William Shakespeare's tale of Macbeth is based on deception and ambition. The play opens with the three weird sisters plotting to meet Macbeth upon the heath. Here, they intend to plant the seed of his destruction, their prophecies. Macbeth's ambition to fulfil these prophecies will eventually lead to his downfall. He believes to strongly in them as his ambition to retain the throne begins to takes over his life.

When Macbeth is first introduced in the play, he is a very loyal, brave and virtuous warrior who shows little sign of being ambitious. Even after the witches confront Macbeth for the first time, he still doubts the virtue of his vaulting ambition and their promises for his future. It is Lady Macbeth's very powerful persuasion that spurs on Macbeth's ambition. Once the murder of Duncan takes place, Macbeth's ambition seems unstoppable. A desperate man, he relies heavily on the witches' ill-fated prophecies, eventually meeting an untimely and dishonourable death.

At the start of the play the audience is given a noble image of Macbeth. The soldier tells t

he King about the battle and how brave Macbeth single-handedly defeated the "merciless" Macdonwald: "Distaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel, which smoked with bloody execution, like valour's minion carved out his passage till he faced the slave." Macbeth was undoubtedly loyal to his King and his bravery was rewarded with the title Thane of Cawdor. At this stage, there is little sign that Macbeth is ambitious at all, but when he confronts the witches his character changes. They trap Macbeth with their dark and unnatural forces which he had no control over. Their prophecies spark ambition in Macbeth which causes him to ask them to stay, "Stay your imperfect speakers, tell me more". This is the first sign of Macbeth's ambition. His eventual belief in their prophecies will lead him down the path of evil.

In concluding, Macbeth is a very noble and brave man at the start of the play and is very loyal to the King until he was confronted by the witches. They awakened ambition in Macbeth through their prophetic riddles. Although Macbeth's ambition was then spurred by Lady Macbeth's persuasion, he, himself, allowed it to take control of his destiny. His blind belief in the prophecies and his unstoppable ambition unquestionably lead to his downfall.

By the end of the pla

Some common words found in the essay are:
Malcolm Maduff's, Thane Cawdor, William Shakespeare's, Lady Macbeth's, Lady Macbeth, Macbeth Macduff, Macdonwald Distaining, , macbeth's ambition, weird sisters, murder duncan, play macbeth, path evil, ambition macbeth, vaulting ambition, lead downfall, lady macbeth's, macbeth immediately, prophecies macbeth's ambition,
Approximate Word count = 862
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)