Thinking before acting leads to greater wisdom and better outcomes while acting before thinking yields regret. In Shakespeare's Macbeth, many characters are murdered as a method of solving existing problems. Throughout the play, it is noticeable that these deaths can all be related back to two malevolent beings. These characters in their horrific minds are to blame for the deaths of innocent people. Macbeth, in his willingness to commit severe crimes for personal benefit, and the witches, in their desire to toy with Macbeth through their ambiguous prophecies, are equally responsible for nearly all the murders in the play. In Macbeth’s first encounter with the witches, he is provided with crucial information that triggers his ideas for the …show more content…
As Macbeth asked for more information from the witches, in their second encounter, he is flustered with riddled sentences that comfort him and give him a false sense of security. The apparitions that the witches summon each give Macbeth a piece of information that changes the way he thinks about his throne. One of the apparitions tells Macbeth that “none of woman born shall harm [him]” (4.1.102). The other apparition tells him that “[He] shall never be vanquished until Great Birnam Wood to Dunsinane Hill shall come against him” (4.1.115). With these prophecies Macbeth begins to think that none will be able to harm him and that he is for the most part invincible. He believes that he can rule as a king however he wants and that no one will be able to replace him. Macbeth feels comforted and releases some of the stress and nightmares he was previously having. His newly gained comfort gives Macbeth a false sense of security that leads to Macbeth’s poor preparation to resist the English troops. Thinking that he cannot be harmed, Macbeth does not take the necessary steps to protect Scotland and his life. When he finally encounters Macduff on the battlefield, he believes it will be an easy fight as he deems himself invincible, but he is slaughtered. Although he was falsely led by the witches, Macbeth was not cautious enough to protect himself. The witches made him believe that he was safe from all, which he was not. Macbeth did not recognize the ambiguity of the prophecies, which led to his demise. The dubious prophecies paired with Macbeth’s lack of caution and his false sense of security resulted in his own