Macbeth - Ambition

Once her husband has decided to go through with the plan to kill Duncan, careful preparation is accounted for by Lady Macbeth, which is something she seems to d... ... middle of paper ... ...overriding all his protests; when he hesitates to murder; she constantly questions his manhood until he feels that he must murder to prove himself. Lady Macbeth’s notable strength of will endures through the murder of the king. It is Lady Macbeth who calms her husband’s nerves after the crime has been perpetrated. Near the end of the act she begins a slow slide into madness. Ambition affects Lady Macbeth much more than Macbeth before the murders, as does guilt more strongly afterwards.

"Yet I do fear thy nature, it is too full o’th milk of human kindness. To catch the nearest way thou wouldst be great. Art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it." (Act 1, scene 5). Lady Macbeth is the force behind Macbeth’s sudden ambition and she tries to manipulate him into feeling guilty and unmanly for not following through with the murder, by using her husbands emotions, she manages to convince Macbeth to murder Duncan.

Macbeth now convinced that he must prove his manliness by becoming king and he must make this happen by murdering Duncan. Although Lady Macbeth is portrayed as the villain, she has to have someone else to what she want which keeps her from doing the dirty work. After Macbeth kills Duncan, it seems that Lady Macbeth helps by finishing the murder by framing someone other than her husband. Macbeth is a tragic hero who causes suffering by committing murder and distress, exemplifying the negative effects of a bloodthirsty desire for power. Lady Macbeth torments her husband Macbeth in going through with the evil deed of murder which leads her to be the villain.

She calls him a coward. When in reality it is not cowardice that restrains Macbeth, it is his conscience. She also insults his masculinity, and declares that she would have murdered her child while it was feeding at her breast, rather than break such a promise as Macbeth had done. Persuaded by her conviction, he yields to her, and in order to prove himself a man in her eyes, goes against his own nature and agrees to the murder of King Duncan.

The Power of Greed and Malevolence in Macbeth William Shakespeare's Macbeth is not necessarily a play of fate, but rather a tragedy that occurred as a result of uncontrollable greed and malevolence by Macbeth and his wife. The weird sisters only make suggestions about Macbeth's road to kingship; they do not cast spells to make true all their predictions. These interpretations lead Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to kill Duncan and secure the title Thane of Clawdor. While in kingship Macbeth elects to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance, for Macbeth was fearful about losing his throne to Fleance. Senseless violence and inner rage cause the King of Scotland to murder Macduff's children and wife.

Wouldst thou have that Which thou esteem’st the ornament of life And live a coward in thine own esteem Letting ‘I dare not’ wait upon ‘I would’ (1.7.41-44) When Macbeth is confronted and chided by Lady Macbeth for his cowardice, he reluctantly agrees to kill Duncan. It is evident that Lady Macbeth is hunger for power Lady Macbeth’s manipulation and dominance over her husband is evident when she demands Macbeth to prove his ‘masculinity by killing Duncan. After the death of Duncan, Macbeth begins to distance himself from Lady Macbeth, and he becomes ambitious. Despite being a king, Macbeth is worried about Banquo: “To be thus is

After Lady Macbeth heard of the equivocations and Macbeth's potential to become king she immediately began planning how he would kill King Duncan. She calls to the spirits saying, " Come, you spirits that tend my moral thoughts, unsex me here!"(I. V. Lines 42-45). She knew that Macbeth was kind hearted and didn't think that he would find the courage to kill the king so called out to the spirits to ask them to make her more man... ... middle of paper ... ...ers influence decisions that people know are morally wrong can negatively impact their mental state. Thought this play Macbeth knew that committing the murder was wrong but after his wife consistently challenged his manhood he decided to kill Duncan.

Furthermore, in this scene the king announces that Macbeth is to be promoted as the new thane of Cawdor. In this scene Macbeth is portrayed as a mighty, patriotic, warrior and a loyal subject to the king. However as the play progresses Macbeth deviates from these traits. Macbeth’s encounter with the three witches confuses him. He begins to decide on a course ... ... middle of paper ... ... to kill Banquo he says “ Not I’ th’ worst rank of manhood say ‘t And I will put that business in your bosoms”(3.1.115) This was the same technique that Lady Macbeth used when she was persuading Macbeth to kill Duncan; she questioned his manhood.

Through both of these cruel actions, Macbeth and his wife displayed that they are not concerned about the cost of the deed, but only final result that is achieved. This not only results in their downfall, but also has many harmful consequences to other characters. In Macbeth, Shakespeare suggests that driving ambition often causes one to ignore the means and focus only on the final goal; this causes one to participate in actions that have unfathomable consequences for both oneself and for others. Macbeth’s driving ambition to become king leads him to murder King Duncan. Once Macbeth learns of the witches’ prophesy that he will be King of Scotland, Macbeth immediately assumes that he must murder Duncan, the current king.

It is also noticed when he lets his own wife convince him to murder King Duncan to acclaim the throne. Essentially Macbeth does not want to kill King Duncan, but due to some persuading words from his wife Macbeth kills Duncan and regrets it terribly. After Macbeth murders King Duncan his wife has to consol him and make him wash the blood from the murders off of his hands. Furthermore, Macbeth shows off his weak mindset by allowing his mind to become a vicious murderer. The weakening of Macbeth’s mind seemed to begin around the time that King Duncan announces that his son Malcolm is heir to the throne and this is when Macbeth begins to ponder murder.