The prophecies, which the witches spoke to Macbeth, were one of the factors that contributed to the degeneration of his character. If it had not been for the witches telling him that he was to be Thane of Cawdor, Thane of Glamis, and King of Scotland, Macbeth would still be his ordinary self, even though Macbeth had already thought about being king, he would have never taken the necessary actions unless the witches had aroused his imagination as they did. In the beginning of the play Macbeth does not really take what the witches say to him seriously. He shows this when Ross gives him the title of Thane of Cawdor and despite the fact that the witches had just told him that he would become Thane of Cawdor he is still surprised, this is shown when he says, " Why do you dress me in borrowed robes?" However, as the play progresses, Macbeth slowly relies on the witches prophecies more and more. This is evident when Macbeth says to Macduff in the final scene of the play, " I bear a charmed life, which must not yield/ To one of woman born." (V, viii, 12-13) This quote signifies that Macbeth has taken what the witches have told him so seriously that he in fact stares death in the face and believes that he cannot be killed because of a prophecy. This is the point where Macbeth finds himself in way over his head, and he gets himself killed by Macduff. Overall, the two prophecies that the witches told Macbeth, of being named Thane of Cawdor, and Macbeth believing that he cannot be killed by anyone of woman born show very well how he gradually began to take the witches far too seriously.
Macbeth's ambition to be king, and remain king was another key factor in the declination of his character. The first deed that Macbeth did to begin his fall from nobility and popularity was killing King Duncan. From this point on Macbeth had less and less of a problem killing others, and doing whatever it took to maintain his title of kingship.
