English Assignment – Term 3
Representations of ambition within Macbeth
Within Macbeth, there are numerous representations of human values and conflicts, including duty vs. desire, the effects of a guilty conscience on the human journey and the differences between genders, and the superiority of men within the play, and the modern era. The value foregrounded throughout this text is the representations of ambition within the play Macbeth, and we will be focusing on the protagonist of the story, ironically named Macbeth.
The effect of ambition can be a double-edged sword. Ambition can provide a person with desire, so that they can accomplish goals, and give them a kick-start towards them. On the other hand, however, ambition can
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Once he murders the King Duncan, he knows that he must prolong his undeserved spot as King, as the repercussions will be that of the actions that he have committed. This is due to the Chain of Being, which he has distinctly broken. Once this hypothetical chain is broken, which by the way, represents the natural order, the universe will be plundered into chaos, and ‘righting the wrong’ will retain the natural order.
Throughout the ending of the play, when Duncan’s sons plot to overthrow Macbeth, he accepts his fate, and the apparitions stated by the three witches during their second meeting with Macbeth come to fruition. He knows of his imminent downfall, and within his final moments of life, he accepts defeat.
‘I will not yield to kiss the ground before young Malcolm’s feet, and to be baited with the rabble’s curse. Though Birnam Wood be come to Dunsinane, 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 damned be him that first cries, ‘Hold, enough!’
This scene marks the promised demise of Macbeth, and good once again conquering evil. His ambitions overall lead to his demise, and if he had either followed his orders from the King, who is a higher being on the ‘Chain of Being’, or gained the royal, majestic position through an accepted process, then his death would not have been sentenced and
Macbeth: Ambition and Destiny The new version of Shakespeare’s tragedy “Macbeth” directed by Justin Kurzel was quite a beautiful and powerful representation of the narrative. Despite the different illustrations of the witches and the addition of one more child witch that do not exactly match the contents of the play, Macbeth and his wife brilliantly convey the struggles, motivations and bewilderment they experience throughout the play. One of the most fascinating scenes in the movie is the final fight of Macbeth and his wish to give up his life. Realizing the misery of his actions and at the same time believing in his immortality and supremacy leads to the culmination of his life.
His murder not only represents the destruction of natural order but the hope for Scotland’s peaceful future. Macbeth’s inability to decipher moral injustice prohibits him from being a good leader. His self-serving desires do not allow him to see beyond what is best for himself and this, in turn, pushes Scotland towards disaster. The King is in control of a country and thus how peaceful it is. Under Macbeth’s leadership the chaos that he imposes on Scotland parallels the chaos in both his mind and the universe.
We all believe, the divine order abides with the monarch because God ordained them to lead. This meant that disobeying the monarch, was equal to disobeying God. So, in the night of King Duncan’s murder, it’s no surprise all of nature turned into uproar. The witnesses of that night “say the Earth was feverous and did shake” , while some believed, “within the volume of which (they) have seen strange things, this sore night hath trifled former knowing’s” . My noble lords, without a reasonable doubt, Duncan’s death was the beginning of God’s wrath. However, from everyone’s belief, Macbeth becoming king was destined to restore the divine order, which surprisingly never
Macbeth starts to lose his sanity as he plans to kill Duncan. The story begins with three witches giving a prophecy to Macbeth: he will be the Thane of Glamis, the Thane of Cawdor, and King hereafter. Shortly after, Macbeth is named the Thane of Cawdor. He is amazed that the Witches were right, and quickly realizes that in order to fulfill the rest of his prophecy, he must kill the current king, Duncan. Macbeth says to himself, “I am thane of Cawdor. If good, why do I yield to that suggestion Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair … My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, Shakes so my single state of man” (1.3.146-155). Macbeth is frightened by the thought of having to kill Duncan, but he knows that it must be done. Although he has little faith in himself and his abilities, his thoughts and feelings are fairly sane. Lady Macbeth pushes Macbeth to kill Duncan so that he can become the new king; however, Macbeth is too cowardly to do it. After much contemplation, he says that he will not kill Duncan
Macbeth subconsciously knows that he may have to kill Duncan in order to pursue the third prophecy, as it is Duncan who is presently king, and the only way for Macbeth to obtain Duncan’s title is if Duncan were to die and lose his title. In this scenario, Macbeth has thoughts of himself being the cause of Duncan’s death, in order to have Duncan’s title passed on to him. Macbeth is soon outraged to discover that Duncan has announced his son Malcolm as the future King of Scotland, Prince of Cumberland, as Malcolm now stands in his way of pursuing the actualization of the third prophecy. When Lady Macbeth receives news of the witches’ three prophecies and the fulfillment of the second prophecy, the enormity of her ambition to make Macbeth become King of Scotland leads her into plotting out the murder of Duncan. When Macbeth hears of Lady Macbeth’s plans to kill Duncan, he is at first unwilling to go through such horrific and drastic measures in order to obtain a royal title. Macbeth gives reasons during his soliloquy as to why he shouldn’t kill Duncan, and then says:
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
All these factors support one of the many themes of this play. Macbeth has swallowed himself with his hunger for power. His ambition is getting the best and the worst of him. Which will I believe will catch up with him in the end. But for now nobody is safe, and
Macbeth is a very complex character whom reflects man's thirst for power through the drastic changes of his personality; thus being one of the slightest reasons in which make this intriguing character, greatest of all Shakespearean’s well-known works.
