The Lying Witches and the Fall of MacbethA statement that is false or intended to deceive someone is known as a lie. Of course, there are many different types of lies. There are those blatant lies that contain no truth, lies of omission and half-truths. In the Shakespearean play, Macbeth, the evil witches deceive their victim, Macbeth, by telling him half-truths about his prophecies. As a result of this new "half-true" knowledge, Macbeth makes rash decisions that lead him to paranoia, grief, and ultimately his downfall. The first set of prophecies that the witches reveal to Macbeth in Act 1, Scene 3, states that Macbeth would become Lord of Glamis, Lord of Cawdor, and eventually be crowned king. They also said, “You will get kings, even if you are nobody.” Macbeth was shocked when the first two prophecies came true. In act 1, scene 3, he spoke about his fears, saying "let my hair down and make my heart beat sitting at my ribs". In Elizabethan times, witches were known as creatures of the devil, satanic creatures who roam the world to cause destruction and chaos. But how could devils speak great truths? Macbeth's new knowledge was then reported to his wife. He writes about how he will become king. But how could he do it? One of Macbeth's rash decisions was to kill the current king. Macbeth had invited the king and his men to his castle to celebrate the victory of the battle that had been won. That night, while everyone was asleep, Macbeth took a dagger and killed the king. After the murder he became very paranoid. In act 2, scene 2, he shouts: "Didn't you hear a noise? ...There was one laughing in his sleep, and one shouting "Murder!", I thought I heard a voice shouting "Sleep no more!" Macbeth kills sleep'... I fear to think what I have done; I dare not look again." Macbeth becomes king. As a result of his paranoia, he called on the assassins to execute Banquo, a friend of his who knew the prophecies. Paranoia had taken so much control of his life that his wife had been left out of his plans. He had become so paranoid that his feelings had become numb. This is shown in act 5, scene 5, when he says, "I have almost forgotten the taste of fears: time has passed, my senses would have grown cold to hear a night cry.