In life, ambition can be dangerously evil and lead to harmful choices. In the play Macbeth by WIlliam Shakespheare, ambition is seen and used very well. The play begins with Macbeth being a very noble and honorable leader and warrior for King Duncan. However, after learning that he could become King, Macbeth decides to murder King Duncan in order to take his place. Macbeth is fully responsible due to his choices led by his ambition. His desire for power consumes him, and causes him to distance himself from his loved ones and to betray his friends. He has no feelings, not even towards his wife’s death. In his quest for power, he becomes increasingly isolated from those most important to him, ultimately leading to his downfall. Macbeth is first …show more content…
She urges him to kill King Duncan in order to seize the throne, and Macbeth succumbs to her persuasion. Lady Macbeth encourages Macbeth to be ruthless and unscrupulous in order to achieve his goals, and she even takes part in the murder of Duncan herself. Critic Paul Fletcher argues, “This estrangement makes him vulnerable to his wife when she enters; and perhaps all the while… he was only waiting for her, playing with the luxury of reluctance, toying with his conscience while secretly indulging his fantasy”(75). Their marriage becomes increasingly dysfunctional as Macbeth's ambition takes over. He becomes more and more distant from Lady Macbeth and relies on his own impulses rather than her guidance. Lady Macbeth, meanwhile, becomes guilt-ridden and tormented by her role in the murders. As Macbeth continues to be ambitious throughout the novel, he does not realize that it will impact him in his future. He becomes ignorant to his actions and becomes a tyrant instead of a true king. Fletcher also questions if Macbeths drive for power is “Witchcrsft, murder, or Rape?It is a sign of both his own restlessness and of the total society of Scotland that one image of evil should suggest another.”(77) Cl. He cuts himself off from his wife, his friends, and even his own conscience. This isolation makes him more vulnerable to his own fears and insecurities.Further more, Macbeth's ambition leads …show more content…
He was unable to resist temptation which made his deeds dangerous for himself and others around him. As Watson claims, “But once Macbeth has rashly ‘done the deed’ of self-promotion at his wife's instigation, they both learn that ‘What's done cannot be undone’(2.2.14; 5.1.68). …The implication is that adults are accountable for what they do"(Watson). Certainly, he cannot change all of what he has done and will have to live with his acts of evilness. Macbeth's future became doomed and his relationships with everyone around him became destroyed because of his careless doings. His ambition was so strong that he could not even control it himself. Additionally, while “The notion that Macbeth is like any of us, only doomed to live in a world where one's dreams and desires become reality, is clearly bolstered by this moment, where we see Banquo horrified by the appetitive dreams the witches have aroused in him”(Watson). When they first hear the witches' prophecies, Banquo is suspicious of what they are saying while Macbeth jumps to the conclusion that he will become king and doesn't think anything of it. There is clearly a difference between the two of them as Banquo is more cautious of what could happen and Macbeth mainly cares about himself and allows his ego to take over instead of thinking about anything first. Watson also argues that “Macbeth is again a
His greed leads him to commit sins such as murdering the well-liked King. All in all, Macbeth’s ambitious actions drive him to destruction through his
Macbeth is easily manipulated by Lady Macbeth and questions his manhood. Macbeth’s ambition urges him to prove her wrong and show that he is the one in power, as well as his fearlessness towards his hallucinations of bottled guilt and
The play Macbeth by William Shakespeare explores the concepts that belong to ambition as well as kingship. The play happens to be about Macbeth, an existing Scottish nobleman who happens to be motivated by his aspiration to become king. Scotland happens to be where it takes place. The play demonstrates how ambition becomes unchecked as well as how power corrupts. Macbeth happens to be an existing person who happens to be consumed by desire.
Introduction Paragraph Ambition is not a force to be reckoned with. It is a force that is detrimental to human nature if left untamed and can corrupt people as demonstrated in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. It is critical to understand its true nature and the impact it has on individuals. By examining the downfall of characters in Macbeth, an insight into the destructive power ambition can hold when it consumes the human mind is found with the following points: unchecked ambition is a manipulative force, controlling your desires is crucial, ambition is a negative driving force, overindulgence in ambition changes your character for the worse, and finally, unchecked ambition brings upon a decline of morality.
