"Macbeth" by William Shakespeare is a tragedy first performed in 1606. When a Scottish general receives a prophecy from three witches that he will become king, his ambition awakens. Spurred by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and seizes the throne. But power corrupts absolutely—consumed by guilt and paranoia, he commits more murders to secure his position, descending into tyranny and madness. This dark exploration of ambition's destructive force remains Shakespeare's shortest and most psychologically intense tragedy.