Obitession And Ambition In William Shakespeare's Macbeth

Napoleon Bonaparte once said, “Great ambition is the passion of a great character. Those endowed with it may perform very good or very bad acts. All depends on the principles which direct them.” The main character of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macbeth, is filled with ambition. Macbeth is a Shakespearean play in which Macbeth is given a prophecy by three witches which tells that he will eventually become king of Scotland. Macbeth, filled with ambition to fulfill these predictions, let’s nothing get in his way. The principles within Macbeth direct him and his ambition to perform very bad acts. Between Macbeth and his wife, the theme of ambition without morales leads to absolute destruction is abundantly present, especially as the play progresses.

Meaning that Lady Macbeth becomes the one with a guilty conscience and Macbeth is the ruthless one. For example, since Macbeth went to war, lady Macbeth began sleepwalking. In Act 5 Scene 1, Shakespeare shows a glimpse of her sleepwalking and she states, “...Yet who would have thought the old man to have so much blood in him...will these hands ne’er be clean?” Of course, she is referring to King Duncan and wondering how many others her and Macbeth will have to kill. Obviously she feels guilty if it is affecting her sleep. On the other hand, Macbeth is fearless. Before war, Macbeth was given the information that he can only be killed by a man not born from a woman and until Birnam Wood moves to Dunsinane. Since he believes this is impossible, he has a new grown courage, and thinks he cannot die. While preparing for war, Macbeth hears the sounds of woman screaming and states, “I’ve almost forgotten what fear feels like.” Also, when he hears the news of his wife’s suicide, he shakes it off saying it was “bound to come someday.” Obviously, both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth contribute to the meaning of Macbeth. Unquestionably, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth show how ambition mixed with greed and unchecked morales can ultimately lead to one’s downfall. Shakespeare excellently portrays this through the main characters in his play Macbeth. By using two protagonists, Shakespeare allows the reader to view two different ways the meaning of the play can have an effect on people. Undeniably, the Macbeth’s greed based off ambition is thoroughly shown throughout