MacBeth, the tragic hero, has always won the sympathy of his audiences despite all his evil deeds. The audience most of the time believes that MacBeth had an inner good, and that if it hadn't been for the witches' prediction, MacBeth would not have died. Evidently, MacBeth had used the witches' predictions as a scapegoat. The prophecies have been accused as a major cause for MacBeth's downfall. Yet if we look closely, we find that in every situation MacBeth had a choice, and it was he who made the final decision. The witches' predictions served merely as a psychological justification for MacBeth's scheme.

Superficially, it appeared that MacBeth was just following his destiny, and had no choice in the fate that the witches predicted. Thus the audience would think that MacBeth did not have the chance to do good, but this answer is unrealistic. In the play, the witches predicted that MacBeth would be the Thane of Cawdor, that he would be King, and that Banquo's sons would be kings. MacBeth almost immediately took the prophecies as reality and tried to fulfill the tempting

After Banquo's death, MacBeth's villainous character fully emerged. He was engulfed in his greedy lust for power and forgot his battle with his conscience. He decided to meet the witches again after he had been threatened by Banquo's ghost. The witches showed MacBeth three apparitions. The apparitions told MacBeth to beware of MacDuff, that he would be king until Birnam Woods would meet Dunsinane Hill, and that he could not be killed by anyone born of woman. He also saw Banquo's descendants that would become kings. At this point, MacBeth was using the witches' prophecies as a guideline. He was insecure; therefore, he used their predictions to justify his murderous deed. He caused the audience to think that fate had doomed him, but he knew that it was his own free will that brought his spiral downfall.

Thou hast harped my fear aright. But one word more-"

predictions. The self- fulfilling prophecies resulted in the emergence of a greedy, ambitious, and "conscience-less" MacBeth. He chose to believe in the predictions and disregarded Banquo's sound advice. To fulfill the prophecies, MacBeth resorted to a

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 753
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)