Shakespeare's Ambition In Macbeth

One's deepest aspirations and ambitions are one of the many important ideas explored throughout the play Macbeth. Shakespeare uses Macbeth, the central character in the play, as the tragic hero to demonstrate the relationship between one’s weaknesses and desires. In the play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, the immense character flaws present in Macbeth result in irrational decisions, impeding his greatest aspiration: to rule the throne of Scotland. Though he achieves his desire for a short period of time, illogical actions fueled by Macbeth’s excessive pride, foolishness, and gullibleness all forbid him from honorably ruling his country.

Though the hubris that Macbeth possesses is not revealed early in the play, it dominates many of the

later actions taken which deprive him of the throne he yearns so intensely for. Macbeth’s pride is first displayed through his belief that he is greater than fate itself, and he can alter it as he pleases. Macbeth is angered at the thought of Banquo’s son Fleance as Scotland’s heir not his own children. To solve this complication Macbeth orders the murder of Fleance, dirtying his already bloody hands. Macbeth states “[r]ather than so, come fate into the list, And champion me to th' utterance.” ( Shakespeare III. i.75-76). His plan ultimately fails as Fleance survives, proving that Macbeth cannot reshape fate. After Macbeth learns of Fleance’s survival he is plagued by fear because of the fact that his future children cannot rule Scotland and worried about what will cause his demise. This fear will become one of many that worsens Macbeth’s mental condition and cause him to commit many more unjust crimes. His attempted murder raises suspicion among many other characters in the play who will soon overthrow him. Macbeth’s last act of the play once again displays his excessive pride, as he refuses to surrender to Macduff’s army. He is well aware that the battle is lost yet states“ I will try the last. Before my body I throw my warlike shield” ( V, vii, 32-33). Macbeth chooses the foolish act of battling Macduff even though he understands the flaws behind his actions. However, by selecting to fight, Macbeth seals his own death, preventing him of fixing his mistakes and meeting death as an honorable man. Had Macbeth surrendered during those moments, there is a possibility that his life would have been spared, and he could have corrected his wrongdoings. Macbeth could have even one day returned to the throne as the rightful king. However, by fighting Macduff gives up all his hopes of ruling Scotland and instead dies as a corrupt man. Macbeth’s pride is so prevalent that it leads him to complete actions that he believes will help maintain his throne and honor, yet only further sabotages his aspirations.

Macbeth’s paranoia and guilt developed through the immoral actions he takes to claim and maintain his throne, ironically results in Macbeth losing that same throne. After receiving the prophecy, he believes that Duncan is the only one that separates Macbeth from his greatest aspiration. Macbeth, in order to become king, decides to murder Duncan, the current ruler of Scotland. After murdering Duncan Macbeth states “Will all the water in the ocean wash this blood from my hands? No, instead my hands will stain the seas scarlet, turning the green waters red” ( II, ii, 61-64). Immediately after the cruel murder, Macbeth expresses guilt in his actions and believe that no water could remove the blood in his hands and there is enough to stain an entire ocean. The cold blooded action he commited by murdering the rightful king haunts Macbeth for the rest of his short life. He cannot ease his mind after the ruthless, illogical and wanted murder. To cover up his guilt and fear of being discovered, Macbeth unjustly kills many more, including his own friend Banquo. As Banquo was present when Macbeth encountered the witches and heard the prophecies, Macbeth is alarmed that Banquo would discover this cruel act and plans to murder him, though Macbeth has no proof to back up his claim. Similar to Duncan, Macbeth develops immense guilt caused by the murder of his friend, and it results in a hallucination of Banquo’s ghost. The manifestation of Macbeth’s guilt makes his appearance at Macbeth’s party, where many other nobles are present. Attempting to ease his guilt, Macbeth tells Banquo’s ghost “You can’t say I did it. Don’t shake your bloody head at me” ( III iv 55-56). Macbeth behaves manically at the party by speaking to a man invisible to all others, arousing suspicion. His bizarre behaviour leads to other nobles believing he is unfit to rule a country and does not belong in the throne. This serves as one of the founding reasons why the nobles of Scotland aid Malcolm and Macduff dethrone Macbeth. After the absence of Macduff’s presence at Macbeth’s coronation, he begins to believe that Macduff is unhappy with the turn of events and develops a fear that Macduff will attempt to defeat him and challenge his throne. Due to his paranoia, Macbeth develops the idea of murdering Macduff’s wife and children, hoping to evoke fear in Macduff, causing him to surrender. He believes that this inhumane act of murdering innocent women and children will cure him of his worsening paranoia, yet the consequences of this has the opposite effect. This act only enrages Macduff and he states “Bring me face to face with Macbeth, that devil of Scotland. Put him within the reach of my sword”. ( ) Macbeth’s illogical action spurs the motivation and desire in Macduff to slay Macbeth and erase the darkness that inhabits Scotland. Macduff becomes the unlikely hero that defeats Macbeth, making it impossible for Macbeth to rule Scotland. Macbeth’s constant paranoia and guilt causes him to execute bizarre actions to ease his fears, however, it only further separates him from his ambition to become and remain king.

