Macbeth Unchecked Ambition Essay

Humans have an instinctual desire for what others possess. However, when these desires are acted upon, it can lead one to stray from their true human character. In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, greed and ambition cause characters to deviate from principled behaviour to an evil nature. Ambition freed from moral guidelines may fulfill one’s desires, but at the cost of distancing oneself from their true personality. Each character’s ambition results in selfish tendencies and causes them to focus on futile wants, which poorly reflect what truly matters in life. Within the play, paranoia, guilt, and loss of innocence are direct consequences of unchecked ambition and evidence of the deterioration of one’s essence. Heightened paranoia indicates that

the characters have become aware of the dangers of their ambition. Coupled with this, guilt is a consequence of excessive greed and ambition. Although the satisfaction of temporarily fulfilling their aspirations seems to justify their violence, the characters’ conscience burdens them with guilt as an attempt to correct their actions. Unable to adhere to what truly matters in life, characters lose their innocence and purity, which further fuels their ambition and isolates them from the person they should be. Unconstrained greed and excessive ambition results in the deterioration of one’s true human character as manifested in paranoia, guilt, and corruption of innocence.
Macbeth’s succession of crimes based on greed and ambition, transform his noble and conscientious nature to one overcome by paranoia.

His ambition corrupts his judgment and rationality, leading him to make impulsive decisions out of desperation to secure the throne. Paranoia, in the wake of unchecked ambition, drives Macbeth to an unstable mental state as he attempts to remove evidence of his past crimes. After committing regicide, Macbeth is filled with the paranoia of being overthrown as king, causing him to be overly suspicious of others. Unlike Duncan’s heavily debated murder, Macbeth chooses to kill Banquo and Fleance with fear as his only motive. Deciding to murder his best friend for the temporary satisfaction associated with power is evident when Macbeth states, “Our fears in Banquo / Stick deep, and in his royalty of nature / Reigns that which would be feared / … / My genius is rebuked, as it is said / Mark Antony’s was by Caesar” (Shakespeare III.i.53-62). Alluding to Mark Antony’s betrayal of his friendship with Caesar, Macbeth contrasts his violent nature to Banquo’s good character and he recognizes that his decision to murder Banquo is immoral and solely based on fear. Macbeth’s paranoia of Banquo is a disease that disfigures his true nature and transforms him into a tyrant. Paranoid thoughts in the wake of immoral crimes contribute to the destruction of the human character and exemplify the treachery caused by excessive ambition and

