To achieve a goal, you need to dream it, set your mind to it, and accomplish it. This explains Macbeth's speedy rise to the throne in Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Macbeth makes quick work of becoming king because he sets his mind to his ambitions and accomplishes them with Lady Macbeth's support pushing him. However, sometimes harmless ambitions set in motion a path of negative and harmful actions required to achieve them.
Macbeth's hasty rise to the throne is due to obtaining knowledge of the future and possessing an overwhelming amount of ambition. When he hears the prophecy, Macbeth is filled with such strong ambition that he can not wait for Duncan to die naturally, so Macbeth murders Duncan as soon as the opportunity arises (1.7).
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This action propels Macbeth to King. The prophecy only helps Macbeth a bit with obtaining the crown because without his ambitions, nothing would have come of hearing the prophecy. Macbeth's ambition overrides logic and allows him to only consider the positive results of his actions -- the crown. Macbeth also realizes this as he says, "I have no spur/To prick the sides of my intent, but only/Vaulting ambition which o'erleaps itself" (1.7). This oversight also stems from Lady Macbeth's support and her concealment of the negative effects. The prophecy and Macbeth's ambition start him on the course of his negative pathway, but obtaining the crown as quickly as he does would be impossible without the support of Lady Macbeth.
Lady Macbeth's support obscures the negative consequences that Macbeth considers, such as the time Macbeth wonders if he really wants hell to be his final destination saying, "That summons thee to heaven or to hell" (2.1). Lady Macbeth assures him all will be fine and manipulates him into thinking that this act will dictate whether he becomes king (1.7). Lady Macbeth manipulates him only because she loves Macbeth and wants him to reach his goal. Although inadvertently, she leads him further down the negative pathway beginning with encouraging his pursuit of the crown with …show more content…
murder. The crown's hasty change of hands required Macbeth's trifecta of hearing the prophecy, acknowledging his ambitions, and following Lady Macbeth's encouragement. Without the prophecy, being king would be a distant reality for him, but after hearing it, he realizes becoming king is his future (1.3). He knows not of the when, so he decides the when himself, allowing him to take the title much quicker. The prophecy focuses Macbeth on his ambitions. This factor allows him to murder the king and chambermaids. He wants to be king, so he makes it happen regardless of the consequences or sacrifices, even giving up heaven (2.1). All Lady Macbeth wants is for her husband's ambitions to come true, so she takes on the role of being his backbone and pushing him when doubts invade his mind. If her support ceased, then Macbeth would lose all resolve because in the midst of carrying out the murder, he hesitates (2.1). Macbeth's hasty ascension to the throne is the result of overpowering ambition that overrides all logic. Even today, people allow their dreams to rule their lives, while foregoing all logic.
For example, if a boy sees himself becoming a man like his dad, he has knowledge on how to act by modeling his father. This pertains to having the knowledge to carry out an ambition and to focus the boy's dreams. Modeling after his father, the boy soon learns that to be a man, according to Jon Katz it means "never admit fear...never discuss anything of substance..." (452). These rules help the boy to set his ambitions. Boys will push each other by challenging and pressuring one another. The boy and his friends start to pressure one another into participating in activities they do not agree with, so they can fit in and not be the wimp or the scared one (Katz, 451). This is similar to the support provided by Lady Macbeth in Macbeth. Deborah Roffman describes the effect perfectly in the article she wrote about the saying "boys will be boys" (417). Boys rationalize the reasons they do things because everyone adheres to this saying, and that gives them a go ahead (Roffman, 418). With the pressure of friends, fathers, older siblings, and themselves, boys all have roles to play and pressure to please people, just like Macbeth faced. This is where they start to follow the negative pathway that lacks logic. Each would do anything to achieve their ambitions and not let down themselves or those who believe in them, even if it defies
logic. Logic allows people to analyze their motivations and actions, whether it is pressuring someone or committing murder. Both the boy and Macbeth let their logic be overruled by their ambitions and the pressure of loved ones. Both start with harmless goals, but their ambitions lead to negative actions, and the support they received solidified that pathway. A little thought would help both to speculate their ambitions and see that there are multiple ways to achieve them. Macbeth could have realized the witches only said he would be king, not how, so in the end he did not need to kill anyone (1.3). If logic was in use, Macbeth would have realized that although Lady Macbeth wanted what was best for him, she was going about it the wrong way. Logic is necessary to prevent wrongdoing, even without the intention to do so. Macbeth struggled with understanding the depth of his ambitions and where Lady Macbeth's support was coming from; he did not use logic. Ambitions are never meant to cause harm, and loved ones never mean to cause harm with their support and encouragement, but sometimes they do. To make sure we do not make mistakes similar to Macbeth's, where our ambitions and never-ending support override logic, we must try to determine the end result of actions, like Macbeth starts to, but we must not let others downplay the end result.
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 Even though Macbeth is influenced by Lady Macbeth and the witches throughout the play, his hamartia causes him to do things that he might not have done. When Macbeth receives his prophecy from the witches about becoming king, it causes him to believe that it will come true. In all actuality, the prophecy causes him to commit murder so he can become king, but at the same time the witches knew this would happen. Macbeth is driven mad when he tries to make the witches prophecy come true. When he commits the murder of Duncan, the madness begins, and from that point on he is in a state of paranoia.
