Self Fulfilling Prophecies In Macbeth

Ambition and self-fulfilling prophecies two seemingly unrelated things that are actually intertwined with one another. Ambition is the thing that drives many people to do the things they love. Self-fulfilling prophecies are a direct result of ambition by the person subconsciously doing things to get their foreseen future. These things help the advancement of people’s lives. It is part of life to want to succeed and have dreams be fulfilled. Many people gain fulfillment through hard work and persistence. This is how Macbeth was at the beginning of the story. He was a brave warrior who was known and even honored by the king. Unfortunately, Macbeth’s ambition takes control and he decides that he wants more power no matter what it takes to get

In fact, the first major influence of Macbeth is the shocking prophecy told by the three sisters. “All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of Glamis!/All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, thane of Cawdor!/All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!” (1.3.149-151). This prophecy is what makes Macbeth begin to wonder about things he could do to end up king. Then the prophecy does start to take shape with Macbeth being named Thane of cawdor. During this time he goes through an internal conflict with himself. He argues with himself over whether or not to trust the prophecy and three witches, “This supernatural soliciting/Cannot be ill, cannot be good: if ill,/Why hath it given me earnest of success” (1.3.243-245). Unfortunately for Macbeth the King’s son Malcolm is to named the predecessor of King Duncan. Macbeth recognizes that this means the prophecy cannot come true despite the Thane of Cawdor prediction becoming a reality. This displeases him greatly despite the fact that the king has bestowed upon him a great honor. He feels that because the witches said it that it must be true no matter what the consequences in the future are. This is a leading factor that causes Macbeth to decide to murder King Duncan. Macbeth consciously makes the decision to commit treason and knows that it will have consequences. He even ponders the fact that although he will have a prosperous life on

From the very beginning Lady Macbeth is more willing to do whatever it takes to make the prophecy a reality. Lady Macbeth alludes to this by saying “Glamis thou art, and Cawdor; and shalt be/What thou art promised: yet do I fear thy nature;/ It is too full o’ the milk of human kindness” (1.5.359-361). Lady macbeth states that Macbeth will be what he has been told that he will be as long as he’s “brave enough” to take it. Furthermore, she states her fear for him being too timid and kind. However, when she begins to tell Macbeth her ideas he attempts to be steadfast in his loyalty to King Duncan. Macbeth states that “We will proceed no further in this business:/he hath honoured me of late;” (1.7.507-508). Macbeth’s only issue with murdering King Duncan is that he just got honored by him and that would be rude. Again it does not take much time for Macbeth’s ambition to take control due to his wife stating how much more of a man he could be if he just went through with it. Despite these influences Macbeth is in control of his own actions. This is further proven by Macbeth’s one time acquaintance turned enemy