Macbeth: Ambition, Fate, and Tragic Downfall

William Shakespeare once wrote, “Signs of nobleness, like stars, shall shine on all deservers” (1.4, 47-48). Like stars, certain people deserve to be rewarded and others are not. In the tragedy Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Macbeth is a noble general under King Duncan of Scotland. He and his friend Banquo are heroes when they defeat two armies led by the rebel Macdonald. However, when Macbeth encounters three witches during a journey through a moor, he believes the prophecy they tell him and kills his closest friends in order to become king. People become aware of his killings and eventually Macduff kills Macbeth. Throughout the novel, fate and time play an important role to reveal Macbeth’s ambitions and his struggle towards determining

Because of his ambitious nature, he will fall to his tragic death. When Macbeth and Banquo return from their triumphant battle, they encounter the three witches at the moor. They prophesize how he will become the Thane of Glamis, the Thane of Cawdor, and eventually the king of Scotland. Soon after, Ross, a Scottish noble, tells Macbeth that he has become Thane of Cawdor. Once Macbeth knows that he will eventually become king, he steps aside and contemplates if he should kill Duncan, the king. He states, “This supernatural soliciting cannot be ill, cannot be good. My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, shakes so my single state of man that function is smothered in surmise and nothing is but what is not”(1.4.144, 154-155). He knows that committing an act of murder is not ethical because he sees that it would scare him so much that he would not be able to function. He even says that the presence of the three witches is not ethical and cannot be good. Then, Macbeth states, “If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me” (1.4.158). When he contemplates about killing Duncan, the audience can see that Macbeth is ambitious for power and is tantalized over the witches’ prophecy. He wants to become king and if he has the opportunity, he will be take it. The way he handles the situation suggests that he is unsure that being a high-ranking officer is

The author uses this motif to help his audience understand how some people cannot reach their goals because they do not realize the consequences. In the beginning of the novel, Macbeth contemplates if he should kill Duncan. He states, “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only ambition, which o’erleaps itself” (1.7.25-27). Soon, his wife mocks his fears and accepts to kill Duncan (1.7.38). The motif of fate, helps the reader understand that Macbeth can be easily manipulated. In his soliloquy, he admits that he can not act thoughtfully because he is motivated only by ambition. In addition, his tone is not convincing and has not made up his mind for four scenes in the play. Because he can be easily manipulated and his growing ambition, eventually he suffers the consequences when a rebellion forms to kill him in act five. In the middle of the novel, Macbeth approaches the witches in order to stabilize his kingship. The witches provide Macbeth three apparitions for him to follow. They instruct him to beware Macduff, but people born from a woman can not kill him. In addition, he will not lose his power until Birnam Wood moves to Dunsinane. This makes Macbeth relieved, but he is shaken when a line of kings appear with Banquo. He decides to kill Macduff’s family immediately and Macduff seeks for revenge. Eventually, Macduff kills him because Macbeth