“They placed a fruitless crown/a barren scepter in my grip”

• he expresses deep frustration that his kingship is ultimately meaningless without an heir.
• “fruitless” and “barren” evoke images of infertility and lifelessness, symbolising how his power cannot continue through a legacy, his reign is empty and unnatural.
• Macbeth’s desire for power has not been satisfied by simply becoming king.
• he now obsesses over securing his position by eliminating threats like Banquo and Fleance.
• presents Macbeth’s language as increasingly bitter and restless, showing how ambition, once fed, only grows more consuming.
• reflects Macbeth’s awareness that his crown was not rightfully earned but taken by force, making it feel hollow. 
• His use of symbolic imagery highlights his obsession with authority, but their barrenness reveals the emotional and spiritual void his actions have created.
• he moves from reacting to ambition to actively plotting further violence in a desperate attempt to gain control over the future.
• Act 3, Scene 1