In William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, there is a constant struggle for power by Macbeth that leads to many problems, not only for himself, but for the very nature of Scotland as well. While examining the play Macbeth, we will prove how Macbeth’s ambition for power will affect the natural order of the world and show how he is an unjust ruler. In the beginning of the play Macbeth, Macbeth was viewed as a righteous and brave man; and had helped his cousin the king in stopping a rebellious thane. In the next scene Macbeth and Banquo meet three witches that foretell Macbeth’s future by saying “All hail Macbeth! Thane of Glamis! All hail Macbeth Thane of Cawdor! All hail Macbeth that shalt be king after!” (I, iii, 51-53) After hearing this Macbeth and Banquo do not think much about it for Macbeth was not Thane of Glamis, or king, and simply shrugged it off. Later in the play, Macbeth meets Duncan the king and he awards Macbeth with the title of the thane of Cawdor. This is what starts Macbeth’s ambition and his fall from grace. For now, Macbeth has realized that the witches’ prophecy was coming true. Expecting that he would become King; for during those times the strongest thane would be the next in line for the throne, and that the witches’ prophecy said that he would become king. Howeve,r Duncan announces that his next heir to the throne would be his son Malcolm. This event causes Macbeth to become truly ambitious, for he had thought that he would become king through Duncan, but has realized that he would have to get it by other means. This is the first event that really causes Macbeth’s ambition to get in the way of his morals; for ambition “if it is stopped and cannot have his way, it becomes adust, and thereby malig... ... middle of paper ... ...f Ambition. English Literature. Print. Bloom, Herald. Bloom’s Notes. Chelesa House, 1996. Print. Bradley, A.C. Darkness in the Struggle for Power. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2009. Print. Fletcher, Paul. The Course of Macbeth’s Drive for Power. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2009. Print. Hawkes, Terence. Shifting Values, Chaos, and the Order in Macbeth Detroit: Greenhaven, 2009. Print. "Machiavelli: The Prince: Chapter XVII." Machiavelli: The Prince: Chapter XVII. Web. 02 Feb. 2014. . "Machiavelli: The Prince: Chapter XIX." Machiavelli: The Prince: Chapter XIX. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2014. . Norton, Charles. Shakespeare's Villains. New York: Bookman Associates, 1957. Print. Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. New York: Washington Square, 1992. Print.
Macbeth is a brave general who fights for his country Scotland, defeating the King of Norway. He is loyal to his king Duncan, but Macbeth has ambition to take over the kingdom for himself. He has lots of doubts of if he is doing the right thing, but still murders Duncan and then Banquo who is another general who fought with Macbeth. These murders and guilt about his treason are leading Macbeth to become insane. This essay shows that although Macbeth’s strong desire for power is influenced by the three witches in the play and also the planning and ambition of his wife Lady Macbeth, in the end he is responsible for his self-destruction.
Power can be used to a person’s benefit, but it also can bring about the corruption of a human’s character and moral foundations. Unfortunately, power is the key to the downfall of events that occur throughout Macbeth. When Macbeth is given prophecies about his future, he is skeptical at first. However once one of the prophecies is fulfilled, Macbeth becomes power hungry and he seeks to know the unknown. As he seeks the unknown, his mind begins to corrupt as he questions the extent to which he will go in order to gain the power that he desires so strongly. Eventually, Macbeth’s morals are defeated as his selfish desires silence all goodness. The corruption overtakes Macbeth and his behaviors are now purely controlled by his ambition to gain
Strauss, Leo. "Machiavelli the Immoralist." The Prince: A Norton Critical Edition. New York: W.W. Norton, 1977. 180-185.
Machiavelli, Niccolo. The Portable Machiavelli. Eds. Peter Bondanella and Mark Musa. New York: The Viking Press, 1979.
Machiavelli discusses assertive and bold ideas in “The Prince,” revealing his radical and courageous nature. His treatise is deceptively self-soliciting, because he disguises his extreme notions behind a veil of feigned expertise. His frank approach makes him appear confident and deserving of the utmost respect; however, he cautiously humbles himself by pouring immense flattery for the ruling prince into his work and, in doing so, assures protection for himself and his notorious ideas.