The greatest fatal flaw of Macbeth, evident since the beginning of the play is the naive personality that births and destroys his aspiration almost simultaneously.

Macbeth first encounters the witches after his courageous display in battle, and they foretell his future. Though Banquo warns him of the cunning nature of witches who only partially reveal the truth, Macbeth absurdly places all his trust in the devious creatures. The most important prophecy uttered by the witches is “All hail, Macbeth! That shall be king hereafter” (I, i, 53) . The idea of kingship is revealed to Macbeth, and quickly becomes his greatest ambition. Moments after these words declared by the witches, Macbeth begins to think of all the possible ways that he could acquire the throne of Scotland, and murdering the rightful king is one of the first. Due to his gullibleness, Macbeth now has a false expectations for the future and countless irrational thoughts come to mind after his cursed meeting with the weird sisters. Had Macbeth been harder to deceive, he would have never believed in the witches, sparing him of the ambition that could never truly be achieved. Lady Macbeth also uses Macbeth’s greatest flaw to her advantage. After much thought Macbeth decides that it is cruel to kill an honorable righteous king that has done nothing but good for his people and informs Lady Macbeth of his choice. Lady Macbeth, angered at the thought of Macbeth giving up the role of king, manipulates him into killing Duncan. To taunt Macbeth, lady Macbeth questions“ If you weren’t a man, then what kind of animal were you when you first told me you wanted to do this? When you dared to do it, that’s when you were a man. (I vii 53-57). Macbeth, much like many others wants to follow the gender expectations given to men, and his imperfections lead him to believe that honorable men will never go back on their word, no matter how flawed the thoughts are and will stop at nothing for power. Through the senseless

murder of Duncan, Macbeth believes he will become a proper man and carries through with his scheme. The repercussions of this incoherent action is handled and explored greatly throughout the play. This act starts the killing of many, some to hide this very action from the rest of Scotland. Secondly this act results in the first example of immense guilt in the protagonist, which can never be cured. Macbeth’s developing insanity and additional cold blooded murders originating from his first act of murder all help drive him away from the throne. Lastly, Macbeth’s second encounter with the witches can be identified as the deciding factor that truly prevents him from maintaining his kingship. The witches aware that Macbeth will come to visit them states that they will generate overconfidence in Macbeth, which will lead to his demise as overconfidence is a man’s greatest enemy. During his visit, the apparitions prochercize, “The power of man, for none of a woman borne shall harm Macbeth (IV, i, 87-88). Macbeth is now deceived into thinking he is invincible and cannot ever be defeated. Due to this Macbeth commits many irrational actions. He does not properly prepare for battle because of the words prophesied by the victims. His overconfidence, created by the witches causes him to unreasonably fight Macduff’s army though he was outnumbered. Macbeth is killed in battle and all hopes of keeping this throne are now thrashed. Macbeth’s foolish personality blinds him, making it unable for him to analyze the situation with proper thought and take the most beneficial action. Believing he will be victorious, Macbeth recklessly charges into battle and dies at the hands of Macduff. Though Macbeth finally realizes the devious prophecies of the witches, he cannot undo his previous actions and keep his beloved throne. The witches and Lady Macbeth are all aware of Macbeth’s gullible personality and manipulates him into committing the actions that they desire of him, which prevent Macbeth from becoming the proper king or preserving his throne.

Macbeth’s impaired personality makes him unable to conduct logical decisions and all result in him losing his place as king of Scotland. The excessive arrogance dominates Macbeth’s mind and hinders the rationale of the choices he completes throughout the play. His paranoia and diminishing mental stability prevent him from taking logical decisions that could aid him maintain the throne he aches so deeply for. The naive personality creates and destroys the idea of future kingship, the greatest desire present in Macbeth. Shakespeare through his play Macbeth showcases how one’s greatest ambitions can be destroyed and demolished by one’s blemished personality and perhaps, that aspirations so great can never be reached by mere mortals.