With a promising prophecy upon him, a once loyal man sets out on a dark path in search of power. This is the story of Macbeth by William Shakespeare. A Scottish soldier, Macbeth, and his friend Banquo, are approached by three strange sisters who practice the dark arts. The sisters, the witches, tell them that Macbeth will become Lord of Cawdor and then king. For him to do this, something would have to happen to the current King of Scotland, Duncan. When informed of the prophecy, Lady Macbeth, Macbeth's wife, manipulates Macbeth into carrying out the murder plans by questioning his manhood. The rest of the story follows a once-loyal soldier in the darkness who does whatever it takes to become king. Duncan's death does not rest solely on Macbeth's shoulders, but rather the strange sisters and Lady Macbeth share the burden with the bloodstained king. The strange sisters tell Macbeth that he is destined to be king, so Macbeth kills Duncan to fulfill their prophecy. The third witch says that Macbeth will become king. Banquo and Macbeth are talking to the strange sisters when she says this: "Greetings, Macbeth, thou shalt be king henceforth!" (1.3.49). The witch tells Macbeth that he is destined to be king and this represents a turning point for Macbeth. All claws are out. The prophecy plants a seed in Macbeth's head that would otherwise have withered. The very fact that there is even the slightest possibility that Macbeth could become king brings out the flight or fight response, and Macbeth chooses to fight. This instinct is only strengthened when the first part of the witches' prophecy comes true. Before, it was a bit like reading a horoscope: fun, but not realistic. However, after Macbeth becomes Lord of Cawdor, the prophecy is... center of the card... he threw the dagger, the force of the blow was not his alone. Macbeth was influenced by both the three strange sisters and his wife, Lady Macbeth. The prophecy, which once shone with the promise of a better life, soon became a dull weight bearing down on Macbeth and those he knew. Lady Macbeth could not bear the burden and committed suicide shortly after the murder. Macbeth was a man forced to choose between good and evil, but unfortunately the lines were blurred. Evil meant happiness; evil meant a nobility greater than Macbeth and his wife had ever experienced. Good meant mediocrity; good meant being stuck in the life he had earned. Macbeth was promised a much grander life than the one he was leading; he was forced to kill the king. His life was destroyed so that Macbeth could be reborn. Although Macbeth held the blade, blood stained the hands of more than one.