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Ambition of a Rider A highly ambitious character that fails is a literary motif throughout literature. When most people hear ambition, they usually think of someone having strong will to succeed. The term “ambition” is referred to as a positive entity, where a person has a strong drive to accomplish something. Too much ambition can lead to extreme needs and can result in greediness and self-destruction. Someone who is too ambitious can lose track of their principles and be easily influenced by a psychopath. There is a list of characteristics and behaviors that prescribe a person as a psychopath. Psychopath’s can often be violent or make irrational decisions. Their personalities can lack remorse/shame, be untruthful, and have many more flaws. …show more content…
In William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, Lord Macbeth is influenced by his ambitions and the psychopath Lady Macbeth leading him to show no impulse control and lacks empathy for those around him. Early on, Macbeth’s ambition hits a peak when he meets three witches. They show him his prophecy which says; “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis!, All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!”(Act.1 Sc.3 Line 50-53). When Macbeth first hears this from the witches, he does not think much of it. Banquo repeats it to him and says how it is such a great prophecy. Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth about his findings, and she sees it as huge step to her becoming queen. She uses her motives to cloud Macbeth’s thoughts with the ambition of becoming King. Her ideas lure Macbeth into losing empathy and putting his focus on making his prophecy a reality. Macbeth’s ambition continues to grow as he is influenced to go on and murder the king. Macbeth’s plan is to take out Duncan and in the beginning he shows no signs of impulse control and no rational thinking and does not think twice about his decisions. Macbeth wants to kill Duncan and says; “Which now suits with it. While I threat, he lives. Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives. I go, and it is done. The bell invites me. Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell that summons thee to heaven or to hell” (Act.2 Sc.1 Line 73-77). Macbeth is telling himself that while he is waiting Duncan is still breathing. He tells himself he need to act now! The sound of the bell is telling him he must go, if Duncan doesn’t hear the bell then it is his own fault for his murder. Macbeth says something truly profound - he is the judge of whether Duncan goes to heaven or to hell. Most people think many times before they do something significant. Not once does Macbeth talk about the consequences or whether killing the king is perhaps a bad idea. He is certain that killing Duncan is the right thing to do and he wants to get the job done. Macbeth has decided that it is done his choice has been made, there’s no turning back, he has to fulfill his prophecy. Macbeth’s ambition is driven, he forgets about his principles/morals, and turns into a sociopath. Lady Macbeth creates the rationale for Macbeth to fulfill his prophecy and make it become a reality. Macbeth’s ambition was very dangerous, he lost touch of humanity.
He wants a perfect world where everything can go his way, forgetting about other people’s existence. As a result a common trait with psychopaths is that they lack empathy; Macbeth does not care for the general population very much. He states that; “Had I but died an hour before this chance, I had lived a blessed time; for from this instant. There's nothing serious in mortality, all is but toys. Renown and grace is dead. The wine of life is drawn, and the mere lees is left this vault to brag of’’ (Act.2 Sc.3 Line 110). Macbeth wishes that he died before the king was murdered, so he can say he lived a perfect life. He believes that nothing else in life matters, and compares humans to inanimate toys. The king is dead, so happiness all over the world is gone and the world is in ashes. Macbeth is being very stoic when the king dies, lacking empathy saying one man's death is the ruins of all civilization. A psychopath does not care if other people are hurt, they only care about accomplishing their goals. Macbeth says that all happiness is gone to him; he wishes he died before this event just to say his life was perfect. Macbeth is saying that everyone he has murdered, or deaths around him have no meaning. But Macbeth was the one that did this to Duncan, and he is guilty of this crime. Macbeth is angry at the world, acting like he cannot take responsibility for his actions. He says that the king's death is worth all …show more content…
lives around him, and nothing less. It is Lady Macbeth that drives him to make decisions that he will later regret. Macbeth had it in him to be psychopath, but I believe that Lady Macbeth charges him up to become more violent and influences him to make irrational actions or choices.
