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Shakespeare's Macbeth is set in Elizabethan time when people firmly believed in the existance of witches and their evil supernatural powers.
When Macbeth is confronted by the witches prophercies telling him he will be king but that Banquot's sons will be king and not his own,Macbeth feel his title as king is threatened. should anything happen to him.
After Macbeth tells his wife of the witches prophercies, she feels Macbeth will have to overcome his humanity in order to fullfill his ambitions.she begins to persuade her husband he must kill the king in order to to gain he's title.
Before Macbeth kills the king he naturally weighs up the odds and realises he is in a good position already,after leading an army to victory he is well respected by those around him.
However he can't help wanting more than what he has and feels that after he's efforts he feels he deserves better.
However Macbeth knows in his heart what he has done is wrong and soon becomes parranoid that someone might kill him for his title as he did to king dunkin before him.Why else would malcome and Donalbain flee the counry"
It is at this point Macbeth's downfall sets in as he feels he has already compromised on his humanity Macbeth continues to kill those around him who threaten his title until he is killing for revenge and for reasons that make us believe Macbeth has lost his sanity,until he has lost all his humanity he possesed that earnt him his respect and is left with nothing more than a title.
In the end, though it is macbeth who kills the king,he's human nature to want more than he has,and ambition to fight for what he wants along with the influences of the witches prophercies and lady macbeths persuations all play a part in macbeth's downfall.