Ambition and the Downfall of Macbeth, Idi Amin, and, Napoleon Bonaparte

Before Macbeth meets with Macduff, he thinks of ways to handle Macduff so he would no longer be a problem. Macduff was considered to be a problem because he left the kingdom in order to assist an opposing force. Macbeth states “Then live, Macduff: what need I fear of thee? But yet I’ll make assurance double sure, and take a bond of fate.” (Act IV scn i, ln 82-84) He wants to make sure Macduff will not be a problem; he wants to keep Macduff out of his way. In this scene Macbeth is attempting to discover ways to inforce his superiority through the phrase “The castle of Macduff I will surprise; seize upon Fife; give to th’ edge o’ th’ sword his wife, his babies, and all unfortunate souls.” (Act IV scn i, ln 150-152) He hired men to kill Macduff’s family, so he will be depressed and will grieve; he wants to keep Macduff out of the way of him still being King. The main reason he did this, however, was to exert his leadership over Macduff and send a message. This paragraph explains how Macbeth was disloyal to Macduff and how he did anything to keep Macduff out of his way, but things did not turn out as he

They enter the castle in scene seven and Macduff seeks out Macbeth, ignoring all other beings there. "Let me find him, Fortune! And more I beg not" (5.7). They finally meet and Macbeth tells him to leave, as he already has so much of his blood. Macduff says that he has no words for him and that he will let his sword be his voice. Macduff then tells Macbeth that his prophecy does not protect from him, as he had to be removed from his mother by C-section and thusly is not “Woman-born”. He then fights Macbeth to the death. He reappears in scene nine with Macbeth’s head and announces that Malcolm is now the king of Scotland.

As the play went on, Macbeth became more and more crazy. And with him losing his mind and all of the killings, a few people started to be suspicious of Macbeth’s sudden rise to the throne. Macbeth was worried about his secret of how he came to power coming to light, so he had to cover up his tracks. He went back to the three weird sisters and demanded another prophecy. After receiving his new prophecies, he realized just how close he was to being discovered. He immediately hired men to kill Macduff’s family. He made this decision all on his own. No one influenced his choice to have these people unjustly

Macduff’s burning desire for revenge towards Macbeth was encouraged by many forces. As it is known, Macbeth murders Duncan which causes Malcolm to flee to England because he fears for his life. Following Duncan’s death, Macduff was the first to discover Duncan dead, and it can be inferred that he was so angry and mortified that it sparks apprehensiveness towards Macbeth’s acquiring the throne. As he realizes that he does not agree with Macbeth’s reign, he decides to leave his family behind in Fife to go to England to find Malcolm, the true heir to the throne. His plan is to conspire with Malcolm to build an army against Macbeth. Macduff was so loyal to Scotland and the true ruler that he was willing to abandon his family in the process of freeing Scotland from tyranny. As he meets with Malcolm, Ross delivers the news that

Macduff's ambition in this play was to be loyal to his country by taking out Macbeth. Too much of his time is spent plotting against Macbeth, which throws off Macduff’s values. He abandons his family and left for England to find Malcolm so he could wage war against Macbeth. Later, Macbeth hears that the recent absence of Macduff at the banquet and at Duncan’s funeral was because he had fled to England, to find Malcolm. So Macbeth reacts to this by sending murderers to kill Macduff's family. Once Macduff finds out that his family is dead, he starts to exhibit some emotion. At this time he is about to wage war on Macbeth with Malcolm; Malcolm say's to Macduff "Dispute it like a man"(4.3.259). Macduff then replies,

Macbeth murders many to gain power. He causes the suffering of families and murders former friends. The violence starts with the murder of the king, Duncan, who’d trusted and honored Macbeth; Macbeth kills him to gain the position of king. Duncan’s death is the catalyst; Macbeth subsequently begins to use violence as a regular way to attain power. He murders his former friend, Banquo, refusing to accept that Banquo’s sons will be kings as prophesized by the witches. He says in regard to the prophecy, “Rather than so, come fate into the list, / And champion me to th' utterance.” Instead of accepting fate, he challenges the prophecy and orders Banquo’s death. His final homicide is the massacre of Lord Macduff’s family. When Macduff hears of the brutal slaughter, he cries, “That were most precious to me. Did heaven look on, / And would not take their

Macbeth shows his desire for power, he was friendly to Banquo before he became the king, but after he became the king, he let three murderers to kill Banquo and his son. “So is he mine, and is such bloody distance That every minute of his being thrusts against my near ‘st of life”(3.1 line 116-118). Macbeth sent three murderers to kill Banquo and his son since they ran away. All he thinks about is to kill more people in order to gain more power. Macbeth didn’t just kill Banquo only, he also killed Macduff’s whole family. “Murderer. What your egg! Stabbing him. Young fry of treachery! Son. He has killed me, mother: Run away, I pray you”(4.3 line 84-87). He killed Macduff’s whole family, he just wanted to make sure he doesn’t lose his power, so he just killed anyone who against him, he’s obsessed with his power, he never cares about breaking other people’s family.

