His heart pumps with adrenaline as he slowly walks through the hallways to his A bright dagger suspended in mid-air leads him to his fate. Once he commitsthe bloody deed, all is forever changed, as he cannot go back. To think King Duncan iskilled by his most trusted and honorable thane, who bore the titles of both Cawdor andGlamis. The rollercoaster begins running in a downward spiral of destruction as Macbethbecomes the King of Scotland. Three witches, the ones who prophesied Macbeth'sbecoming king, have told him of obstructions to his kingly path and, with a little shovefrom his wife, Macbeth begins to do all he can, no matter how treacherous, to preserve histitle. Driven by his ambition, he destroys until he too is destroyed. But what are thefactors which moved Macbeth along that bloody path to his downfall in Shakespeare'sMacbeth and how did they move him? The three witches, his own ambition, and his wifeare the key elements which work together and play upon each other to push Macbeth overthe cliff of demise. The most influential elements are the witches.The three witches are the ones who get things started down a path leading todestruction by playing upon the already ambitious Macbeth. They first attract his attentionby hailing him Thane of Cawdor, Glamis, and even "King thereafter." Once Duncanpromotes him to Thane of Cawdor, he is pulled into the trap. He begins to believe thatperhaps the other predictions may come true after all. Unfortunately for Macbeth, hethinks that the only way he can become king is if he murders the present king. Macbeth,unlike his passive friend Banquo, takes destiny into his own hands early on. At this point,Macbeth's conscience begins to bother him that he has actually contemplated killingDuncan. With loyalty still reigning over his actions, Macbeth alone would not be able todo such a task- that is, until his wife steps in. Once she gets him to cross the line, evilbecomes much easier ...
