Foreshadow's Ambition In Macbeth

Unchecked ambition to attain goals is conveyed in William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth, as not having proper deservance of these goals will lead to demise. He exemplifies this by illustrating Macbeth’s downfall, as he sought supremacy and predominance for himself because of of his reckless ambition motivating him to obtain power using easier, but more wrongful alternatives. Macbeth’s metamorphosis of change is a result of numerous outside influences used to foreshadow occurrences in short-lived tyrannical reign as king.

As conveyed in the beginning of the story, Macbeth is someone who is admired for his heroic actions and demeanor. Due to Macbeth containing hamartia (a tragic flaw that leads to someone’s demise), Macbeth undergoes a series

of change that leads to his quietus. Macbeth’s fatal flaw is his unchecked ambition and the way it fogs his view on his goals. While his ambition greatly increases over the course of the play, it is still very present in the beginning, as he is a very focused, well known soldier.

After murdering King Duncan, so he himself can become king, was something that he had wished he had not done, as he killed his own relative, for his own gain. Though Macbeth would have wanted to stop he could not stop his own ambition, “I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself And falls on th' other,” (Macbeth, I,vii,25-28), which led to himself being governed by ambition. After the success of the first stage of his plan, he decides to look deeper into the prophecy conceived by the witches. Worried that the rest of the prophecy will come true, and Banquo’s children will be kings, he murders both Banquo and his son, Fleance. In doing so Banquo is slain by murderers hired by Macbeth. This plan is spearheaded by Macbeth as, does not have any children to pass the crown down upon, and is frightened by the idea of Banquo’s children on the throne, “Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown And put a barren scepter in my grip, Thence to be wrenched with an unlineal hand, No son of mine succeeding. If ’t be so, For Banquo’s issue have I filed my mind; For them the gracious Duncan have I murdered; Put rancors in the vessel of my peace Only for them; and mine eternal jewel Given to the common enemy of man, To make them

kings, the seed of Banquo kings!” (Macbeth, III,i,64-73). With his ambition in full control now, Macbeth is obsessed with eliminating any threats to his power. As the witches warned him of Macduff, and the fact that Macduff is building an army in England to attack Scotland and place Malcolm on the throne, Macbeth murders Macduff’s family to eliminate this threat, but to also send a message to Macduff that, Macbeth is not afraid of Macduff, as well as to display Macduff as a traitor, while demonstrating the punishment of treason. This is the moment which seals Macbeth’s fate. By murdering Macduff’s family, he assures himself that Macduff will retaliate, and attempt to murder him. This moment is the epitome of Macbeth’s unchecked ambition leading to his ultimate downfall.

Shakespeare establishes Macbeth as a dynamic character as he undergoes a complete transfiguration from the start of the play to its cessation.

As numerous outside sources attempted to superintend his existence, “What beast was't, then, That made you break this enterprise to me? When you durst do it, then you were a man; And to be more than what you were, you would. Be so much more the man,” (Lady Macbeth, I,vii,47-51), he became a being driven by his own blind ambition. As he was skeptical about committing the first murder; "Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself, And falls on the other." (Macbeth, I,vii,26-28), he became enveloped by greed which compelled him to continue committing heinous acts, leaving a bloodshed in his wake. The origins of his tyranny can be traced back to the play’s initial act, as Macbeth stumbled across the three witches. Macbeth’s was dictated by this meager instance. As the words “All hail, Macbeth. Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor,” (Second Witch, I,iii,50), escaped the Second Witch’s lips, Macbeth found himself perplexed at the idea of himself, actually inheriting the title of Thane of Cawdor. Little did he know, he received the title, Thane of Cawdor, the ensuing day. As the prophesied events commenced, his ambition, was fueled, as he became a heartless, reckless person with little compassion for others. This lead him to murder Banquo; the witches presented the idea of Banquo’s children on the throne; and Macduff, as the witches warned Macbeth

of him. This was due to his first stage of his plan to place himself (and his children) atop the throne. As Macbeth celebrated his newfangled title, Lady Macbeth was orchestrating the ultimate power move, that would cement their name on the throne for generations. By questioning Macbeth’s manhood, she was able to persuade him to commit the initial murder that would set her plan into action. She guilts Macbeth, into committing the violent act, “Does unmake you. I have given suck, and know, How tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me. I would, while it was smiling in my face, Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums And dash'd the brains out, had I so sworn as you, Have done to this,” (Lady Macbeth, I,vii,55-60), stating that if she felt the same way Macbeth was feeling she would not go on her word to him, using Macbeth to fulfill her goals. Whilst Macbeth is the one effectuating the violent deeds, other sources are particularly responsible for coordinating his fall into madness and tyranny.

Shakespeare expresses how unchecked ambition, can lead to demise, in Macbeth, by demonstrating how wrongful methods to obtain goals, and the influence of others, can push someone to the edge leading to an overall downfall. He brilliantly crafts this ideas while conveying the idea that a fatal flaw can affect the deservance of some goals. This craftsmanship encompasses how unforeseen acts can shift someone’s worldview leading them to large differences in their lives.