Ambition is a great quality to have when pushing for the right goals. Ambition helps when wanting to achieve something great. But, if used selfishly or for the wrong thing; ambition can lead to terrible things. Ambition caused Macbeth’s downfall because it caused him to be motivated to kill, go insane from guilt of the actions, and get selfish with his goals. Ambition motivated Macbeth to plot and kill the people in Macbeth. “So is he mine, and in such bloody distance/ That every minute of his being thrusts/ Against my near’st of life.” (III.ii.115-117). This quote was from when Macbeth was getting the murderers to kill Banquo because Macbeth thought that he would be a threat to him becoming king. Macbeth was so pushed to be king that he drove himself to do anything to get to be king. He didn’t care who he hurt …show more content…
“Is this a dagger which I see before me,/ The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee./ I have thee not, and yet I see thee still./ Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible/ To feeling as to sight? Or art thou but/ A dagger of the mind, a false creation,” (II.i.32-37). Macbeth imagined the dagger in front of him because he was so guilty about what they had planned to do to Duncan. After the first killing, Macbeth really changed. He went from being really nice and noble to ruthless and inconsiderate.
Macbeth got super selfish with his goals. When it first started it was Lady Macbeth who was talking him into it for her to become higher up. As the play keep going, Macbeth ended up being very selfish and only caring about getting to be king. “Of all men else I have avoided thee./ But get thee back. My soul is too much charged/ With blood of thine already.”(V.viii.4-6). This quote was said to Macduff from Macbeth about him killing Macduff’s whole family. It shows how he doesn’t even care about anyone else. From killing Duncan to murdering a whole family, he honestly did anything to get the
In the play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare, there is a deep relation to ambition. Macbeth's ambition started after the witches told him that he was going to be king after Duncan died, so then Macbeth and Lady Macbeth just decided to kill Duncan. After this first murder he then decided that he would do anything to keep his crown, since he was so hungry for power. Guilt soon got the best of him which then led to his demise.
Macbeth is a very power greedy person. It is not necessarily his own doing that he is such a ruthless person. It all started (Macbeth being power greedy) with the Three Witches predictions: "All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of Glamis!/ All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of/ Cawdor!/ All hail, Macbeth!
Ambition is frequently seen as desirable - it provides purpose, motivation to work hard, and a goal to strive towards. Yet it also has a dangerous side, when it becomes too great and out of control. Although ambition is often positive, an excess of it can have detrimental effects. This unrestrained ambition is predominant in the tragedy Macbeth. In this play, Shakespeare employs the use of hallucination, blood, and prophecy motifs to emphasize the theme of ambition, which, when goes unchecked by moral constraints, wreaks destruction upon an individual. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth hallucinate, which propels the consequences of ambition. Blood is shed in the pursuit of ambition, when desire for power overwhelms morality. Ambition is further
Before the murder of King Duncan, Macbeth was a brave, noble warrior. “For brave Macbeth well he deserves that name… Till he unseamed him from the nave to th’ chop and fixed his head upon our battlements” (Act I, Scene 2, lines 2). He was one of the last people anyone would expect to kill King Duncan. Shakespeare chooses a noble character such as Macbeth, to emphasize how greed and power can alter a person’s good morals. In Act one we start to see Macbeth’s desire for more power rise. “Stars, hide your fires; Let no light see my black and deep desires. The eye wink at the hond yet let that be which the eye fears, when it is done to see” (Act I, Scene 4, lines 52- 55). His desire for power is at war with his good morals. He wants to become king but does not want to kill Duncan.
Throughout the play Macbeth allows his pride to interfere with his judgment and succumbs to the witches’ prophecy, leading to his tragic downfall. “Macbeth orders a slaughter of innocents in a vain and futile attempt to preserve kingships threatened by prophecies” (Hassel). He murders King Duncan, his good friend, in order to secure his fate as king. Although Macbeth knows the difference between right and wrong, he is a victim of his tragic flaw: his ambition. His tragic flaw repeatedly leads him to deceit and murder.
In the beginning Macbeth was a fairly nice guy and got along with everyone. That changed after he met three witches. At first when Macbeth meets them they tell him two things that begin Macbeth's long trail of evil. The three witches said to him " All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cowdor!" (Act I III 49), at first that then leads to the trail. The second thing they say; "All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter!" (Act 1 scene iii line 50). Those two predictions that were said by the witches to Macbeth caused great ambition within Macbeth. Lady Macbeth finds out about it , and pushes Macbeth's ambition even harder. Lady Macbeth Then tries to get Macbeth to murder King Duncan, because she wants Macbeth to be king and in order to do that he has to get rid of all the next running up errors of the crown. "He that's coming must provided for, and you shall put this night's great business into my dispatch; which shall to all our nights and days to come give solely sovereign sway and masterdom." (Iv,65-69) this quote is Lady Ma...
