He is characterized as being very loyal and honourable. He fights in the battle against Norway which proves his loyalty, and then he is appointed Thane of Cawdor which proves that he is honourable in the eyes of royalty. However, as soon as the witches spark ambition in him, he is no longer trustworthy and becomes evil and deceiving. Even before he reaches his home, thoughts of murder creep into his head and he is overcome with the desire to be powerful.
The prince of Cumberland: that is a step on which I must not fall down, or else o erleap, for in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires, let not light see my black and deep desires, the eye wink at the hand. Yet let that be, which the eye fears when it is done to see (Shakespeare 21). At this point in the play, Macbeth's ambition starts to come into view. The seed has been planted, and there is no turning back. Macbeth becomes bloodthirsty and powerstricken forcing himself further and further into a web of ambition from which he is unable to detatch himself. Macbeth's ambition is what allowed him to become powerful.