Macbeth's ambition

An ambition for power can seem to be true perfection, but one should be careful what they wish for, because that power might be exactly what causes their downfall. In the play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare ambition plays a great role and is also a main theme. Ambition is often the motivating force in one's life. It is supposed to be the motivating factor that drives one towards success. The main character, Macbeth has ambition even though it leads him to his downfall. In contrast, Lady Macbeth pursues her goals with greater determination, yet she is less capable of withstanding the outcome of her actions. She becomes guilty which leads to her death since she becomes mentally ill and commits suicide, leaving Macbeth without any moral support. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth betray the king Duncan for power as well as their ambition being used in a bad way. Macbeth’s overconfidence In current day today ambition can be used in both a good way and a bad way. People who are ambitious to achieve their goal in a positive manner can be good but sometimes ambition takes over you makes you want more which can cause death and destruction.

The ambition of Macbeth converts into betrayal, as it is shown since the beginning of this play considering that the previous Thane of Cawdor “The most disloyal traitor” (Act I Sc. II) of Scotland fights for the Norwegian side. The tittle is later given to Macbeth when the Thane of Cawdor is executed, this foreshadows future events as Macbeth is later going to assassinate Duncan who has an “absolute trust” (Act I Sc. IV) in Macbeth. When Macbeth is crowned Thane of Cawdor he starts to believe into the witches prophecies and tells his wife Lady Macbeth which later plans on killing Duncan. However, M...

... middle of paper ...

...g for their happiness but as Macbeth develops, it is seen that his ambition and over confidence leads to his downfall. Lady Macbeth starts to see reality and realizing her mistakes. It is too late for her to tell Macbeth as her guilt has taken her apart and Macbeth is very confident that nobody can snatch the throne of Scotland from him even if he is left betrayed and alone.

Ambition can result in many negative outcomes such as betrayal, which leaves him alone at the end. Ambition can also result in a positive response if the person does become over confident and uses his/her ambition to reach a goal without harming anyone. People that are ambitious to succeed in a good way can be good but there are times when ambition takes over you and it makes you wanting more and at times it can lead to death or destruction.

Works Cited

http://nfs.sparknotes.com/macbeth/