Theme Of Ambition And Greed In Macbeth

Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis! All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter” (I.3.51-53). The witches' words are a catalyst, fueling Macbeth's ambition and setting him on a treacherous path.

Shakespeare presents the theme of ambition in Macbeth. Ambition is a strong desire to do or achieve something, ambition can also be presented in a positive and negative way. Shakespeare presents ambition in a negative way through some characters who are Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and King Duncan. The reason these characters present ambition in a negative way is because they end up dying. Ambition is also present in a positive way through some characters who are Macduff, Witches and Malcolm these are the characters who survive in the play showing that you can be ambitious but not too ambitious.

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’s ‘Macbeth’ and Oliver stones ‘wall street’ set in distinct time periods, explore the concept that one’s longings for ambition can become overpowering and eventually lead to one’s moralities being recognised. The texts both illustrate that greedy ambition will lead to one’s downfall, that ambition causes people of weak character to behave corruptly to attain their goals, and that ultimately ambition comes with a price. Firstly, in Macbeth ambition is portrayed as seductive yet ethically destructive, in the text both characters who are frail are charmed to pursuing their ambitions at the cost of their own humanity. In ‘Macbeth’ this is shown through the protagonist and how the ambition due to the influence of the witches takes over the like of Macbeth.

Another example of greed contained within the text is the action of Macbeth attempting to murder Banquo and his offsprings. Macbeth had always felt threatened of Banquo’s power and stability in thinking which had added more tension to the situation. It is similar to Macbeth’s first act upon the prophecy, where he was not given much detail about the whole scheme yet he had his ambitions and greed to guide him to his actions. Macbeth had not considered if Banquo’s children would become the reign of Scotland well after Macbeth’s death as a possibility as he was in a place of great paranoia, trying to remain as King.  Macbeth has also mentioned the jealousy he had felt to have Banquo continue his legacy whereas Macbeth’s reign was to be led on

Macbeth’s greed takes over him as he chases a fool’s dream. Macbeth's ambition leads him to secure his power; he overlooks his guilt and focuses on doing whatever it takes to hold onto his authority. Shakespeare demonstrates, in a variety of techniques, how just ambition alone can bring down the even the greatest of men. “There is something wrong with a individual’s character if opportunity controls their loyalty.” Sean Simmon’s the writer of this quote explains how blinded someone can be when given certain opportunities which can be directly related to the character Macbeth.

It is human nature to desire something whether it be an occupation or to have power over others. When this desire becomes blind and consumes your thoughts it can have the power to corrupt an individual. In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Shakespeare conveys the message of how blind ambition can corrupt humanity. Shakespeare narrates the story of Macbeth a Nobel and honourable soldier who is very ambitious towards his king Duncan till he comes across three witches who prophecies that “he shalt become king here after” and catalyse his ambition of becoming powerful. Macbeth being persuaded by his wife decides to murder his loyal king to fulfil his want of becoming king.

However, since Macbeth is king of all the land opposing him would be treason. Yet Malcolm continues with his plan and forms an army that goes to attack Macbeth. Macduff ends up killing Macbeth himself. Moreover, Malcolm takes the throne for himself. Power and authority shifts once again.

Naturally, humans have a tendency to strive for greatness and succumb to power, regardless of the consequences or obstacles that may lie in the way. There is no doubt that the desire for such power can result in severe calamities. In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the author portrays Macbeth’s character as determined and resentful in his soliloquy in Act 3, Scene 1. Shakespeare does so through the use of metaphors, vivid imagery, and the concept of nature in order to portray the protagonist’s tragic flaw of reckless ambition. As Act 3 commences, Banquo and Macbeth discuss the accuracy of the witches’ predictions, but Banquo proceeds to show suspicion of Macbeth.

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.

Of all the failures human beings experience none are as crushing as those that are a result of following someone else’s desires. In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the protagonist self-destructs because of his external forces as well as his own poor choices. An external force that influenced Macbeth includes Lady Macbeth’s strong goals, which she forced on her husband. Additionally, the witches impacted Macbeth’s choices by offering him their tricky prophecies. The blind greed that took over Macbeth’s life also impacted his choices.

Many people in stories or the real world have had history of betraying others for many reasons. For example, in the story, Macbeth, one of the main characters, Macbeth, decides to betray people in the story all because of his selfishness. On the other hand, in the story, Lamb to the Slaughter, Mary Maloney betrays her husband because of how he treats her making her want revenge on her husband. In addition, in, Scarlet Ibis, Doodle’s brother betrays Doodle due to the fact that that Doodle does not reach his expectations as a brother he wants. Betrayal can be evidently seen in all of the stories in which Macbeth’s greed, Mary’s revenge, and Doodle’s brother’s selfishness led to many deplorable effects because of their betrayal to others.

Through the evidence previously stated, the reader can observe that the predominant theme in The Tragedy of Macbeth is the ability that ambition has to consume and overwhelm whoever possesses it. The zealous characteristics that define and describe both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth explain why they

In Act IV, Scene 3, Macduff says that he would like to take up their swords and defend where they were born: “Let us rather Hold fast the mortal sword, and like good men Bestride our down-fall’n birthdom” (l. 2-4). When Macduff is in England talking to Malcolm and the king of England, Macbeth takes action and has Macduff’s family

What drives apparently good men to become ruthless, ambitious, jealous and greedy? We see an example of this in the play “Macbeth” performed at Pop Up Globe, directed by Tom Mallaburn, was written originally by the well-known author, William Shakespeare. Macbeth is based upon a big tragedy, where the two main characters, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, inevitably were forced to do evil things due to their ambition; taste the sweetness of victory and then downfall again. Although the play was written by an English author, Shakespeare smartly sets his story based upon the idea of ambition, a concept that relates to all of us, no matter where we are from. We have to admit that in our minds, the concept of power and ambition is linked to men.