Machiavelli is undisputedly one of the most influential political philosophers of all time. In The Prince, his most well-known work, he relates clearly and precisely how a decisive, intelligent man can gain and maintain power in a region. This work is revolutionary because it flies in the face of the Christian morality which let the Roman Catholic Church hold onto Europe for centuries. Machiavelli's work not only ignores the medieval world's ethics: The Prince suggests actions which oppose the four most basic of Christianity's Ten Commandments.
Macbeth’s blind ambition leads him to surrender to his dark desires that taunt him throughout the play. Macbeth is frequently tempted to result to the wrongful methods that seem to roam inside of him. In the beginning however Macbeth tends to ignore these desires and depends on chance. He declares “if chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir” (Shakespeare, act 1, scene 3, 143-144). This declaration by Macbeth shows his initial stand, which is reliant on fate and sin free. Yet as Macbeth’s character develops throughout the play, he moves farther from his dependence on chance and closer to his darker desires. Eventually his blind ambition to become king overp...
Perhaps the most fundamental theme of Shakespeare’s Macbeth is the inherent corruptibility of even a seemingly good man when ambition turns to greed, and Macbeth himself exemplifies this concept throughout the play. While at the outset he is seen to be loyal to his king, generally considered trustworthy, and displaying numerous other laudable qualities, Macbeth ultimately succumbs to the influence of those around him and becomes unequivocally evil, setting aside all his previously held morals and coming to be driven only by his lust for power. This transition is brought about by a wide variety of factors and plays an integral role in the development of the plot. In his tragedy Macbeth, William Shakespeare employs
Machiavelli, Niccolo. “The Prince and The Discourses” McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages; 1 edition (August 1, 1950)
"Machiavelli: The Prince: Chapter XIX." Machiavelli: The Prince: Chapter XIX. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2014. .
Macbeth’s greed strongly influences his desire for kingship, where wickedness gradually surpasses his courteous persona. As his selfish ambition
Seeking for greater power, Macbeth murders Duncan who is the king at that time, which caused a great pain for the kingdom. Duncan is a great king, but just not a so good human reader. He has never been aware of Macbeth. He never have a thought that Macbeth might be a danger, who is willing to kill him for the throne. On the other hand, Macbeth does not accept to be just a general for the rest of his life. He wants a greater power, higher position than he is having at the time. Because of the suggests from the trio witches: “ All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!/ All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!”(1.2.49-50), Macbeth has the thinking about killing the king to take his throne. By calling Macbeth the Thane of Cawdor, they give Macbeth the thought that being a king is his fate. On the night Macbeth is planning to murder Duncan, the Old Man see many strange events: “And Duncan’s horses (a thing most strange and certain),/ Beauteous and swift, the minions of their race, /Turned wild in nature, broke their stalls, flung out/ Contending ‘gainst obedience, as they would/ Make war with mankind” (2.4.14-18). It creates a scary feeling in the kingdom, and means something bad will happen to the kingdom.
Lady Macbeth and the witches have both planted the seed of ambition inside of Macbeth Because of Lady Macbeth’s wicked behavior, which resulted in Macbeth’s evil transition; he was led to become a murderer. Macbeth should not be held accountable for his actions completely since she is the one who lead him towards committing both crimes. The major theme ambition and greed for power have played a key part in Macbeth’s fall from a great Scottish general to a murderer. People should be content on what they have and not strive for things which destroy a person even if we are influenced. In this case Shakespeare’s thought proving play of Macbeth.
Macbeth, who at the beginning of his play’s plot is in a position of some honor and power, obtains position as king of Scotland through secretive foul play, spurred on by some external manipulation as well as personal ambition. “Macbeth’s ambition is unchecked by both moral and legal considerations-he will stop at nothing to get what he desires… Macbeth’s unbridled ambition is the root of the play’s evil because he is willing to throw the world into chaos in order to satisfy his personal desires.” (Thrasher, 92). His rebellion is heinous, but so long undiscovered. His ambition, though present in some degree from the beginning, metastasizes within him through the play as more obstacles to his retention of royal status crop up. “He begins well…but this...
Strauss, Leo. Machiavelli’s Intention: The Prince . Ed. Leo Strauss. N.p., 1958. Web. 1 Dec. 2010. .