Ambition As Depicted In Shakespeare's Macbeth

Ambition is often the driving force in one’s life. It is supposed to be the motivating factor that drives one towards success. Society also deems ambition a necessary quality of their leader. It can be said that Macbeth exhibits this quality of ambition. He is the strong, valiant warrior who has won in battle and brought victory to Scotland. However, Macbeth’s quest to acquire more power-his ambition-ultimately leads to his tragic demise. How can one allow himself to be destroyed by such a thing? Before Duncan’s murder, Macbeth questions and second guesses his ambitious tendencies and actions. Despite his anxiety, he succumbs to these tendencies and finds himself in an increasingly precarious situation, with his back against the wall and growing ever closer to his almost inevitable end.

There are many different themes displayed in Shakespeare's famous play Macbeth. Many of these themes play with nature, the supernatural, and fate. From ghosts to horses eating each other the play uses symbolism, language, and characters to portray these themes. During the play the audience learns of several themes such as ambition, guilt, fate versus free will, nature versus the unnatural, and how things are not always as they seem.

Macbeth displays ambition by the way he talks and his actions over the course of the play. Ambition is a strong desire to do or achieve something that takes hard work and dedication. In the play Macbeth, Macbeth has strong desire to be successful out on the battlefield and also in his pursuit to take over as king. Macbeth’s ambition is detrimental to himself and that is shown throughout the play. Macbeth’s strong desires and aspirations end up hurting him after all and the bad things he had done eventually catch up to him.

In Macbeth ambition plays a huge role in character devolvement. Ambition affects four of the major characters. The characters are Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, Malcom, and Banquo. The sisters are the source of Ambition. It is as if they control ambition. The ambition the sisters’ control is negative ambition. Ambition is, wanting to have more then you have and wanting it now.

As a result, she stated the following, “Come you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood.” Through this she begs the spirits to take away any sympathy within in her in order to have the wit, desire, and drive her husband lacked of in order to become royalty. Through Lady Macbeth, Shakespeare shows there’s no such thing as impossible on the way to getting what one wants. In addition to giving up her femininity, Lady Macbeth also sacrifices her morals by convincing her husband to kill the king, when failing to do so; she states, “When you durst do it, then you were a man.” In other words she convinces Macbeth to kill King Duncan, despite knowing what a horrid crime that was. The struggle to go through anything standing in her way caused her to lose herself as well as her sanity. After realizing what she had caused, she began to lose her mind. She would constantly see her hands covered in blood by those who had been murdered along the way. Unable to get rid of the image in her head, led her to eventually commit suicide.

The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare recounts Macbeth's meteoric rise as a soldier and promising future leader whose megalomaniacal ambition led to his tragic downfall. In addition to Macbeth's ambitions, which initially enable him to be strong leader and soldier, he is influenced heavily by his wife, Lady Macbeth, and the three witches that prophesize his ascent to the throne, as well as warn him of his eventual demise. It can be argued that it is Macbeth's ambition that allows him to succeed in his endeavors, however the goals to which he is working toward influence the results of his hard work. Macbeth's ambitions help him to become a war hero, and as his goals change, his ambitions drive him to become a tyrannical villain.

Consequences such as the dreading constant thought of guilt can significantly impact a person’s life mentally, emotionally and physically. Guilt most often occurs due to a morally wrong act which one commits. The play Macbeth by William Shakespeare effectively demonstrates this statement since the protagonist, Macbeth, provides a good example as his tragic flaw damages him overall. The text establishes the theme that a selfish desire can destroy one’s conscience and morals due to over ambition. He advertises this life lesson towards the audience through usage of imagery and symbols to show universality. Shakespeare explores the theme by constructing obstacles, which develop distinct characteristics of the main characters,

The Influences of Desire Desire means what people really want to do or to have in deep of their heart, sometimes it doesn’t show on their face. Desire can be people's ambitions, freedom of love, or a strong body. Here is an example for ambition, in Shakespeare’s "Macbeth”, the character Macbeth grows his desire of power after he heard from the three witches that he will be the next king soon. His ambitions, the desire of power influenced him so much that it turned him into an evil person.

Ambition is Dangerous and Can Lead to Terrible Consequences Ambition is a good quality in human beings, but it can also be paradoxically bad as well. The consequences that ambition may sometimes lead to do not only affect the individual but may also have consequences on others around that person. In Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, there are many characters whose ambitions lead them to terrible consequences. For example, ambition can cause an individual to become greedy causing grief like how Lady Macbeth’s greed to become Queen of Scotland, leads to her depression. Also, ambition can result in a person to become inconsiderate with terrible consequences such as, Macduff’s decision to leave his family in Scotland resulting in their death.

