Throughout the play we see Macbeth continuously dig himself deeper into this hole where he is committing murder and destroying his reputation, sanity, and family. He seeks the throne and succumbs to the ambition sacrificing his morals. It seems Macbeth crafts this character who puts all sense of ambition before any morals or principles to show how dangerous that can be. Throughout Shakespeare’s Macbeth we see him use ambition as a motif to show how when unchecked it can lead to moral decay. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth seek the throne and all of its power which leads to their destruction. In Act 1 Scene 7 Macbeth comes to terms with the fact that killing Duncan is simply a move for power with no moral backings, “ I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself And falls on th’ other-”. Although Macbeth begins to realize that he is committing murders and destroying lives for power there is nothing stopping him. Unfortunately Lady Macbeth was overcome with the guilt of what she had done that she took her own life. Although this may have come as a surprise because throughout the play she was the level headed one who was pushing Macbeth to kill and was covering up for him. She even manipulates him into killing Duncan saying he isn’t a man, “When you durst do it,” she …show more content…
We see Macbeth develop characters who are ambitious and greedy for power. All they see is a throne and a castle, what they are missing is the murder, deceit, and enemies that will follow when seeking these things. “My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, / Shakes so my single state of man / That function is smothered in surmise, / And nothing is but what is not.”( Macbeth Act 1 Scene 3). Macbeth talks about how he dreams of murdering Duncan to steal his throne from him. Although it was just a thought, we see this along with the manipulation of his wife lead to a spring of
Macbeth, three witches tell Macbeth that he will be King of Scotland which prompts Macbeth to devise a plan to kill the reigning King Duncan and claim the throne for himself. In act 1 scene 7, Macbeth hesitates with continuing the planned murder of Duncan, but Lady Macbeth successfully persuades him to carry it out. Shakespeare argues that ambition causes people to become greedy which leads them to commit evil acts. Lady Macbeth's determination to continue with the murder of King Duncan
Both greed and power, if not controlled, can lead to destruction. Throughout William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, Shakespeare uses both characters Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to demonstrate how ambition can change one’s personal relationships. As in the beginning of Act 1, Scene 7 Macbeth and Lady Macbeth do not share the same ambition, and it is because of this that their relationship lacks love and affection however through the use of persuasion and other means, Lady Macbeth is able to get Macbeth to pursue her ambition. This not only changes their relationship drastically but it also changes Macbeth’s attitude towards ambition. Throughout the play, Shakespeare shows us through Macbeth, the possibility for ambition to eventually turn into greed and how the lust for power may corrupt us.
Shakespeare begins by emphasizing the relationship between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, and how Lady Macbeth serves as a foil, eventually leading to Macbeth’s death. For example, when Macbeth is having second thoughts about killing King Duncan Lady Macbeth says, “When you durst do it, then you were a man”. This evidence highlights how unchecked ambition leads to sin and retribution because Lady Macbeth points out the weaknesses of Macbeth, telling him he’s not a man and a coward for not wanting to murder King Duncan. This also showcases how unchecked ambition leads to sin and retribution because most individuals would try to be reasonable with trying to get what they want, how they’re going to do it, and the consequences of their actions. However,
The play entitled Macbeth by William Shakespeare portrays Macbeth, a loyal and brave thane to the king. When a prophecy reveals he will become king, Macbeth is overcome with ambition and greed. Convinced of this prophecy and the encouragement from his wife, he is able to kill the king and take the throne. Although Macbeth was able to obtain the throne, he was was overwhelmed by power and guilt leading to internal conflict, which suggests that success is not desirable through cheating and corruption and ultimately cost more than its actually worth, Macbeth`s reckless pursuit of killing and becoming the king is representative of the power he has and what he is able to do with the power he's gained; therefore. His relentless ambition for king reveals the guilt behind power.
Untae Langis points out that as the play opens, “Macbeth reveals himself caught between rational and appetitive will, virtue, and self-esteem… When Lady Macbeth chides him for having cold feet… Macbeth’s cowardice foretells the yielding of his desires for good to the desire for worldly power”. This desire for power is valued because Macbeth has innate nobility, and he has honorable character at the beginning of the play. One of his many tragic flaws includes ambition, which leads to his downfall at the end of the
Macbeth himself says that ambition is his only motivation, clearly seen in the quote, “I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself And falls on th’other”. Shakespeare uses personification, describing Macbeth’s ambition as akin to a horse, which “o’erleaps itself And falls on th’other”, representing Duncan’s demise as a result of Macbeth’s greed for the crown. This shows how his fatal flaw will cause him to continue in his murderous rampage. Furthermore, once Macbeth has gained the crown, his ambition is still growing and he does not feel safe in his position. This is seen in the quote, “To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus.”