Lady Macbeth even says that she would do the same for him if he did things for her; “Does unmake you. I have given suck, 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, had I sworn as you have done to this” (Act. 1 Sc.7 Line 62-67). Lady Macbeth talks about how she has taken care of a child before etc. But then Lady Macbeth brings up that while the baby is feeding from her happily, she would throw it against a wall and kill it, just to prove her loyalty to him. Lady Macbeth would kill an innocent child, just to prove a point that she is candid with him. Lady Macbeth persuades Macbeth, and motivates him, like she is a puppeteer. Macbeth has it in him to be a psychopath with the demon inside him; Lady Macbeth was able to get it out of him and now the demon is free and it is making irrational decisions and he is reacting sociopathic. Lady Macbeth is his partner in crime, but instead of helping him, she motivates him to pursue bad motives, reassuring him that what he is doing is right. Macbeth could have been a different story if Macbeth had not been with Lady Macbeth. He could have hidden his treacherous ways and been a generous king and less violent. Perhaps another story would be; if Macbeth
was not in the royal family, and instead was born a commoner and known as Macbeth the sociopath pig farmer. He would raise pigs and then slaughter them, using his lack of judgment and frustrations on a good business. These alternatives could have saved Macbeth, but instead he was written after the path that was chosen for him by Lady Macbeth, and her manipulative ways. Macbeth was too ambitious, and the environment around him, Lady Macbeth, and certain events that happened led to him being an ill person. Macbeth had no impulse control nor did he have any empathy, but began to regret after he realized who he killed and what exactly he has done. He did not care for the mass population of people, and only cared for his goals to fulfill his prophecy of being a king and slaying all in his way. From the start of the story, it was obvious that Macbeth had problems, he did not have control of his actions and did things without a second thought. Macbeth was acting sociopathic temporarily, after murdering Duncan, and realizing what he had done. Macbeth then understood the actions he had executed were terrible, and was in far regret. People often say “money is the root of all evil” and in Macbeth’s case power was the essence that made him too ambitious to realize he was becoming a sociopath. Lady Macbeth’s persuasion and Macbeth’s own ambitions caused him to lose empathy and impulse control, making the Macbeths acquire power, but quickly lose it all; the dynamic duo of edacity.
In the beginning of the drama Lady Macbeth dramatically influenced Macbeth. Macbeth would always second guess his decisions. Macbeth seemed inclined to listen to his wife. Throughout the story, Lady Macbeth would find a way to twist Macbeth’s emotion. “When you durst do it, then you were a man; And to be more than what you where, you would be so much more the man” (Shakespeare, Macbeth 1.7 49-51). In this quote Lady Macbeth was insulting Macbeth, she was telling her husband he wasn’t man enough to kill King Duncan. “I have given suck, and know how tender ‘tis to love the babe that milks me: I would, while it was smiling…dashed its brains out, had I sworn as you have done to this” (Shakespeare, Macbeth 1.7 54-58). Lady Macbeth brings up the baby that they had together. The baby died long before she says this. She explains that she would “smash” its head for him. This became the turning point in Macbeth’s decision to kill Duncan. At first he was hesitant to kill him, but Lady Macbeth angered and then saddened Macbeth. She twisted his emotions and provided the motivation Macbeth needed to kill Duncan. This is the start to Macbeth reign as King.
When the play started Macbeth was a very loyal person towards the King, therefore the King treated Macbeth like a son. The king tells Macbeth that he is in great debt to Macbeth and there is no amount of money or land to repay Macbeth for his services. Macbeth responds to the King telling him that all he wants is for the King to accept his services and duties to his throne and kingdom (Act I, scene IV). Macbeth shows a great deal of friendliness when he invites King Duncan to his house (Act I, scene VI ). Macbeth is thoughtful and very compassionate in the way of the king but without the King's knowledge he has a plan to kill the King while the King is sleeping.
After a long and hard battle, the Sergeant says to King Duncan, “For brave Macbeth,-well he deserves that name,- disdaining fortune, with his brandish’d steel, which smok’d with bloody execution , like valour’s minion carv’d out his passage till he fac’d the slave;” (1.2.16) . This quote shows that Macbeth is viewed as a valiant soldier and a capable leader. However, it does not take long for the real Macbeth to be revealed- a blindly ambitious man, easily manipulated by the prospect of a higher status. His quest for power is what drives his insanity, and after having been deemed the Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth’s ambition can immediately be seen. In a soliloquy, Macbeth says, “Present fears are less than horrible imaginings; my thought, whose murder yet is but fantastica, shakes so my single state of man that function is smother’d in surmise, and nothing is but what is not” (1.3.140). Macbeth has just gained more power, and his immediate thought is of how to gain an even higher status as king. He imagines how to kill Duncan, and then is troubled by his thoughts, telling himself it is wrong. This inner struggle between Macbeth’s ambition and his hesitation to kill Duncan is the first sure sign of his mental deterioration. Although Macbeth does kill Duncan, he questions whether or not he should to do so, which is far different from how Macbeth feels about murder later in the play. Macbeth becomes king, and this power leads
He says, “Better be with the dead, whom we, to gain our peace, have sent to peace, than on the torture of the mind”(III.2.46). This quote takes place just before he does the daring deed and shows the reader that he knows it is not the right thing to do before he even goes to do it. His conscience tries to stay strong but he wants all the power as soon as possible so his conscience gives out and he decides that he will kill Duncan. He states before the domino effect of murders starts that he would rather be dead, than to be a guilty murderer. As the character gives into his dream of being the king he goes to do the deed and murder King Duncan. After he commits the murder, Macbeth feels immediate guilt. This is shown in a conversation with his wife yet again. He says, “I am afraid to think what I have done. Look on’t again I dare not”(II.2.56-57). This quote takes place right after the murder of King Duncan but he accidentally left the daggers in the bedroom with the corpse of Duncan. He immediately feels the guilt which is good for his conscience because he realizes he did something he should not have. He says to Lady Macbeth that he can not stand to even see what he has done anymore. Soon after Macbeth’s daring act his guilt begins to haunt him
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.
