Ambition A word described as: “a strong desire to do or to achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work” is very well known as ambition. Ambition is seen a lot in The Tragedy of Macbeth however, in this case, Macbeth uses ambition and causes a negative effect. Macbeth thought he worked his way up when the whole time he was digging his own grave due to his evil ambitions. He went from a noble general to a corrupt power-seeker who is responsible for countless murderers. The main purpose this evil ambition started was because of lady Macbeth and his poor decision-making skills. Lady Macbeth used peer pressure and literally called out Macbeth’s masculinity by saying he wasn’t “manly’ enough to do it. In other words, Macbeth …show more content…
His determination had ow been infected by the witches’ prophecies of nothing but blessing for Macbeth led him to become blind. He soon became ignorant and killed everyone that stood in his way. however, he started getting paranoid and guilty of his actions when he started imagining Banquo. Macbeths ambitions had a series of Consequences in the play. Macbeth is called a tyrant and Lady Macbeth commits suicide. Also, Shakespeare does not give either character the opportunity to enjoy what they have achieved perhaps suggesting that it is more satisfying to achieve your goals fairly than to achieve them through corruption. Eventually, the reader recognizes Macbeth as an evil person who must be stopped. McDuff is the one straps on the armor and sets out to gain revenge for his family. He and Macbeth meet on the battle field and just before McDuff kills him, Macbeth questions his ability to do so because of the witches’ prophecy. No one who is born of a woman should harm Macbeth but what he doesn’t know is that McDuff’s mother died just before giving birth to him. In the end, Macbeth’s ambition didn’t pay off like it seemed it would and actually landed him six feet
In the play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare, there is a deep relation to ambition. Macbeth's ambition started after the witches told him that he was going to be king after Duncan died, so then Macbeth and Lady Macbeth just decided to kill Duncan. After this first murder he then decided that he would do anything to keep his crown, since he was so hungry for power. Guilt soon got the best of him which then led to his demise.
Just like any of us, Macbeth’s ambition caused him to be easily influenced. Based on the text, the witches say to Macbeth and Banquo, “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!” “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee Thane of Cawdor!” “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, that shalt be king hereafter!” After the witches speak his prophecy, Macbeth with great interest and desire then asks to here more about what the witches have to say. Soon after Macbeth was given the name Thane of Cawdor, he believed what the witches said had some truth to it causing his ambition to be influenced by the wicked weird sisters. When Macbeth tells his wife, Lady Macbeth about the prophecy, Macbeth’s ambition then faces Lady Macbeth’s influence. According to the
Ambition leads to the downfall of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth had a reputation for being honorable and loyal. Macbeth’s ambition was always present, but it became stronger when he heard the prophecy from the three witches. Macbeth is willing to kill whoever gets in his way in order to fulfill his deepest desires, he basically
Where is there a page in William Shakespeare's tragic play Macbeth which does not present the selfish virtue of personal ambition. This paper addresses the problem of ambition in the drama.
Macbeth takes his first step toward becoming evil when he is confronted with the knowledge that he will be king. When the witches tell him "All hail, Macbeth! that shalt be king thereafter!" he makes the mistake of letting his ambition overrule his judgment. If his judgment had remained intact in the face of the witches' powerful prophecy, he certainly would have decided not to let his actions be dictated by a prophecy given to him by three strange witches who evade most of the questions he asks. With great trepidation and considerable pressure from Lady Macbeth, he commits his second mistake by proceeding to murder King Duncan. Driven by a persecution complex that starts with the knowledge that Banquo is meant to be the f...
...it by his wife, Macbeth is plagued with guilt when he sees Banquo’s apparition, and him being panic-stricken by the prophecy all exhibit the fallacy of Macbeth’s character. Were it not for the external factors that surround Macbeth within the play, then maybe there was a chance that he would have never committed the acts. “Out, out, brief candle! Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more” (5.5.26-29). Macbeth reflects on his exceedingly ambitious life and how it really had no meaning to the world. Because Macbeth never got to enjoy any of his accomplishments in life, Shakespeare proposes that it is far better to achieve your goals fairly rather than foully. Also, if Macbeth followed his ethical instinct the result would have never transgressed into his death, or perhaps it was just meant to be.
