Ambition can be like a tool, useful for building the person we want to be and what life we want to live. Just like a tool, however, ambition can be misused; left unchecked the consequences can be dire. In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the nobleman Macbeth betrays several of his closest allies in a reach for power, slowly distorting his worldview and humanity. Throughout, Shakespeare perfectly demonstrates this corruption of mind and soul through Macbeth’s interactions with other characters, his personal experiences, and his attitude towards life as a whole. Upon first meeting Macbeth, he comes across as a run of the mill noble who’s well mannered and long-winded in speech. He serves his king righteously, and maintains his current …show more content…
Enter Lady Macbeth, the first character that manipulates Macbeth. Not only is she the first who exploits Macbeth, but she is also the catalyst for his transformation from an optimistic, ambitious man into an apathetic psychopath. She encourages Macbeth to murder the king and take his place, realizing that Macbeth would be the next heir with Duncan and his sons, Donalbain and Malcolm, out of the way. He chooses to go through with it due to his “Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself/ And falls on th’ other—” (I.vii.27-28) and his desire to satisfy his wife’s demands. In the hours before the plan unfolds it appears that Macbeth is deeply disturbed, despite not having done the deed. Not yet. He speaks and thinks in a panicked manner, and even has hallucinations. In one such hallucination, he sees a dagger “...in form as palpable/ As this which now I draw” (II.i.52-53), “I see thee still,/ And, on thy blade and dudgeon, gouts of blood,/ Which was not so before. There’s no such thing./ It is the bloody business which informs/ Thus to mine eyes.” (II.i.57-61) Beyond this point, there is pure chaos for Macbeth, a time of treason and murder, of apathy and …show more content…
He murders King Duncan in his sleep, then proceeds to kill anyone who poses a threat to his reign. His once-honorable character is replaced with someone ruthless and power-hungry. Despite his newfound power, Macbeth is plagued by guilt and paranoia. He becomes increasingly isolated from his friends and family and his mental state continues to deteriorate. The role of Lady Macbeth seems to reverse as Macbeth becomes more controlling and manipulative; while Lady Macbeth is struck ill with guilt, the tyrant continues his rampage. He is hated by all those whom he rules, even former friends like the noble Macduff say that, “Not in the legions/ Of horrid hell can come a devil more damned/ In evils to top Macbeth.”(IV.iii.67-69) The crimes that Macbeth committed are no longer a secret, but he chooses to be blind to this as he continues his war against his own people. The most profound example of his transformation is his reaction to his wife’s suicide due to her guilt over Duncan’s murder and the monster she had created. “She should have died hereafter./ There would have been a time for such a word./ Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow/ Creeps in this petty pace from day to day/ To the last syllable of recorded time,/And all our yesterdays have lighted fools/ The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!”
Macbeth starts out being an excellent warrior in the battles that he is fighting in for the good. He is spilling blood over the right reasons and in doing so he earned the title of Thane of Cawdor. However, this all begins to change once he and Banquo, his right hand man in battle, meet the three witches and they get their prophecies told to them. This begins the downfall of Macbeth, causing corruption, greed, and guilt coming from the actions after the prophecies are told to them. Immediately after Macbeth’s mental state switches as a result to the first prophecy coming true already, he begins thinking that he has to kill King Duncan in order to fulfill the rest of them.
Upon realizing his power is in jeopardy, Macbeth panics and takes matters into his own hands. Here, he is no longer under the influence or direction of Lady Macbeth and makes the conscious decision to destroy not only his political enemy but also his innocent son who presents no direct danger to Macbeth’s life. Ultimatley, Macbeth finds himself stuck in a repeating cycle of violence fueled by his ambition. Before, his morals and values would've led him to contemplate any plan involving murder, just as he did with the King. Now, his desire for the throne
Macbeth at this time is overwhelmed with uncertainties and decides his best course of action is to end the chain of power before it begins. Macbeth’s need for political status takes over him as he disregards the friendship
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.
