Ambition in Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Ambition in Macbeth by William Shakespeare

At the start of the play, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth appear to be very

happy; it seems that they have everything they need, Macbeth was the

Thane of Glamis, and they had a good relationship. The catalyst for

the change between Macbeth and his wife occurs when Macbeth is told of

his destiny by the three Witches; he now believes he is capable of

greater things. Once he becomes the Thane of Cawdor he tells Lady

Macbeth and the seed is sown for the plot against the King. Macbeth

realises that the king has to be removed in order for him to obtain

the throne but it is Lady Macbeth who plots how this is going to

happen and ultimately is the driving force. It is clear that Macbeth

and Lady Macbeth have the greed to want more and would go to desperate

measures to get what they want.

When Macbeth first met the witches he was clearly not amused and chose

to make nothing of their predictions, ‘to be king stands not within

prospect of belief’. He says here that he does not believe he could

become king, but as he arrives at Duncan’s palace at Forres he is

informed of his new role as Thane of Cawdor this sets him off on a new

state of thinking. If the Witches told the truth about him becoming

Thane of Cawdor, then maybe it was possible for him to become king. He

then has the original thought of killing the king only for his benefit

so that he could take the throne.

Macbeth is the sole starter of the plot, he realises that it may be a

long time until the King would die and this poisons his brain as to

thinking that if he murdered the king this could speed up the whole

process. He has the intentions but...

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...er, that I may pour my spirits in thine

ear and chastise with the valour of my tongue all that impedes thee

from the golden round, which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem to

have thee crowned withal.

In conclusion it is my opinion that the more ambitious is Lady Macbeth

because she seems to be the most cunning, she plans ahead, she

manipulates Macbeth in his moments of doubt and she seems devious and

ruthless in her pursuit for the crown. Macbeth is the puppet and Lady

Macbeth is the puppeteer, an example of this is when she persuades

Macbeth to carry out the murder of King Duncan. He actually kills the

King, covers up his body and plants the evidence on the King’s

servants, while Lady Macbeth awaits his news. She clearly is the

brains and the stronger one in the partnership and therefore is the

more ambitious.