We start to see Lady Macbeth’s actions have a huge impact on Macbeth’s character as he transforms from a decent being to an overly bitter creature. The cause of his alteration is due to the fact that Lady Macbeth is constantly excreting heartless information into his mind. "Art thou afeard to be the same in thine own act and valour as thou art in desire?" (I;vii;39-41) "And, to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man." (I;vii;50-51) Lady Macbeth uses these quotes to push her husband beyond limits and is therefore responsible for his dramatic change in attitude. She is constantly feeding his thoughts with negative comments and later on Macbeth realizes that he has another side to him. As he moves along to discover the concealed side of him, Macbeth falls in love with himself and begins to be drawn towards his evil desires. Because Lady Macbeth was the main cause of his new hidden discovery, she is fully responsible for opening up the door and letting the darkness in. This results in Macbeth committing both murders.
Lady Macbeth negatively guides lots of Macbeth’s behaviour, for instance, when Macbeth hesitates to commit murder, she repeatedly questions his manhood until he feels that he has to do it to prove himself as the man that Lady Macbeth always mentioned; it is also one of the reasons that lead to Macbeth’s downfall, as well as the deaths of the other innocent characters in the text. “[Macbeth does] Like the poor cat i' th' adage? ”(1.7.46) says Lady Macbeth, when Macbeth is hesitating whether kill Duncan or not while he’s in Macbeth’s castle. Lady Macbeth describes Macbeth as a poor cat from old stories to satire Macbeth’s indecision. She degrades Macbeth’s manhood as he doesn’t have the dare to act the way he desires, to pursue the power and glory that he wants. Macbeth replies that he only dares to do what is proper for a man to do. However later in the text, Macbeth’s actions go crazy, he cares his family no more, as well as his friends and subordinates. Lady Macbeth seems to know that she needs to push Macbeth into committing murder, or Macbeth will just let nature take its course. At some points, she wishes that she was not a woman so that she could do the things that man could do by herself, such as the murder, so she won’t see Macbeth lacks in the power of decision and his overtaken by misgivings and fear. In addition, Julia encourages
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.
...rn day society, illusive ambitions can be incredibly detrimental, just as they are demonstrated to be in Macbeth. Ambitions, if they are untamed, can be an impediment to free will; they can overpower your good conscience, possibly leading you into causing death and destruction. They can also corrupt one’s mental health, while practically morphing that person’s perception of reality into something demonstrably wrong and twisted. Finally, they can boost ones ego to a point where that person is engulfed and imprisoned in the vehemence of their own denial, which can ultimately bear fatal consequences. If one’s hopes and desires are innately destructive, then it logically follows that that one’s ambition is also innately destructive; be wary of one with an immense ambition.
The vigorous desire to achieve and willingly attain something holds the capability to greatly affect one's life. William Shakespeare's play Macbeth establishes the immense effect and influence of ambition. After gaining power over his country Scotland, the protagonist, Macbeth, experiences an internal downfall as he battles between his wants and moral judgement. He struggles to maintain stable relationships with others as his selfish desires and goals hurt those around him when achieved. In addition to clashing with himself and others, he is seen as a tyrant leader and is slowly turned against by Scotland's nation as well as England. Shakespeare's play Macbeth provides the reader with a clear understanding of ambition's corrupting power in Shakespeare's tragic character Macbeth, through his inner conflicts, struggle to maintain stable relationships with those surrounding him, and clash with society.