He’s constantly manipulated by his wife, to the point he becomes a murderer, influenced by witches from this so-called prophecy, lastly he starts to become this ambitious and dark person once he becomes king. At the beginning of the play Macbeth is “brave Macbeth-well he deserves that name” (act 1, scene 2), here he is said to be a good person. The tragedies of losing yourself and ultimately achieving your wants, then not being able to enjoy it. Being that it wasn't fate, it was set by man to happen. Blood had been spilled in order for Macbeth to become king, but this blood was full of selfishness , guilt, and who he once was.
Emily Wellington Chris Sommar ENG2D1-05 Is a story featuring the main character Macbeth hence the title, his story comprises murder and ambition — starting with the murder of Duncan committed by Macbeth with Lady Macbeth's guiding hand, which escalated to the murder of his best friend Banquo and the killings of Macduff's family to keep his declaration to the throne leading to his ultimate demise at the battle of Dunsinane slain by Macduff's and the English militaries, this discussion is on the points where ambition in Macbeth lead to the downfall of Macbeth. The first point that ambition is clear within the story is Macbeth when Macbeth, specifically when Lady Macbeth learns of what the weird sisters had informed Macbeth even accurately foreseeing his new name Thane of Cawdor not meant as a prophecy maybe but more like a hook to snare him, which they prevail, and they declare 'all hail Macbeth, that shalt be king' hearing of this Lady Macbeth provokes Macbeth to kill Duncan (the king within first few acts) to get closer to the throne not knowing that Malcolm and Donalbain (the king's sons) would flee, leaving Macbeth the only one able to fill the role as king. This is the first instance of what ambition does to lead to disaster. The murder of a king was a personal crime against God.
Like all of Shakespeare’s other plays, “Macbeth’s” protagonist Macbeth is incredibly successful but suffers from one fatal flaw, his great ambition. His ambition will be the cause of his great success but ultimately also of his downfall. The man’s ambition drives him to seize every opportunity to promote his own agenda. His ambition hurts him the most when he decides to kill King Duncan and Macduff.
Greed for power has always been evil and even made a saint turn into a demon. As the quote goes “All power tends to corrupt and an absolute power corrupts absolutely” (unquote), which is true not only in the fictitious stories but also in real life and Shakespeare, th9e greatest writer ever known, has always been in habit of making fictitious character come alive and Macbeth is no exception to the rule. The character of Macbeth has two sides, one which is wholesome while other been dubious. He symbolized great ambition but went overboard and in the process not only became corrupt but also became a killer. Macbeth reflects great strength but within he has his own weakness and thus good over took evil resulting in its downfall and finally his own death.
Duncan “A terrible image of temptation employing the very instrument of murder lures him on”(Snider). These two quote connect to each other and they told us that Macbeth was thinking of taking the throne and it’s the first reason lead to his downfall.
(Shakespeare 1.3.52-55). Macbeth is influenced by his greed for power to use ruthless actions, in this case to kill Duncan to receive the crown he thinks he needs to earn that power. Overwhelmed by his greed, he is already thinking about the “murder” as he
Lady Macbeth is power hungry for the throne and she will do anything to achieve her goal. Her pleasure of having the thought of killing Duncan is revealed. These murderous thoughts that run through her mind shows how desperate she is to acquire power. Although it is the beginning of the play, her dark ambitions sets a dark tone for her character in the play. This coincidentally adds to the assurance of Macbeth’s prophecy which is that Macbeth will become king, but King Duncan is still alive.
Macbeth’s ambitions influence him to attain his desire for power. This ambition drives him to become reckless for the sake of reaching his goals. This recklessness leads to the murder of Duncan- the first in a line of murders Macbeth commits to reach his power. These murders represent Macbeth’s gradual loss of morality.
Macbeth is also a power hungry man who would do just about anything to achieve his goal of becoming King. When Macbeth first hears the prophecies from the three witches he instantly became invested with the journey to become king. Similar to Lady Macbeth, nothing was going to come between him and his potential power, “My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, shakes so my single state of man. That function is smother'd in surmise, and nothing is but what is not” (1.3.52-55). This quote exemplifies how Macbeth’s initial solution to becoming king was murder.