Ambition In Macbeth

In Macbeth, Shakespeare illustrates that ambition can lead to greed, which eventually leads to one’s demise in their hunger for power. In the exposition, Macbeth receives a prophecy to attain positions of power from the three witches, influencing his ambitious

In this quote, blood symbolizes how guilt causes mental turmoil. Macbeth now always has this evil side of him that won't disappear. Shakespeare wanted to emphasize how since Macbeth now

Within every human being, there is an underlying motive that puts them on the hunt for greatness, power, and achievement- all to fulfill their ideal self-image, which in turn grants them eternal happiness. This same motive is notorious for corrupting the mind’s of those who will stop at nothing to satisfy their thirst for power, consuming them from the inside and ready to take control of their minds, leading them to their own destruction. This is known as ambition; a parasite that can either build up or shatter a person completely. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, ambition is one of the major themes in which the story revolves around as it follows the character Macbeth through his journey to fulfill his prophecy gaven to him by the three witches; he is to become the Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and most importantly, the King of Scotland. With him is his companion and fellow general of the Scottish army, Banquo, who is also given a prophecy, in which he is to become a father to many kings, however not become one himself. Where the two characters’ roads diverge, however, is in their reaction to the information received. Macbeth steers onto an aggressive path, while Banquo remains passive. This is evident through their differences in skepticism, loyalty, and patience, where their particular degree of ambition is tested. The following series of paragraphs will illustrate the differing characters of Macbeth

Ambition is often the driving force in one's life. It is supposed to be the motivating factor that drives one towards success. But one should be careful what they wish for, because that power might be exactly what causes their downfall. In the book Macbeth the major theme of the story is that there is a blind ambition that is bad and will only result in destruction.

“Ambition is like love, impatient both of delays and rivals.” – Buddha. Buddha was a wise man and knew that someone who is ambitious can get very impatient when it comes to delaying their plan and having rivals that share the same goals. Ambition is often the result of one good thing happening which leads to one pursuing their dreams more and more. Although ambition can be a good thing, it can also be bad. Twisting people 's judgment on reality and making them perform actions they wouldn 't normally do. Such is the case in Macbeth where ambition causes Macbeth to go through with a murderous plot to become king that involves his wife plotting the murder and going insane. In the play Macbeth, Shakespeare expresses the theme of ambition by

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

Initially, she is a beguiling instigator of murder, and her first reaction to blood displays this nonchalant attitude. She tells Macbeth, “My hands are of your colour, but I shame / To wear a heart so white” (IIii 24). Lady Macbeth effortlessly washes off this blood with water, disregarding the guilt. Lady Macbeth’s second reaction to blood, however, exhibits shock over her husband’s free acts of cruelty. She sees the guards her husband has slain and faints. Covered in blood, the murdered guards underline Macbeth’s malice and cruelty. Therefore, when Lady Macbeth faints at the sight of these symbols, she makes obvious her change from plotting instigator to shocked observer. Blood continues to symbolize guilt, and eventually, just as Macbeth wants to remove blood from his hands, Lady Macbeth wants to cleanse her hands of blood and guilt. She visualizes a spot of blood on her hands and perpetually tries to wash it off. “Out, damned spot! out, I say!” (Vi 72). The stigma of guilt, however, cannot be removed, which reveals Lady Macbeth’s haunting, incurable guilt over the murders during Macbeth’s reign. Lady Macbeth continues in woeful guilt, saying “The Thane of Fife had a wife: where is she now? / What, will these hands ne’er be clean? No more / o’ that, my lord, no more o’ that: you mar all with / this starting” (Vi 72). She says her hands will never be clean, indicating that

Everyone has ambition in his or her mind. For some, this ambition will cause great evil. In Macbeth By William Shakespeare, Shakespeare uses the character Macbeth and literary devices such as Irony, soliloquy and symbolism to show how the power of ambition can change someone.

William Shakespeare’s Macbeth focuses on the subject of ambition and its psychological burdens. He makes it clear that Macbeth did commit to his hateful deeds responding to the psychological burden of his sins. A respected Thane, who has shown great loyalty to King Duncan, goes from a vigorous and worthy soldier to a shameless murderer presents himself as Macbeth

Not only her not having to be a widow, but she also couldn’t stand the thought of seeing her husband die so she killed herself. The fact that she had that much love for Macbeth, to kill herself is a beautiful love story. Let’s not forget, this only isn’t a love story also a tragedy because everyone ends up dying in the end. Macbeth’s Character Change Although Macbeth is known as honorable king and showed a lot of bravery his character switched up and he changed into a devious and brutal killer.

Blood is a perversion of nature, when there is blood, there is murder. After Macbeth murders Duncan, Macbeth has blood on his hands. There is physical blood on Macbeth’s hands which he can wash off with water. But, Macbeth goes on to say, “Will all great Neptune’s oceans wash this blood clean from my hand?” (Shakespeare 2.2.58-59), showing there is guilt setting into his mind already and he cannot wash it from his now stained hands. No amount of water in the world would be able to ever wash away the blood that has been spilled on Macbeth’s conscience. Nothing can ever wash away the guilt of killing Duncan (Blood Symbolism in Macbeth by William Shakespeare). Even after Macbeth realizes that he cannot escape the guilt of killing Duncan, he continues, even to go on killing his best friend Banquo. Instead of killing Banquo himself, Macbeth has people go out and kill him. After Banquo is killed by murderers, Macbeth sees his ghost appear at dinner. Macbeth starts screaming at Banquo however no one else can see him. Macbeth sees Banquo and feels the guilt weighing down on his conscience. Macbeth becomes scared of Banquo. “It will have blood, they say; blood will have blood” (Shakespeare 3.4.22). The combination of the fear and insanity all adds to his guilt. “All causes shall give way. I am in blood. Stepp’d in so far that, should

“Thou wouldst be great, art not without ambition, but without the illness that should attend it” (318). This quote characterizes Lady Macbeth’s cleverness and emphasizes the precarious balance between ambition and wickedness. Moreover, her opinion foreshadows the unbalance that will take occur, leading to tragedy. “Nought’s had, all’s spent, where our desire is got without content: ‘Tis safer to be that which we destroy than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy” (347). Lady Macbeth realizes that although she and her husband have obtained their desired status and wealth, she finds herself unhappy and seeking more.

Ambition is not an offering that life hands to someone, but it is defined as a strong desire to do or to achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work. Though having ambition is represented in society as a good capability to acquire, it will have downsides. The undeniable power of unbridled ambition and its ramifications are portrayed In William Shakespeare’s, Macbeth. The play shows the character by the name of Macbeth and his arrogant desire for power, triggered by the prophecies, and Banquo through certain conflicts that they have to endure or the change in their characterization to being hubris, which enhances that prevalent message that how if one were to be too fixated on a goal and not being conscious about their

In Macbeth, Shakespeare has used the theme of guilt to outline the consequences of having a lust for power. “I am in blood Stepp’d in so far, that, should I wade in no more, Returning were as tedious as go o’er.” This quote is immediately after Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo who shames Macbeth for committing a sin to his best friend. The blood is a metaphor and a symbol, which juxtaposes his thoughts

In Shakespeare’s stage play Macbeth, a husband and wife are blinded by ambition which causes them to commit crimes to achieve power, but in the process they become unhappy and eventually died. Finally achieving their dream of power, did nothing for the couple except make them miserable and discontent with their lives. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s longing to be powerful figures made them engage in evil actions and directly led to their demise, revealing that in the ambitious pursuit of power a person can leave one distraught and disappointed with their achievements and bring about their own downfall.