In the first act of the play, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, the reader is introduced to the two characters that will play the most significant part in the play's storyline. Even though they are man and wife, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have much dissimilarity. One can tell how their personalities differ as the plot moves forward. Though they are married and undying in their love, it can be plainly seen that they have many differences.

In the opening scene of the play, Macbeth and friends, on one of their travels, encounter a trio of witches who chant prophecies. To sum up their decree to Macbeth, the witches inform Macbeth that it is his fate to be king. This promise of fate worries Macbeth because he thinks that the present king and his friend, Duncan, is a very good ruler. Macbeth's opinion of King Duncan supercedes his desire to rule the kingdom. Therefore, Macbeth is somewhat hesitant to accept his fate.

As Macbeth arrives at his manor after the encounter with the witches, he tells Lady Macbeth of prophecy. Though she meets the news with the same startling surprise as her husband did, Lady Macbeth is much more positive of the impending fate. She thinks that the impending fate of her husband is a very positive thing and she will do everything in her power to help the prophecy come to pass.

The night of Macbeth's return to his home, King Duncan is scheduled to have dinner at Macbeth's manor. This event starts off the chain of events that fuel the entire play. While Macbeth downplays the prophecy and is worried of what will happen, as well as the fate of King Duncan, his wife Lady Macbeth acts very proactive. Her thought processes are sinister and devious, as she conjures up a plan to eliminate Duncan as king and put her husband into power.

In the first act of Macbeth, one can see the huge gap between the personalities of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Through the news of the prophecy, the personalities of Macbeth and his wife are brought up to the forefront of the storyline. While Macbeth is hesitant, worried, and burdened by the preview of his fate, Lady Macbeth is scheming, devious, and proactive, not even thinking of failure, as she doesn't even worry about anything stopping her grand plan to enthrone her husband as king.