Vulnerability, murder, and betrayal give me reason to believe that Macbeth is both a victim and a villain. His weak mind, uncontrolled ambition and power-hungry attitude ultimately led to his downfall. Macbeth has changed several times over the course of the play. Macbeth begins as an innocent hero. He then switches to the role of the villain and, soon, returns to the role of the victim. When Macbeth is first introduced to the audience, he is seen as a tough and trustworthy hero. He wins the battle and gains King Duncan's honor and respect. All this lasts until his encounter with the witches. Witches terrorized and cursed people solely for their personal entertainment. They came across Macbeth and couldn't pass up this opportunity. Unfortunately Macbeth fell victim to the witches' ruthless and evil plans. The witches begin to recite prophecies which immediately arouse confusion and curiosity in Macbeth's weak mind. The first prophecy stated: “All hail Macbeth! Hail to you, Lord of Glamis!” which was said by the first witch. Macbeth was already the lord of Glamis. The second prophecy stated: “All hail Macbeth! Hail to you, Lord of Cawdor!” This prophecy in fact came true after his defeat against the king of Scotland. This obviously made Macbeth want more. The third prophecy stated: “All hail Macbeth who will be king henceforth!” Macbeth discovers that the only way this prophecy would come true would be if he killed King Duncan. At the time, Macbeth was kind-hearted and would not think twice about killing the man who trusted him. His weak mind made him fall victim to harsh words and tales of the future. The lovely Lady Macbeth is not at all what people perceive. She is ruthless, impatient and power-hungry. She, man... in the center of the card... is a ruthless wife who meant more to him than anything else. He was blinded by the idea that he was untouchable and had eternal power. Works Cited1. “Is Macbeth a villain or a victim?” Web log post. Is Macbeth a villain or a victim? Yazdgardian_92, December 18, 2008. Web. March 17, 2014. .2. "Macbeth: Villain and Victim." Web log post. Macbeth: Villain and Victim. Np, nd Web. March 17, 2014. .3. Padelford, Frederick Morgan. "Macbeth the Thane and Macbeth the Regicide." JSTOR. The Johns Hopkins University Press, April 1901. Web. 17 March 2014. .4. Shakespeare, William. The tragedy of Macbeth. vol. XLVI, part 4. The Harvard Classics. New York: P. F. Collier & Son, 1909–14; Bartleby.com, 2001. http://www.bartleby.com/46/4/. [Print date].