William Shakespeare's great tragedy, Macbeth is a play based more on character than deed. The play is a journey along the life of Macbeth, beginning at the apex of his career and following him to his demise. The cause of this sudden deterioration has been debated for centuries. Some attribute Macbeth's quick degeneration to ambition. Although Macbeth is not lacking in ambition, this is not the essential element that causes his demise. It is fear that permeates Macbeth--utter cowardice drives his will into sinful acts resulting in regression. Cowardice, not ambition, is the main and underlying factor which causes Macbeth to kill Duncan, to murder Banquo and to seek the aid of the witches.
In the play of “Macbeth”, Shakespeare gradually and effectively deepens our understanding of the themes and most importantly the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The main theme of Macbeth is ambition, and how it compels the main characters to pursue it. The antagonists of the play are the three witches, who symbolise the theme appearance and reality. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s relation is an irony throughout the play, as most of their relation is based on greed and power. This is different from most of Shakespeare’s other plays, which are mostly based on romance and trust. There is also guilt that leads Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to the final consequences of the play. As the progresses, the constant changes in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are exposed.
Macbeth shows how greed and ambition can bring down a person as well as others and how the changes of power occur because of loyalty and betrayal. Macbeth is the play’s main unhappy character. The play tells of Macbeth's greedy thirst for power is a dangerous trait.
Macbeth's major flaw in his ambition, is that only near the end does he realize enough is enough. “... Either Macbeth falls very quickly into the suggestive net that the Weird Sisters have begun to thread, or that his prior thoughts of killing Duncan and taking the throne have reemerged after the battle”(H.R Coursen 31). Macbeth believes that it is Lady Macbeth who awakens his ambition for the crown, but it is possible that these thoughts already existed. Macbeth has respect for Duncan, even referring to him as “cousin,” yet it becomes clear that he is infatuated with the power of kingship.
Words are the basic elements of the English written language. With words, one can say precisely what one wants to say, a skill that Shakespeare has mastered. In Macbeth, he carefully chooses each word so as to say exactly what he wants to say, and often leaves these words open to the reader’s interpretation. One such carefully chosen word is the word “slave,” a simple word meaning “someone entirely under the dominion of a person or an influence” (Random House, 674). Although this word appears only four times within the play, it’s importance should not be underestimated. Every time that Shakespeare chooses to use the word “slave” he is using it to show a “slave of ambition,” an important symbol within the play.
Ambition and desire are double-edged notions present in all who crave success and power. While ambition is most often associated with unfavorable greed and overwhelming need, people who express this desire are simultaneously praised for being goal-oriented and steadfast in achieving their goals. In the play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, this duality of ambition is explored through the character of Lady Macbeth. In the play, Lady Macbeth’s husband, Macbeth, is prophesied to be king, and in order to expedite his path to the throne and their combined rise to power, Lady Macbeth plots to murder the current King Duncan. Throughout her Act I soliloquy, Lady Macbeth reveals not only her malevolent and scheming nature, but also profound determination
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, first published in 1606, is an endearing tale outlining the dangers of unchecked ambition and moral betrayal. In the subsequent centuries after first being performed, Macbeths critics have been divided upon whether Macbeth himself was irrevocably evil, or if he was guided by the manipulation and actions of the women in the play to his ultimate demise. Although Lady Macbeth and the witches were influential with their provocations in the opening acts, it is ultimately Macbeth’s inherent immorality and his vaulting ambition, that result in the tragic downfall. It was Macbeth’s desire for power that abolished his loyalty and trustworthiness and led him down a path of murder. It is evident through his actions and words
In Macbeth, Shakespeare confronts audiences with universal and powerful themes of ambition and evil along with its consequences. Shakespeare explores the powerful theme of the human mind’s decent into madness, audiences find this theme most confronting because of its universal relevance. His use of dramatic devices includes soliloquies, animal imagery, clear characterisation and dramatic language. Themes of ambition and mental instability are evident in Lady Macbeth’s reaction to Macbeth’s letter detailing the prophecies, Macbeth’s hallucinations of Banquo’s ghost and finally in the scene where Lady Macbeth is found sleep walking, tortured by her involvement.
Macbeth blind ambition makes it hard for others to follow and lead them. Being King of Scotland is his one goal he wants to accomplish, with Lady Macbeth's help on his side, they could rule Scotland. His subsequent destruction turns him into a threatening human-being and starts to lose his followers, making him a lone wolf in battle. His menacing actions he has done to the kingdom gets him killed by Macduff. All these tragedy elements make up the important key parts to the book