When the story begins, Macbeth truly is a “peerless kinsman” to the king (1.4.66); however, as the story progresses others refer to him in this way only because they are oblivious to his true desire” (Balwan 3). As Balwan states, Macbeth has as significant change due to the so call “power” of being king. While Macbeth transitions to a new form of character, he isolates himself from Lady Macbeth. As the power increases, Macbeth is determined to kill.
Ambition is a central theme in William Shakespeare's play, Macbeth. The play portrays how unchecked ambition can lead to the downfall of individuals and even entire nations. The play follows the story of Macbeth, a Scottish general who receives a prophecy from three witches that he will become king. Driven by his ambition, Macbeth murders the current king, Duncan, and embarks on a path of destruction that ultimately leads to his own demise. This essay will explore the theme of ambition in Macbeth and how it drives the actions of the characters.
Lady Macbeth manipulated and controlled him through emotional blackmail and psychological manipulation. In Act 1, Scene 7, Lady Macbeth says, "Art thou afeard / To be the same in thine own act and valour, / As thou art in desire?" (1.7.39-41). She played on Macbeth's sense of masculinity and pride to convince him to murder King Duncan. No man would want to be seen as weak and not manly, so he needed to prove her wrong.
One of the most important factors leading to the downfall of Macbeth was his tragic flaw, ambition. Throughout the play, Macbeth's ambition grows and grows, causing a dramatic change in his character. Initially, he was a kindhearted man with high morals (to the point where his wife had to lead him down this path of destruction), but he quickly transformed into a paranoid and guilt-ridden man willing to kill his former friends for his own safety. After learning of the prophecy from the witches that he might be the king of Scotland, "All hail Macbeth, thou shalt be king thereafter!" only this constant revelation floods his mind, to the point he loses sleep and has hallucinations related to it.
His flaws of ambition and desire for the throne blindsighted his decision making. Macbeth's poor emotional health got the best of him, since he had a variety of emotions going through him at all times. The character of Macbeth appeared to be calm and zen until he had an excessive amount of blood on his hands and became paranoid. To earn air of the throne Macbeth must eliminate anything or anyone that stands in the way of his kingship, killing King Duncan happens to be his first guilty act. When Macbeth returns after committing murder which was determined by his wife's desires, Macbeth was in shock.
Lady Macbeth is seen manipulating Macbeth skillfully pushing him, as he kills King Duncan in a regicide, thus achieving their shared goal of becoming king and queen. However, it is clear that Lady Macbeth's power does not come from her deeds but rather from her words, as demonstrated by the way she manipulates Macbeth. His interaction with the other characters in the play is impacted by his quest for power. The other characters reach a point when they believe killing him is the only way to stop him. Throughout the play, the power transforms Macbeth so drastically that he is ignorant to who he has become.
He wants to be king for the power and the title that come
The nature of Macbeth’s villainy is very complex as he is initially influenced by a lot of
He has done irreversible damage to himself by the actions he has taken to get to the throne. Macbeth has committed murder and treason all to fulfil a greedy wish. His acknowledgement of this corruption further harbours it. The pride he holds of his dark and corrupted soul is truly inhuman, making him all the more similar to the Devil. Had Macbeth never fought for the crown, his soul would still hold the same innocence it did while he was a Thane.
Macbeth is a story of betrayal and hypocrisy, a conflict between ambition and differentiation between right and wrong .Macbeth is the king’s most trusted and beloved friend but due to the pressure of lady Macbeth (Macbeth’s wife) ,he becomes the king’s enemy and starts plotting against him to get the throne. Lady Macbeth instigates Macbeth to kill the king by telling him the advantage the will achieve – rich, famous and popular. Macbeth follows her commands and in the dead of night , creeps in the king’s room and takes a look at him after taking out the dagger to kill him . He is in a state of ambiguity. On one hand his conscious stopping him and on the other he is eagerly waiting to see the king dead in order to enjoy the privileges and
His character is not changed by this news, which makes him seem like a good person. When he returns home to his wife, she convinces him to murder Duncan in order to become king faster. Macbeth doesn’t want to at first, but decided to in the end. While he was