When we are first presented with the character of Macbeth he is pictured as a noble and loyal warrior. However, once his future is presented to him by the witches saying that he, Macbeth, is to become the next great King of Scotland, he begins to lose focus and makes the wrong decisions. Macbeth begins to only make choices that will benefit only himself and to gain power. Becoming almost unrecognizable to the person he once was. After confronting his wife, Lady Macbeth, he isn't the only one with a lust for power.
His wife, Lady Macbeth, wanted him to be a king after hearing his so called prophecies that she manipulated him and belittled him into thinking that if he didn’t go through with the murder of Duncan then he was a wimp. She created a monster of a man after talking him into committing that first crime. After the first one, Macbeth had the mentality that he was already going to hell so why stop now. He killed his best friend next because he started to suspect Macbeth for the murder of the beloved King Duncan; from there on out anyone and anything that got in his way of his throne had to go. He wanted to be the King so bad that he stopped having the emotions of a normal human being and saw anyone in his way as a future target; because of this he no longer was the man that everyone knew him as before, he had changed
He becomes paranoid, sees enemies everywhere, and becomes increasingly suspicious and isolated. Even his relationship with Lady Macbeth starts to deteriorate over time as he begins to be consumed by his own ambition. The opening scene foreshadows the destructive force of Macbeth's ambition when the three witches tell him about his rise to power. The witches' prophecy deeply affected Macbeth and set him on a path toward the throne.
Syed Raza Ms. Castro World Literature 05 April 2023 The Demise of One’s Ambition In Shakespeare’s distinguished play Macbeth, the readers explore how ambition developed in the main character Macbeth and how Shakespeare portrays the devastating consequences of unchecked ambition and how the corruption of power can lead to one's downfall.
He decides to write to his wife, Lady Macbeth, who holds this dark ambition inside of her. She tells Macbeth that he is a coward and that he must do whatever it takes to become king of Scotland. This dark ambition is first shown in act one scene four when Macbeth says, “This is a step on which I must fall down... which the eye fears, when it is done, to see.” Lady Macbeth plays an enormous part in Macbeth’s mental corruption. After murdering Duncan,
His struggle to restore his honour and overcome his guilt ultimately leads to his downfall. Macbeth's attempts to maintain his power and position as king by
He used to be very kind, and had a lot of ambition for the right reasons. But Lady Macbeth has changed him, when he agreed to kill
Once Macbeth acquires the throne, he completes the three prophecies. However, this promise of power corrupts him and pushes him to act further, despite already having the throne. When discussing the implications of Banquo’s prophecies, Macbeth proclaims, “To be thus is nothing, But to be safely thus. Our fears in Banquo Stick deep” (3.1.52-54). Banquo’s deep friendship means nothing to Macbeth, as he decides to kill him as quickly as the snap of a finger.
This scene highlights Lady Macbeth's influence over Macbeth and her ability to manipulate his emotions and actions to achieve her own ambitions. Macbeth is initially hesitant about murdering Duncan, as he is full of doubt and uncertainty about the morality of the act. Lady Macbeth seizes this opportunity to persuade Macbeth to go through with the plan as she sees the potential for her own power and status. Lady Macbeth uses Macbeth’s desire to be king to manipulate him to kill Duncan. She appeals to his ambition and his fear of being perceived as weak or cowardly, using language that is emotive and violent.
At the beginning of William Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’ the protagonist Macbeth is described as ‘brave’, ‘noble’ and ‘honourable’, however Lady Macbeth’s and Macbeths desire for power consumes them. Macbeth’s ambition overrides his conscience and transformed his greatest strength into his greatest weakness. Macbeth’s inability to resist temptations that led him to be greedy for power, Macbeth’s easily manipulative nature which allowed his mind to be swayed, Macbeth having no self control and his excessive pride was what allowed him to renew his previously honourable and celebrated title into one of an evil ‘tyrant’. Macbeth is led by the prophecies of the witches after they foretell he will become the Thane of Cawdor. Not only the witches, but also his wife easily manipulate Macbeth as she attacks his manhood in order to provoke him to act on his desires.
Lady Macbeth tries to mask her guilt by covering up for her husband, but eventually comes to grips with her own instability. In Macbeth, Shakespeare asserts that power drives the title character and his wife to insanity, particularly after their conspiracy to kill Duncan. For starters, prior to killing Duncan, Macbeth imagines the likely consequences of his future actions and whether or not they signal his destiny. At the beginning