In the first act, the play opens with a battle with the king of Norway, who is aided by the Scottish Thane of Cawdor. This is the highest form of treason, with Cawdor’s disloyalty to his king, Duncan. He is met on the battlefield by Macbeth, who is shown as intensely loyal to Duncan, even to the point of risking his life for his king. As a result, Macbeth is given the title of the faithless traitor and made the new Thane of Cawdor.
With the pronouncement of the first prophecy by the Three Weird Sisters, Macbeth’s loyalty quickly disappears, and he becomes even worse than the man he fought. The new Thane of Cawdor outdoes the disloyalty of the old Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth murders his king, quickly forgetting his loyalty out of his own ambition. Not only is Duncan his king, but also his relative and a guest in his home. This disloyalty is the path to Macbeth’s destruction.
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