Not only did attempt to kill Banquo and Fleance with murderers, but Macduff’s family. Like Banquo, Macduff’s family received a knife to the body. All this was done to make sure Macbeth kept his spot on the throne, but it was done like a weakling, not face to face like a strong and proud man would.

After this Macbeth kills Macduff whole family and servants to send Macduff a message for being disloyal and he thinks that Macduff suspects him of something as well. This is shown when Macbeth says “The castle of Macduff I will surprise, Seize upon Fife, give to th' edge o' th' sword His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls That trace him in his

Throughout the play we see the character of Macbeth change, not only from the way he thinks and speaks, but from his actions as well. Killing Banquo and having Lady Macduff and her children murdered show the insecurity that is present in Macbeth’s character.  After the murder of Duncan, Macbeth becomes paranoid.  This paranoia leads to his killing the guards to help secure the place that he has found for himself.  Macbeth is also very superstitious, which becomes evident when he allows the witches’ prophecy to convince him that Banquo’s offspring would become Kings.

First, it is Macbeth’s thirst for power, coupled with Lady Macbeth’s manipulation of him, that drive the murder of KIng Duncan. As Banquo becomes suspicious and as Macbeth becomes increasingly troubled by the witches’ proclamation that Banquo will be the father of kings, Macbeth convinces himself that Banquo must be killed, proclaiming “For Banquo’s issue I have filed my mind [...] the seeds of Banquo kings (III.i.70-75).” Macbeth is paranoid of losing his new-found power to Banquo. This fear is so stout that it drives him to solicit the murder of his most loyal friend. As his morality devolves further, Macbeth senses disloyalty from Macduff, and he resolves to murder MacDuff’s entire family. In Act IV, Macbeth says, “But yet I'll make assurance double sure,/ And take a bond of fate: thou shalt not live; (IV.i.94-95).” Even though the prophecy seems to assuage Macbeth’s fears of losing power, he still plans to kill MacDuff, supporting his further descent into corruption and evil- all driven by his thirst for

Before Macbeth made his move on Macduff he had to return to the witches for more advice. To Macbeth’s surprise the witches had an unknown power that he had never experienced before. Right before Macbeth’s eyes an apparition appeared and said, “Macbeth, Macbeth, Macbeth, Beware Macduff. / Beware the Thane of Fife” (4.1.81-2). This quickly exacerbated Macbeth’s thoughts about Macduff. Though things were not looking to good the second apparition appeared. This apparition in the form of a bloody child said, “Be bloody, bold, and resolute. Laugh to scorn/ The power of man, for none of a woman born/ Shall harm Macbeth” (4.1.90-2). At this point Macbeth is feeling as though he has a shot at becoming King. With his confidence boosted he wants to know more, thus the third apparition appears. The crowned child with a tree in hand said, “Macbeth shall never vanquished be until/ Great Birnham Wood to high Dunsinane Hill/ Shall come against him” (4.1.105-7). Shortly after the

Ambition is, to desire to obtain more than you have and desiring it now. Ambition can develop the necessities that are essential to becoming successful. This ambitious behavior can also create negative actions, resulting in failure. This attribute can be named as a universal human trait. The Tragedy of Macbeth, Macbeth Murder Mystery, and Why Read Shakespeare?, are examples that involve this universal human trait. Although ambition can benefit people, it can eventually lead to misguided judgment if not properly controlled.

Macduff's intelligence leans towards irresponsibility when he abandons his family without realising the danger his actions will cause them. When Macduff goes to England for help in freeing Scotland from the tyrant Macbeth, and informs Malcolm of the terrible things that have been happening in Scotland, he says; "Let us rather / Hold fast the mortal sword, and like good men / Bestride our down-fall'n birthdom" (4, 3, 2-4). There is a great sense of urgency in Macduff's words because his thoughts become obsessive with eliminating Scotland of its evil tyrant rather than focusing on his family. His suspicion grows after Macbeth’s killing of the guards and so he refuses to attend Macbeth’s coronation which leads to the murder of his family.

All of Macduff's family were the most honest and childlike characters in the play. They were not the most popular on the play but because they were related to Macduff they got killed. Macbeth killed Macduff's noble wife and son just because Macduff knew the real demon side of Macbeth. Macduff knew that King Duncan was not killed by his loyal, royal guards but was killed by the one and only Macbeth. One of the reasons Macbeth killed Macduff's family was because he knew that he was a threat and wanted to start a battle knowing that he would win because of what the three witches told him. Macbeth was afraid that Macduff would take his royal place in the