<P> Macbeth (/ məkˈbɛθ /; full title The Tragedy of Macbeth) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare; it is thought to have been first performed in 1606 . It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power for its own sake . Of all the plays that Shakespeare wrote during the reign of James I, who was patron of Shakespeare's acting company, Macbeth most clearly reflects the playwright's relationship with his sovereign . It was first published in the Folio of 1623, possibly from a prompt book, and is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy . </P> <P> A brave Scottish general named Macbeth receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland . Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the Scottish throne for himself . He is then wracked with guilt and paranoia . Forced to commit more and more murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion, he soon becomes a tyrannical ruler . The bloodbath and consequent civil war swiftly take Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into the realms of madness and death . </P>

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