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Macbeth Ambition Analysis

Good Essays

“All hail, Macbeth, That shalt be king hereafter!” (Shakespeare 311). In The Tragedy of Macbeth, Shakespeare begins with a prophecy to foretell the success Macbeth shall have in the near future. Yet, the path to the throne, is left untold. Meanwhile, Shakespeare goes on to define Macbeth as the perfect hero, granting him titles of Scottish nobility for his courage displayed in the battle against Norway. Ironically, despite being depicted as an honorable and courageous character, Macbeth creates violence through bloodshed in order to achieve the crown. His most considerable flaw, ambition, destroys Macbeth from the inside out, leaving him as empty. Shakespeare ultimately portrays a recurring theme of ambition as a direct result of personal downfall in correlation to the ideals and actions of Macbeth.
Consequently, Macbeth's ambitious desires overcome his morality throughout the entirety of the tragedy. Creating flawed characteristics, which lead to his downfall. These characteristics include the following; greed, paranoia, and betrayal. Unfortunately, his desire to achieve his ambition gave way to greedy actions. In the beginning, Macbeth was loyal to king Duncan, accepting his fate with time. “Why, if fate will have me king, why, chance may crown me,” (Shakespeare 311) . Macbeth begins to understand that all come with time. Yet, as the play progresses, so did Macbeth's sour mentality and characteristics of greed protrude. Despite knowing his set future, Macbeth proceeds to give into dark deeds for his own personal gain. Although he struggles with confliction, his wife convinces him to advance with his plans. “When you durst do it, then you were a man; and to be more than what you were, you would be so much more the man” (Shakespeare 322). Lady Macbeth is outraged when Macbeth declares to not intervene with the prophecy. More ambitious than macbeth, She begins to question his manhood, pushing him to act. His quench for power trumps his morality. “I have done the deed” (Shakespeare 329). Macbeth’s selfish desires lead to unfortunate actions. Macbeth then kills the guards, for if they are dead they can not speak for their actions. “Upon their pillows. They stared, and were distracted. No man’s

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