icy-ness acts as the horse which takes him down the path he can't return from. He suffers mentally, at first, by getting tormented by his power-hungry wife. Then, when she dies, it is her soul that causes Macbeth to get tormented by his own over-ambitious self. Macbeth encounters the three witches while on a journey with his companion Banquo. They tell Macbeth of future titles he is to have, yet he doesn't believe them. They hail Macbeth, calling him "Thane of Cawdor" and tell him he "shalt be kind hereafter". This perplexes Macbeth because such titles seem far from the truth. At this point Macbeth does not crave the titles as he later will. After the witches tell Banquo his sons shall be kings, Macbeth becomes interested in his supposed fate because the Thane of Cawdor lives and Macbeth finds it impossible to perceive himself as Thane or Cawdor and even more impossible as king.

Banquo sees the prophecy about Macbeth becoming king coming true and then he proceeds to warn Macbeth that

The end is near for Lady Macbeth as she is ruined by her own treacherous ambitions. The murder of the king is making her go insane, as she rubs her hands and speaks, "Out, damned spot! out, I say!". Her mind is deteriorating from the guilt which apparently overwhelms her. The end is also near for Macbeth and he no longer fears death because it has lingered so close to him for a long while. Macbeth is numb from all the events which caused his downfall. Even when his wife died he shows practically no emotion and says she should have picked a more convenient time to die. Mentally, Macbeth no longer exists.

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When the king greets Macbeth with gratitude, all Macbeth can think about is the prediction that he will become king. It is now that the poison of desire begins to seep into Macbeth's mind. After the king announces that his son, Malcolm, will become king Macbeth starts to ponder murder. Macbeth can't wait and allow the prophecy to take its course and hopefully come true- he must take action and force it to become a reality. "That is a step on which I must fall down, or else o'erleap, for in my way it lies." Macbeth compares Malcolm to a step that could vanquish Macbeth's now earnest desire to become king unless Macbeth should get Malcolm out of the way. Malcolm comes in-between Macbeth and his drive to be king and so Macbeth must eradicate Malcolm. Macbeth now has the mindset of an unstoppable conqueror whereas he must succeed in getting what he wants.

Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Washington Square Press, New York: 1959.

Macbeth's actually death comes to him when Macduff tells him he was "from his mother's womb untimely ripped". First Macbeth is in doubt, but as he realizes the prophecies hold true, there is nothing he can do but fight and face a

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1242
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)