At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is a trusted soldier, who is honest and noble. Unfortunately, he meets three witches who tell him three prophecies; that he will become thane of Cawdor, that he will become king and that Banquo’s sons will become kings. These three prophecies slowly change his opinions on life and turn him into a greedy, dishonest, tyrant, full of ambition. Lady Macbeth’s thoughts change as well when she is told about the three prophecies that were told to Macbeth. In the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth is ambitious, controlling and domineering. She is the one who encourages him to kill the king, she not only encourages him, she makes all the plans herself, which shows her determination and persistence."Yet I do fear thy nature, it is too full o’th milk of human kindness. To catch the nearest way thou wouldst be great. Art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it." (Act 1, scene 5). Lady Macbeth is the force behind Macbeth’s sudden ambition and she tries to manipulate him into feeling guilty and unmanly for not following through with the murder, by using her husbands emotions, she manages to convince Macbeth to murder Duncan.
Macbeth is captured by his wild ambition at the opening of the play when he and Banqou meet the three witches. The witches tell Macbeth that he is the Thane of Cawdor, and later will be king. They tell Banquo that his sons will be kings. Instantly Macbeth started to fantasize how he is going to be king. He understood that in order for him to become king he has to kill Duncan. “My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical”(Act 1 Sc. 3, p.23). He was pondering about the assassination until the moment that he could no longer control his emotions. “To prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which overleaps itself and falls on the other-“(Act 1 Sc. 7, p.41). Because of his “vaulting ambition” he killed Duncan.
Macbeth is a worthy soldier and a brave one. He is on a quest when the then thane of Cawdor retaliated against King Duncan. He lost obviously. So the title was given to Macbeth. He and Banquo then meet three weird witches. They then give them three prophecies.
Ambition is frequently seen as desirable - it provides purpose, motivation to work hard, and a goal to strive towards. Yet it also has a dangerous side, when it becomes too great and out of control. Although ambition is often positive, excess of it can have detrimental effects. This unrestrained ambition is predominant in the tragedy of Macbeth. In this play, Shakespeare employs the use of hallucination, blood, and prophecy motifs to emphasize the theme of ambition, which, when goes unchecked by moral constraints, wreaks destruction upon an individual.
It was predetermined by fate that Macbeth would believe the witches' words. When Macbeth does in fact become thane of Cawdor, he then believes fully in the witches and is willing to do anything it takes to become king. This willingness to do whatever is necessary to become the king of Scotland is also what causes Macbeth to commit so many murders, the first of which is Duncan. In order for Macbeth to be king, the current king must die and his successors must be unavailable for the throne. Fate plays a huge hand in the way that Duncan's murder plays out.
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.
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
Firstly, he defeats his enemies. Next he is praised by the other soldiers and King Duncan appoints him as the Thane. For example, if a person desires for a manager title, the person will work hard to earn it, and it is possible that other workers will see this and boost the chief individual’s desire. It is from here that the person might think they deserve the title and look for more power. Similarly, Macbeth must have thought somewhere in his mind to be king. In the book Witches’ Caldron: a study of motive in Shakespeare’s Macbeth Dr. K.C. Mathur says that although the witches did prophesy he would be king and even boosted his desire “They did not create the thought of murder of King Duncan. It was Macbeth’s own latent ambition embodying his power drive and seeking affirmation that invites the witches.” (Witches Caldron, 6) Dr. Mathur also says “Macbeth had acquired this status and it is not surprising that he thinks of achieving higher status by being aggressive and domineering. It is this psychological impulse that is projected in his ambition for the crown and not any criminal instinct or latent evil.” (6) There was a negative environment of witches and the association of Lady Macbeth around Macbeth which influenced him to murder. The environment creates a huge part in the play and if he had a good environment it is possible that he would have remained loyal to King
In the play Macbeth, Macbeth's ambition was to become king. But the only that he saw fit to become king was to kill Duncan. Duncan and Macbeth were cousins, and Duncan was a kind person to Macbeth. But Macbeth was blinded by his ambition. Macbeth said, "I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself and falls on the other," (Act I Scene VII). By this quote, Macbeth meant that the only reason he sees to kill Duncan was because he wanted to become king. He didn't think about the future consequences or repercussions. At first Macbeth was loyal, but his ambition overcame his morals a kind-heartedness and made him evil.
Macbeth, whom initially was a very reasonable and moral man, could not hold off the lure of ambition. This idea is stated in the following passage: "One of the most significant reasons for the enduring critical interest in Macbeth's character is that he represents humankind's universal propensity to temptation and sin. Macbeth's excessive ambition motivates him to murder Duncan, and once the evil act is accomplished, he sets into motion a series of sinister events that ultimately lead to his downfall." (Scott; 236). Macbeth is told by three witches, in a seemingly random and isolated area, that he will become Thank of Cawdor and eventually king. Only before his ambition overpowers his reasoning does he question their motives. One place this questioning takes place is in the following passage:
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.
Though tentative at first, it is clear the Macbeth desires to be king. As explained by Hunt, his current, newly appointed title is not enough for him as “ the augmentation of titles cannot appease the insatiability of desire, which never rests content with the new title but continues to feel the pain of existential hunger, of mortal incompleteness.” (hunt), leading him to desire for greater power. While the witches mention Macbeth’s possible rise to kingship through the death of Duncan, it is Macbeth who jumps to the possibility of the king’s murder saying, “If good, why do I yield to that suggestion Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair And make my seated heart knock at my ribs, Against the use of nature? Present fears Are less than horrible imaginings. (1.3.138-142).” There are many ways that the king could die, yet it is his desire for power leads him to pick the speediest path to the king’s end. Macbeth does in fact end up killing the king, as well as his best friend to protect his claim to power. From there he quickly becomes drunk with his rule and starts to terrorize the land, forgetting his morals and saying that he’ll just do whatever he feels when ever he feels like it. These actions lead to his death along with the many others who starve or bleed under his rule. Because of his desire for power, Macbeth causes the destruction of his soul, the end of his life
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.