Ambition is a strong desire to do or to achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work. In Williams Shakespeare 's Macbeth the characters Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have a strong desire to ascend the throne and they are determined to do whatever it takes in order to achieve this goal, including deceiving and killing those they are closest to. The zeal of ambition predominately persuades both characters actions in Macbeth. Lady Macbeth portrays how the forces of ambition strike her to instil a powerful drive in her husband, also how she demonstrates an overweening pride and lack of morals in order to reach a goal and lastly how ambition leads Macbeth to betray those cares about most.

In addition, Aristotle believes themes and type of diction classifies whether or not a play is a tragedy. He states they should includes various themes, speeches that reveal themes and character, and metaphors. (McManus) Macbeth has various themes, such as, excessive ambition leads to one’s downfall, for which they aspire to reach unreachable heights, deception leads to bigger lies and to one’s downfall, and “fair is foul, and foul is fair,” (I, i, 12) meaning there is good and bad in everything. Macbeth perfectly demonstrates how excessive ambition can lead to one’s downfall as it leads to his death.

Ambition is a desire for an achievement or distinction of sorts, for it could be a drive to obtain power, honor, fame, or wealth. William Shakespeare features ambition as a leading theme in several of his works of Renaissance Drama. Renaissance theater was known for scarce scenery but elaborate costuming, with Shakespeare’s Globe Theater in the spotlight. The Globe, the most popular public theater in its time, served as the first stage for many Shakespeare plays (Beers 428-31). Considered to be one of the greatest dramatists of all time, Shakespeare is a world-renowned British writer, and on a lesser scale he is known for his acting career. Shakespeare is known for his writing of plays, tragedies, comedies, and histories, and sonnets (Beers 433). One of Shakespeare’s greatest works, Macbeth, stars numerous characters with ambition. Macbeth tells the tale of the Scottish warrior Macbeth and his dramatic rise up the social ladder and rapid descent mentally; there is murder, treachery, and insanity lie in the heart of the play’s plot. Additionally, Macbeth has three, strange witches that stir up supernatural trouble for the play’s leading characters, mainly Macbeth (Shakespeare). Macbeth, like most other Renaissance tragedies, features real people; yet, the real Macbeth had a legitimate claim to royalty. King James even claimed he was one of the kings that directly descended from

‘Macbeth’ is a tragic play written by William Shakespeare in the sixteen hundred, it dramatizes the physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power through the character of Macbeth. ‘The Pursuit Of Happyness’ likewise is a film directed by Gabriel Muccino who portrays a man named Chris Gardener who through his hard work and dedicated ambition goes from living on the streets to a rich stockbroker. In Macbeth and pursuit of happiness, both authors explore how ambition can…. (thesis). Macbeth's ambition is portrayed in a negative light as it is aimed to gain power and status, however, Chris ambition is pushed by his desire to gain happiness and a better future for him and his son. Similarly, both characters endure toxic spousal relationships that help them to tap into their ambition but it leads to different portrayal of ambition. Macbeth and Chris eventually both face the outcome of their ambition for Macbeth it being his doom where else for Chris it being his success. Shakespeare and Gabriel Muccino explore the theme of ambition through the protagonists of both plays.

Many Shakespearian dramas, like Macbeth, are inspired by the ancient Greek notion of tragedy and the fall of man; much of which is powered by one’s lust for greater gains. Correspondingly, the play reveals how ambition creates the capability of deteriorating a man’s morality and world. This is presented through the titular character and his “dearest partner of greatness” (P. 23) and the consequences of their actions.

Macbeth is a tragedy about the corrupting power of unchecked ambition and is what the plot is propelled by. Without the aspect of human desire, Shakespeare’s story would have been stopped short. Macbeth, a successful and courageous general, seemingly content with being loyal, has his conscience sway with the words of a group of tempters or Witches, and ends up killing Duncan after some back and forth, to take the crown for himself. However it should also be considered that he was coerced to commit the deed after his wife, Lady Macbeth threatened Macbeth into it, having her own desires of taking the top. She wished for greater things for her husband and was just as intrigued by the idea of taking the throne as was Macbeth. With analysis, no one person could be completely blamed for the path the Macbeth’s murderous path ran down, but without Macbeth rise and self induced fall, the play would have a considerably different plot.