The play begins with Macbeth being a benevolent person. Later in the play Macbeth began to kill when he was in battles and I believe this is where his inner turmoil began. King Duncan awarded Macbeth the title of Thane of Cawdor due to his loyalty and killing a high level conspirator to Scotland. The three witches who predicted Macbeth would be king gave him a lot more ambition to make this prediction come true. With this prediction hanging on his heart and the want to be more than he currently was, Macbeth realized that the completion of the prophecy may require scheme and murder on his part. Macbeth was still faithful and wanted to share everything with his wife.
In the play Macbeth, ambition plays a big part, specifically in Macbeth’s and lady Macbeth’s lives. Macbeth’s ambition to be the best overtakes his real character, causing him to change tremendously. He will do anything to overstep others, which makes his character stand out. Lady Macbeth is ambitious for Macbeth’s sake, causing him to become ambitious. Shakespeare highlights the theme that devastation follows ambition when ambition oversteps moral boundaries, which is relevant not only in this play, but in our world today.
In Macbeth Ambition is presented as a very dangerous quality, it is one of the many traits responsible for the downfall of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. going of their knowledge
What is ambition? According to Oxford Dictionaries, ambition is a strong desire to do or to achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work. People who are full of ambition may do foolish things to reach their goal, causing unpleasant events to occur. Ambition does not have to be a bad thing though, for having dreams and stretching out to pursue them can be a great thing. However, ambition may lead people to bring others down about what they wish attain, pushing them to try harder, pushing them to strive in the worst way rather than the best. Shakespeare effectively showed the consequences of intense ambition through motives, murder, and lust for power.
In the play Macbeth, Macbeth's ambition was to become king. But the only that he saw fit to become king was to kill Duncan. Duncan and Macbeth were cousins, and Duncan was a kind person to Macbeth. But Macbeth was blinded by his ambition. Macbeth said, "I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself and falls on the other," (Act I Scene VII). By this quote, Macbeth meant that the only reason he sees to kill Duncan was because he wanted to become king. He didn't think about the future consequences or repercussions. At first Macbeth was loyal, but his ambition overcame his morals a kind-heartedness and made him evil.
What drove him to become a power hungry tyrant was his wife. She put ideas in his head that changed him. A day before Macbeth would not speak of the idea of killing the king and now he was considering it. By killing the Duncan, gaining the title and king, and not being caught, Macbeth was given an enormous boost. He now felt invincible and let power finally get to him and corrupt him. With this new amount of power, Macbeth was not willing to let it slip away. To protect his power, he did whatever was necessary. Macbeth cowardly had Banquo killed, going against everything he ever believed in. Killing Banquo was not enough for Macbeth. Shakespeare shows to the audience how power can make a person go higher in the world but at the same time make them more vulnerable. Macbeth was now vulnerable, to solve this he sent the murderers to kill Macduff.
The first illusion that Macbeth sees is that of a dagger, floating in the air and convincing him to commit the foul act of murder. Macbeth, at this point, is still together enough to realize what this dagger is. He says, speaking to the dagger, "Art thou but a dagger of the mind, a false creation, proceeding from the heat oppressed brain?" (II.1, ll. 38-40) Not only does he see a blade at this point,...
Through himself, the relationships he creates and destroys, and the deterioration of nations, Macbeth's character proves the power of ambition and its ability to corrupt one's life. Macbeth realizes that his motivation is his ambition is stronger than his will to act upon what is morally just, mentally deteriorating him inside. Furthermore, his ambition not only affects himself, however destroys his relationships with those around him as his selfish goals hurt others when achieved. At last, his tyrannous manner developed from his ambitious goals corrupts Scotland, the country he leads, as well as his connection with other countries. When one is driven by a want, happiness is attained through achieving this goal; but by willingly choosing to put forth desires before moral judgement, ambition holds the power to corrupt one's life.
Ambition is an underlying theme throughout Macbeth, it is the tragic flaw in human kind, bound to lead to disaster. In Act 1 scene 7 this is one of the most interesting scenes of the play. This is the last time as we see Macbeth a freeman, he can still make the decision whether he wants to be good or evil. The choices that are preventing Macbeth are committing the murder, fear of the consequences on this earth, variety of feelings of kinship, loyalty, and hospitality he admires Duncan’s goodness as he is not the most moral character but hes power is what urges him on that are motives of good A soliloquy, which is found in Act 1, scene 7, in the lines 1-28, Macbeth debates whether he should kill Duncan. The imagery that is in this speech can be dark and moody for most people. Some examples we hear of imagery are “bloody instructions,” “deep damnation,” and a “poisoned chalice”—and suggests that Macbeth is aware of how the murder would open the door to a dark and sinful world. When the soliloquy ends, Macbeth goes to resolve to not kill Duncan but this only...