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Ambeth And Ambition In William Shakespeare's Macbeth

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Macbeth and Ambition

In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the titular main character begins as a successful Scottish thane with loyalty to his king. A promotion and a visit from prophetic witches, however, put him on a murderous path that ends in his and his family's downfall. Shakespeare constantly represents overactive ambition as Macbeth and his wife's "fatal flaw". Additionally, it is arguably the major cause of nearly every negative occurrence within the play. Excess ambition can be considered the main theme of the play and overall, one that evolves over time.

The first act of the play revolves around revealing Macbeth's prophecy and his potential method of achieving it. It is also the act in which Duncan bestows Macbeth as Thane of Cawdor and Prince of Cumberland. As the witches had just prophesized his becoming Thane of Cawdor and eventually king, this proves them correct. Macbeth takes this as meaning that it is prophesized for him to kill Duncan and become king. His reaction is as follows:

The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step

On which I must fall down, or else o'erleap,

For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires,

Let not light see my black and deep desires.

The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be

Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see.

(1.4.5 -- 6).

In this, he realizes what he must do and knows that it is wrong but considers doing it anyway because of how desperately he wants to be king. At this point in the play, ambition is merely a dark yearning inside of him and not something that he feels he would be able to do. It is not until his wife pushes him forwards that his ambition evolves into the force that will destroy him.

Act Two involves Macbeth's murder of Duncan and some of the initial effects. One such effect being Macbeth's horror upon becoming a murderer. Lady Macbeth, in this act, could be a representation of his ambition. When he fails to plant the evidence of the murders out of guilt, his wife attempts to reassure him. When he continues to refuse, she herself takes it into her own hands and chastises his remorse (2.2.68--73). In a way, she is the antithesis of his conscience.

In the beginning of the next

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