greed.
A strong, determined, and ruthless nature motivated by ambition can be significantly weakened by paranoia. Lady Macbeth is presented as masculine and ambitious. However, she begins to deteriorate into a paranoid and tormented mental state after she partakes in unprincipled behaviour. Her once ambitious persona that gave her strength and power contorts into paranoid thoughts, manifesting itself through her sleepwalking. The darkness Lady Macbeth originally embraced is now feared, exemplified by her attempts to dispel both literal and psychological darkness using light: “Why, it stood by her. She has light by / her continually. ‘Tis her command” (Shakespeare IV.i.24-25). Her conscience becomes obsessed with righting itself and utilizes paranoia to discourage Lady Macbeth from reverting back to her evil state. Since the darkness previously served as her cover for her crimes, her need for light proves that her paranoia has left her fragile and afraid of her actions and their consequences. Lady Macbeth’s mental demise and overwhelming paranoia of darkness parallel with the destruction of her human essence and proves the dangers of unbridled ambition.
One’s mental state can become afflicted with guilt and regret if ambition disregards ethical behaviour. Macbeth is mentally tortured by his burdened conscience as a result of his ambition deviating him from his good character. Similar to Macbeth’s lack of preparation for being king, he is ill-prepared to deal with the repercussions of his unchecked ambition. Consequently, his guilt manifests into the ghost of Banquo and vividly reveals the extent of Macbeth’s remorse: “Avaunt! and quit my sight! Let the earth hide thee! Thy bones are marrowless; thy blood is cold” (Shakespeare III.iv.112-113). Incapable of witnessing the fatal consequences of his ambition, Macbeth’s character is struck with remorse and he evolves into an emotionally unstable tyrant. Akin to how Macbeth is unable to escape the ghost of Banquo, he cannot escape his burdened conscience. These guilty apparitions psychologically damage Macbeth, provoking more crimes and further impair his judgment. Macbeth’s morals no longer have an impact on his decision making, destroying his remaining humanity. Guilt, a result of Macbeth’s immoral actions to satisfy his ambition, infects and reduces Macbeth to a shell of his once honourable self.
Even the cruelest and most ruthless characters are weakened by guilt, a consequence of their crimes. Lady Macbeth exemplifies the internal struggle of maintaining a persona of strength while finding peace with one’s guilt. Her dominant nature is destroyed by her remorse, which is acknowledged by the doctor who states, “Unnatural deeds / Do breed unnatural troubles … More needs she the divine than the physician” (Shakespeare V.ii.75-78). Her guilt is on display and deemed incurable, leaving her to face her burdened conscience alone. The legacies of her crimes stain her conscience and reduce her to a state of mental insanity for which there is no recovery, thus proving the dangers associated with ambition and greed. After the bloody deeds, Lady Macbeth falls victim to guilt and her ambitious nature is no longer her source of power, but her weakness. Her future suicide indicates the depth of her remorse and the demise of her personal strength. The extent of Lady Macbeth’s tormented mind is seen through her subconscious controlling her sleep. Thus, ambition and greed have transformed Lady Macbeth from a person of strength and ruthlessness to a guilt-ridden and weak individual.
Immoral actions result in a person’s loss of innocence and identity. When one no longer abides by accepted moral behaviour and instead acts maliciously, one’s purity and goodness is lost. Therefore, when Macbeth disregards his morals to pursue his ambitions, his good nature is lost and he is no longer considered an innocent man. Macbeth’s previous personality and integrity are evident through Lady Macbeth’s own perception of him before committing murder: “Yet do I fear thy nature; / it is too full o’th’milk of human kindness / To catch the nearest way … Art not without ambition, but without / The illness that should attend it” (Shakespeare I.v.16-20). Through Lady Macbeth’s dialogue, one can conclude that Macbeth does not possess the malicious nature required to commit murder until his ambition takes its toll. After being infected with ambition and greed for power, Macbeth loses his innocence and becomes corrupted with violent and evil behaviour. His previous virtue and goodness are foreign to his newfound ambition, resulting in the abandonment of his true self. With his loss of identity, Macbeth’s decisions to murder those around him begin the downward spiral of his humanity. Devoid of the goodness and innocence once inside of him, Macbeth’s downfall is inevitable and the consequences are severe. The innocence Macbeth possesses diminishes as he pursues his ambition and greed, resulting in the demise of his true spirit.
Femininity is often viewed by society as a weakness and therefore undesirable.

In reality, these feminine qualities can help maintain a level of innocence and internal goodness. Lady Macbeth, unaware of the dangers of casting off her feminine attributes, loses her purity and innocence in favour of indulging in her greed and ambition. By embodying a lack of femininity, she no longer possesses compassion and instead nurses aggression and violence, thus leaving herself open to immoral actions. This is depicted through her statement to Macbeth: “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 dashed the brains out” (Shakespeare I.vii.62-66). Through this quote, Shakespeare hints at the loss of femininity and innocence Lady Macbeth once possessed when she was a mother. The audience is introduced to Lady Macbeth the moment her ambition is sparked by Macbeth’s letter, which hides her previous empathetic and loving nature. Unlike Macbeth, where we bear witness to his character before and after his ambition takes over, Lady Macbeth is only depicted following her corruption of innocence. This falsely portrays her as completely evil, when in reality she suffered from the same character change as Macbeth. Although her innocence was corrupted faster than Macbeth’s, the dangers of unchecked ambition and the destruction it can have on the human character remains

evident. Lady Macbeth’s innocence is lost and her maternal nature destroyed, highlighting that unchecked ambition and greed has a significant negative impact on humanity.
The concepts of unchecked ambition and greed presented in Macbeth are vices that lead to the destruction of the one’s human nature, as evidenced by paranoia, guilt and a loss of innocence. Chasing vain desires without a moral compass may lead to a quicker route to success, but such shortcuts provide only temporary happiness. The play highlights the dangers of allowing ambition to corrupt one’s nature, seen through several factors. Paranoia clouds the judgment of characters and furthers them from conscientious behaviour. The additional psychological consequence of unchecked ambition is guilt. The true nature and innocence of the characters are lost amongst unbridled ambition, resulting in a change from who they should be to an evil and corrupt nature. This leads one to conclude that the end does not justify the means.