Compare how Macbeth behaves in Act Two scene two with his behavior in the previous scene, and how does his change in attitude foreshadow his...

In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the man we
see at the start of the play as he plans to kill Duncan is different than the man he is
in Act Two, scene two. The struggle he goes through to come to terms with his actions
will define how easily he is able to commit murder at the end of the
play.

Up until this point, Macbeth has expressed some
misgivings about the plan that he and his wife are "hatching" to kill Duncan while the
King is staying with them. However, while Macbeth's concerns are more based upon how
these actions now come at an awkward time (as things are going so well), Macbeth resigns
himself to carrying out the task at his wife's insistence without much resistance
overall. In scene one of the second act, the dagger scene might make the audience
believe that Macbeth would be fearful in seeing the apparition of the dagger that
directs his path—even while showing him the blood and gore on its blade that will soon
appear after Macbeth completes the task.

By the time
Macbeth is finished killing the King, this soldier and honored warrior is coming apart
at the seams. He is hysterical and struggling to deal with what he has done. The cool
mind that was in charge in the previous scene is gone, and is replaced with someone who
is falling apart—as if he has never seen death before; perhaps this is true in the sense
that he has never seen the murder of a King, especially at his hands,
before.

This parallels the way Macbeth changes as he moves
through the play. At first, he is hesitant, but then he throws himself into his new plan
to become King. We can identify this as foreshadowing Macbeth's future actions: when he
will finally do anything to protect his place on the throne. As he comes to terms with
what he has done, killing becomes much easier. He admits that he only needs "practice"
to get better at it. By the end of the play, Macbeth's sense of honor has completely
dissolved. What we see at the beginning of the play is a clear indicator that while a
young murderer he is frightened, time does make the act much easier
for him.