Macbeth

Macbeth is William Shakespeare's tragedy about a Scottish nobleman who hears a prophecy that he will become king. Encouraged by Lady Macbeth, he murders Duncan and attempts to secure the crown through further violence. The language of darkness, disturbed sleep, and deceptive appearances makes conscience part of the play's atmosphere as well as its dialogue. Prophecy offers promises that Macbeth interprets according to his desires, while his exercise of power destroys the trust on which a kingdom depends. The tragedy traces ambition's consequences without allowing apparent success to erase moral responsibility.