William Shakespeare's Macbeth tells the story of a general who commits regicide to become king. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is conflicted about whether or not he wants to kill his relative, the king. In the first two acts Macbeth is not portrayed as a ruthless murderer; he is a likable character who succumbs to his wife's provocation and to a prophecy predicted by three mysterious witches. In contrast, Lady Macbeth is a manipulative and immoral woman. Her ambition is so strong that she is willing to do anything to see her husband succeed. In the third act, however, things begin to change. The death of the king and the rise to power of Lord and Lady Macbeth catalyze a profound transformation in their personalities. Before Macbeth enters the scene, his reputation as a prestigious general is established. In the second scene of the play the men who fought with Macbeth rant about his bravery in battle. The first account of Macbeth's courage comes from a wounded captain. He says: “But all is too weak/For brave Macbeth (well, he deserves that name)/Disdaining fortune, brandishing steel/. (1.2.17) The rest of the scene consists of more tales of Macbeth's success; the lord of Ross informs the king that Macbeth has successfully suppressed the joint efforts of the lord of Cawdor and the king of Norway. Furthermore, in this scene the king announces that Macbeth will be made the new lord of Cawdor. In this scene Macbeth is portrayed as a powerful, patriotic, warrior and loyal subject of the king. However, as the play progresses, Macbeth deviates from these traits. Macbeth's encounter with the three witches confuses him. He begins to decide on a course of action... middle of paper... to kill Banquo he says, "I do not say the worst degree of manhood and I will put this matter in your bosom" (3.1.115) This was the same technique that Lady Macbeth used when persuading Macbeth to kill Duncan; he questioned his manhood. While Macbeth is losing his morals, Lady Macbeth is developing hers. After Macbeth reveals his plot to kill Banquo, he is reluctant to add another murder to those already committed: “You must leave this” (3.3.40). In the third act another prophecy predicted by the witches comes true. The paradox “beautiful is ugly and ugly is right” characterizes the changes that the protagonists undergo in acts one, two and three. During the course of the play Macbeth, the "right" one, is overwhelmed by guilt and becomes "bad". While Lady Macbeth who was “wrong” in her instigations becomes “right”.”.