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Ambition 's Influence Of William Shakespeare 's ' Macbeth '

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Sydney DeBerry
Motlow English 2230
Mrs. Lockhart
20 April 2015
Ambition’s Influence in Macbeth 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

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