Imagine riding with your son through the woods, when suddenly, murderers and cutthroats surround you! What about, riding home from England, and hearing that your castle and everyone in it had been burned down to the ground? What if you had that insatiable urge to put things right, and you can’t control it!? The play, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare is about control and destiny. The play begins with a prophecy that foretells the future of Macbeth and his family. The prophecy states that one who is born in the "midst" of three must be a king or queen. This foreshadows the future of Macbeth, who becomes king after killing Duncan. The witches then tell Macbeth that he will become king if he follows their instructions to kill Duncan and Banquo. …show more content…
They expose Banquo and Macbeth to the prophecy early, instead of letting it play out by themselves. This is the key factor that corrupted Macbeth to the core. Even when the witches state that Banquo’s children will be sitting on the throne, does not deter Macbeth’s ambition and greed for power. He simply has Banquo killed, but Banquo’s son, Fleance, who was traveling with him, got away, enforcing the witches' prophecy that Banquo’s children will rule after Macbeth. After becoming king, Macbeth gets so entwined in the prophecy while trying to get out of it, visits the witches, and gets even more prophecy’s from them. They make Macbeth think that he is invincible, for he can only be killed by a man not born by a woman. They also state that Dunsinane Hill will only fall if Birnam wood comes to it. After this experience and the warning to beware of Macduff, Macbeth has Macduff’s family killed to deter Macduff from attacking Macbeth. This is the exact wrong thing to do, for it causes Macduff to unleash his full hatred of Macbeth and marches to take them down. They fulfill one prophecy, by hewing boughs from trees to disguise their numbers, which is described as a “walking forest.” Macduff then confronts Macbeth, but Macduff slays Macbeth, fulfilling the second prophecy, stating that Macbeth can only be killed by a man not born by a woman, which Macduff