After struggling with the thought of killing Duncan, Macbeth is reprimanded by Lady Macbeth for his lack of courage. She informs him that killing the king will make him a man, insinuating that he isn’t a man if he doesn’t go through with the murder. This develops Lady Macbeth as a merciless, nasty, and selfish woman. She will say, or do anything to get what she desires, even if it means harming others. It is this selfishness that makes it hard for the reader to be empathetic towards her later in the play, as it is evident in this scene that her hardships were brought on by herself. If she hadn’t insisted on the murder, she would not be driven in...
Macbeth is seen as a “valiant cousin, worthy gentleman” (I, ii, 24). He is a brave warrior who is well respected in his community, until the witches prophesied to him that he would one day be king (I, iii, 50). Macbeth interprets that he must act to fulfill the prophecy. He sends a letter to lady Macbeth asking what to do. She suggests that he should kill Duncan. Macbeth follows the plan and kills Duncan (II, ii, 15). Directly following the murder Macbeth can no longer say amen (II, iii, 31-33). Macbeth also hears a voice in his head say, “sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep”(II, ii, 35, 36). For the rest of the play Macbeth suffers from insomnia. When Macbeth pretends to be surprised by Duncan’s death he says, “ Had I but died an hour before this chance, I had lived a blessed time, for, from this instant, there’s nothing serious in mortality. (II, iii, 92-95) he is saying that if he had died before he murdered Duncan he would have lived a great life, but now that he’s committed murder, life is just a game and nothing is important anymore. These are suicidal thoughts and show how his grip on reality has greatly slipped.
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth were very interesting and unique people. They were closer than any other couple during that time would have been. In the play, it was unclear if Macbeth and Lady Macbeth had any children; however, Lady Macbeth did mention she nursed a child. In Act III, Lady Macbeth “unsexed” herself, which I believe made her unable to have any children. Macbeth could still have become king if Lady Macbeth had not unsexed herself, however, he would not have any heirs. Lady Macbeth was the one who pushed Macbeth to murder the king. Macbeth did have thoughts about murdering the king, but after a great deal of thought, he decided the king trusted him too much so he should not murder him. However, in the end, Lady Macbeth convinced
As soon as Macbeth hears the witches’ prophecy, his ambition takes over. The result is the suffering of Scotland. Macbeth causes the deaths of the king, Banquo, Macduff’s wife and children, and Lady Macbeth. Macduff fears for the fate of Scotland because of the actions that Macbeth has committed. He proclaims that the “poor country” of Scotland will continue to “bleed” and “bleed” with Macbeth as king (4.3.32). Under Macbeth’s rule Scotland has broken into a civil war, with innocent families being murdered because Macbeth refuses to lose power. Lady Macbeth, the one who pushes Macbeth to kill Duncan even asks, “Will these hands ne’er be clean?” (5.1.35). Lady Macbeth’s hands are dirty with the murder of Duncan and she feels like she will never be able to get them clean. Macbeth’s ambition has clearly gone further than it should have as the person who seemed the most evil is more emotionally distraught than Macbeth. Macbeth’s own personality suffers a downfall as well. When Lady Macbeth dies, Macbeth is not emotionally distraught as one would expect, he simply states that “Life 's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more” (5.5.24-26). Macbeth does not mourn on his wife’s death, he simply accepts it and moves forward. The kingdom of Scotland is greatly affected by the acts that the ambitious Macbeth commits. Before his ambition was turned into a negative, he was a prosperous nobleman who was loved and highly respected by many. After the tragic flaw began to affect Macbeth negatively, Macbeth became known as a traitor who murdered the king. Macbeth’s well know reputation vanished and he was disgraced and hated by all of
Ambition is an underlying theme throughout Macbeth, it is the tragic flaw in human kind, bound to lead to disaster. In Act 1 scene 7 this is one of the most interesting scenes of the play. This is the last time as we see Macbeth a freeman, he can still make the decision whether he wants to be good or evil. The choices that are preventing Macbeth are committing the murder, fear of the consequences on this earth, variety of feelings of kinship, loyalty, and hospitality he admires Duncan’s goodness as he is not the most moral character but hes power is what urges him on that are motives of good A soliloquy, which is found in Act 1, scene 7, in the lines 1-28, Macbeth debates whether he should kill Duncan. The imagery that is in this speech can be dark and moody for most people. Some examples we hear of imagery are “bloody instructions,” “deep damnation,” and a “poisoned chalice”—and suggests that Macbeth is aware of how the murder would open the door to a dark and sinful world. When the soliloquy ends, Macbeth goes to resolve to not kill Duncan but this only...