The author, William Shakespeare, wrote a play titled, The Tragedy of Macbeth, which took place in Scotland during the 11th century. In the story, the main character, Macbeth, went on a destructive and murderous path to be king. The essential theme of the tragedy is ambition shown throughout the play by Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. To begin with, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth go through various events to show the power of ambition and determination as a crucial theme of the play. For example, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth show characteristics of being blood-thirsty, murderous, and spiteful. The reader can see that Lady Macbeth is more masculine than Macbeth by the way she handles some events throughout the play. When Lady Macbeth receives a letter from Macbeth, she is hesitant that Macbeth will not run the risk of making himself king because he is “th’ milk of human kindness.” (Act 1, Scene 5, Line 15) …show more content…
During Act I, King Duncan is ignorant of Macbeth’s intensions because King Duncan thinks Macbeth is a good person. When Macbeth is visiting the king’s castle, King Duncan praises Macbeth for his loyalty and valor. King Duncan decides he should visit Macbeth’s castle; instead of Macbeth leaving to make sure Duncan will approve, Macbeth stays because of his desires to be king. “Stars, hide your fires/ Let not light see my black and deep desires to be king.” (Act 1, Scene 4, Line 50-1) Lady Macbeth keeps provoking Macbeth to perform his murderous deed of slaying Duncan to gain the title of kingship. During Lady Macbeth’s preparation, the guards were drunk and drugged, with daggers placed by them to make it look like they did the heartless crime Macbeth actually did. Lady Macbeth would have performed Macbeth’s deed, if King Duncan didn’t resemble her own father. (Act 1, Scene 7)All in all, the masculine female, Lady Macbeth had everything in place to get Macbeth to be
Lady Macbeth- the malicious mastermind, and the second driving force behind the murders done by Macbeth, had believed that by portraying a man’s ways, she would attain power-for her and her husband, and gain whatever they needed without remorse or sorrow. Lady Macbeth urges Macbeth to frame two guards by getting them intoxicated and even prepares the murder scene for Macbeth to take King Duncan's life. Macbeth even questions his loyalty and righteousness in this moment by saying, “But in these cases, we still have judgment here…bloody instructions…return to plague the inventor” and . . .” He is here in double trust; first as I am his kinsman and his subject, strong both against the deed; then as his host” (I.VII.7-14). This just
In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, Macbeth’s descent into madness is a major theme in the story. Throughout the play we witness him try to reach his ambitions, but also witnessing his journey into insanity. What caused this descent? Macbeth had many influences in his life telling him where to go and what to do. His wife, Lady Macbeth told him to chase after his ambitions, and the three witches supposedly prophesied that his ambitions would be reached. Who was responsible for the final outcome of his descent? Lady Macbeth and the three witches were major influences in his descent, but ultimately was Macbeth responsible for his own destruction? To be able to identify who is really responsible for this unfortunate outcome, one must examine each person’s
When the reader is introduced to Macbeth in the play, King Duncan of Scotland is hearing how General Macbeth and General Banquo subdued Norwegian forces and arrested the Thane of Cawdor for treason. He seems to have a high moral standing and is a strong character, but Macbeth and Banquo meet three witches in the woods, they refer to him as Baron of Glamis, Baron of Cawdor, and then king. They also say that although Macbeth will be king, Banquo's sons will become kings as well, even if Banquo will not. Macbeth was already Baron of Glamis, and did not yet know that the king of Scotland had named him Baron of Cawdor in place of the one arrested for treason. He thought that the witches were insane but once he heard news that he was indeed
And thou opposed, being of no woman born, Yet I will try the last. Before my body. I throw my warlike shield. Lay on, Macduff, And damn'd be him that first cries, 'Hold, enough!’’ Macbeth’s heinous and savage acts are driven by his consuming desires and ambition.
Ambition is often the driving force in one’s life. It can have an extremely dominant impact on not only yourself, but also many people in your surroundings. You have the ability to control if the outcomes either have a lasting negative or positive effect. When a goal requires determination and hard work to complete, personal morals often take a back seat to the aspiration of accomplishing the goal. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, it is clear that like many other great leaders, Macbeth exemplifies the necessary leadership virtue of ambition. Macbeth’s ambition does not just drive him to do great things. It in fact controls him. The playwright explores the idea of how an individual’s ambition can cause them to deceive others, make irrational
‘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.
Ambition is defined as, having strong want or desire for more than you have. In the story “Macbeth”, ambition contributes to the devolvement of the characters. The three witches are the source of such ambition in this story. It’s almost as if they control the negative or even dark, selfish ambition of the characters Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and Banquo.
Many people believe that being ambitious is always a good thing. However, it is not. Ambition is not an overall bad thing, but it's not 100% virtuous either. Before I could begin my essay, I had to sit and actually evaluate the word itself. Many people have ambitions in life.
“I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o'erlaps itself and falls on th’ other-” (Shakespeare 321). Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Macbeth highlights the dedication of characters towards a specific cause or achievable goal. However, the intentions of the character and the intensity of their pursuit varies as the action of the play progresses. Throughout The Tragedy of Macbeth, main characters exemplify the positive and negative influence of ambitions through their thoughts, traits, actions, and motivations.
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.
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 Macbeth, Macbeth struggles between ambition and morals. Macbeth is shown the opportunity to achieve great power but finds that it comes at the cost of his morals and friendships. Throughout the play, Macbeth experiences a constant conflict between his quest for power and his internal moral compass, between evil and good, corruption and loyalty, and this conflict is used by the author, Shakespeare, to highlight the constant conflict in human nature and it's corruption. One side of this conflict is the morals of Macbeth. Macbeth has a very established moral character, one that is quickly tested over the course of the play.
Macbeth is a play that took place on medieval Scotland. The play is based on Macbeth’s ambition to become the King of Scotland. The play has three witches that have a vision that Macbeth is going to become the next king of Scotland and that his friend Banquo will beget a line of Scottish kings, although Banquo will never be king himself. This vision became the core of the play even though Macbeth was one of King’s Duncan favorite generals. This wasn’t a sufficient reason to stop Macbeth from perusing the ultimate goal, which was to commit Treason, kill the king and become the king of Scotland.
Many classic works of literature encompass the subject of ambition. Ambition is the desire for a goal, usually involving power or rank. Shakespeare’s Macbeth has underlying themes of ambition. Edgar Albert Guest’s Ambition and Emily Dickinson’s Aspiration are two poems that also deal with ambition.
In Shakespare’s play Macbeth, Lady Macbeth’s destiny is formed by her own actions through mind and free-will. In act I, Lady Macbeth convinces her husband to murder Duncan, even though Macbeth was strongly against it. Lady Macbeth is very successful at persuading him to go against his better judgment. She entirely changes the stereotype of women being kind and caring in the first act. After Macbeth writes home telling of his murderous plans, Lady Macbeth begins talking to evil spirits. Because women often lack the ruthlessness to kill someone, Lady Macbeth asks the spirits to make her male. One of the most vivid descriptions of Lady Macbeth’s wickedness is directly after Macbeth announces to her he does not want to kill Duncan. This speech symbolizes Lady Macbeth’s evilness. She is ruthless, because of her evil accounts for the murders that occur throughout the play. Lady Macbeth convinces her husband to commit murders that will make them king