul is fair and fair is foul.” Again, it means that what you see is real isn’t really real and that what isn’t really real is real. "A dagger of the mind, a false creation, proceeding for the heat oppressed brain". Here Macbeth is experiencing what might be a moral crisis. He knows he is about to kill Duncan, but he is imagining what it will be like to actually hold the dagger and carry out the act. Macbeth is properly horrified by his vision, but then a ringing bell snaps him back to reality and he feels refreshed to resolve and fulfill his plan. Another good example would be where he sees the ghost of Banquo. Also while sleeping he has a nightmare that Banquo and Fleance are killing him when he is sleeping just like when he killed Duncan in his sleep; and a while before that when he killed Duncan and the next morning kills the chamberlains because he couldn’t stand seeing the dead body of Duncan. The Chamberlains were low class and couldn’t ever be trusted, so they would have died one way or another. That was another mistake he made because of his unstable mind.

Majour Crimes committed by Macbeth:

Macbeth has committed several crimes. Some of the most important ones are as follows:

- Murdering King Duncan
- Hiring the three murderers to kill Banquo and Fleance (Actually hires two murderers)
- Stabbing and then cutting the throats of the murderers.
- Hiring murderers again, but this time, to go and slaughter Macduff’s family when they are unprotected
- Killing the Chamberlains

Macbeth Vs. Macduff

After learning about the second apparition Macbeth was very calm because he thought that he is unstoppable and cannot be killed by anyone. But he dosen’t realise that only “None of women born shall harm Macbeth”. A person like Macduff that is his biggest enemy can harm, or even kill him if need be. Then come marching Macduff’s 10,000 troops from England to kill Macbeth. Every soldier had cut down a tree and used it as camouflage. Thats when the third apparition comes true. The forest and trees are walking but Macbeth knows that is impossible. Macbeth has totally changed from who he used to be in the beginning of the play. At first he didn’t even know that is he wants to kill Duncan, bet after he commits the crime of killing the King he doesn’t mind killing anyone and everyone who opposed him. When he learns that the third apparition is coming true and so will the fourth apparition he just sits there in his castle while everyone else leaves. That shows how stubborn he is and how he won’t change his mind. When Macduff intrudes into the Castle and faces Macbeth there is no doubt who won. Macduff slaughters Macbeth and then Scotland has a new Ruler.