"Macbeth" is a tragic play written by William Shakespeare that was first published in writing around 1623. Narrating the lifestory of Macbeth, a Scottish general who later becomes king of Scotland after murdering the true king in response to a prophecy made by three witches, and his wife, Lady Macbeth, this play portrays the inevitability of fate, the failure of humanity at understanding fate itself, and the consequences of unrestrained ambition. At the beginning of the play, one of the first things placed by Shakespeare in the first acts, is the appearance of three witches, who foretold not just Macbeth´s raise to power, but also the rise to power of the descendants of his then general friend, Banquo. The appearance of these witches, and the foretelling of the prophecies, underline the inescapable grasp of fate, the inevitability of it, as Macbeth acts on them, even if at first he does not believe in the first prophecy. It also underlines the incapacity of humans to really comprehend fate and act accordingly, and finally, it underlines the way that human vices may damage fate´s plans for people. It has to be remembered that the witches not just prophecy for Macbeth once, but twice, the second one coming after he had become king.
