Macbeth is a man of ambition, as Lady Macbeth mentions in her opening soliloquy ("Thou wouldst be great, / Art not without ambition, but without / The illness should attend it."). Keep in mind, as well, that he is not a stranger to murder. He is a proven soldier; he knows how to kill another human being and is inured to the effects such an action would have on the--as Shakespeare might say--"unblooded."
When he hears the...
Macbeth is a man of ambition, as Lady Macbeth mentions in her opening soliloquy ("Thou wouldst be great, / Art not without ambition, but without / The illness should attend it."). Keep in mind, as well, that he is not a stranger to murder. He is a proven soldier; he knows how to kill another human being and is inured to the effects such an action would have on the--as Shakespeare might say--"unblooded."
When he hears the prophesy, he's first dismissive. Why would he be thane of Cawdor? The thane of Cawdor lives, after all! The witches know, however, that Cawdor is a traitor to the crown, will soon be executed, and King Duncan will give the title to Macbeth. When Macbeth learns this, he quite naturally begins to wonder what he must do, if anything, to become king.
This temptation, even combined with his proven ability to kill without guilt--at least, on the battlefield--probably isn't enough to move him to regicide, but Lady Macbeth's accusing him of being less than a man if he doesn't is.
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