The witches prophecy leads Macbeth to kill Duncan, seeing as they prophesied that he was to be the new king. Although Macbeth was the one to kill Duncan, he would have never committed such a crime if the witches had not put the ruthless and evil prophecies into his mind. When he kills Duncan, he is regretful, he can
After seeing the witches’ prophecy, Macbeth believes he is able to change his fate of becoming king by taking action into his own hands. His initial immoral decision was to murder Duncan in order to become king. Macbeth experienced a vision involving a floating dagger leading in the direction of where Duncan was sleeping before he decided to go through with the deed. After contemplating and conversing with Lady Macbeth, he decides to kill Duncan and his guards.
What is ambition? Ambition is described as eager for success, power or fame. For Macbeth. Ambition was what drove him to become great, it forced him to change his nature towards evil. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth was portrayed as a courageous soldier who fought for his King without mercy. But once the witches planted the seeds of greater things and Lady Macbeth fuelled his ambition, which lead him to become greedy and power hungry.
The most interesting aspect of Macbeth’s character is that it is flawed. The audience can identify with his human frailties. Despite the fact that Macbeth commits evil and is drawn to the successes he thinks evil can provide him, one can tell he has goodness in him. Shakespeare reveals Macbeth’s moral development through the use of symbolism in the soliloquys which portray
Macbeth's feels that his destiny is to become King and rule with all the power that goes with kingship. The three witches on his way back to the kingdom, prophesied that he would rise to kingship. They said "All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis" (I, 3, 48), and then as the thane of Cawdor "All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor" (I, 3, 49). At this point in the play Macbeth had just become thane of Glamis, and the thane of Cawdor is still alive. Then, the witches greeted Macbeth as the King of Scotland saying "All hail, Macbeth! That shalt be King hereafter" (I, 3, 50). This is the point in the tragedy where Macbeth starts to think as a villain. If the witches had never greeted him as King on Scotland, then he would probably never have contemplated killing Duncan in the first place. At first, he believes that he will need to kill King Duncan. Though at the end of Act 1, Scene 3, he thinks that perhaps he doesn't need to do anything to become the king saying "If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me without my stir.", showing he is a man of honor and morals. Then, Lady Macbeth hears of the prophecy in his letters and decides immediately for him that King Duncan must die, showing Macbeth's doubt. An
His ambitions change from becoming king to protecting that which his. He is flawed in his ambition and his cowardice, he knows that he is too ambitious he realizes that what he is doing is wrong. He speaks his mind, however he is easily swayed by his wife. Once the murder is committed, once Duncan’s heart has beaten for the last time; Macbeth is immediately thrown into a pit of guilt. He makes it his mission to never let anyone find out that he murdered his king. “Wake Duncan with thy knocking. I would thou couldst.”
After this Macbeth decides he is going to believe the prophecy that the witches told him and starts panning to kill King Duncan. Even when he starts doing this there are still shadows of doubt coming from Macbeth which shows he still has some good. He has this good until he gets completely demoralized by his wife Lady Macbeth. “Come to my woman’s breasts, and take my milk for gall, you murd’ring ministers, wherever in your sightless substances You wait on nature’s mischief. Come, thick night, and pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell, That my keen knife see not the wound it makes, Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark, To cry ‘Hold, hold!” (). The reason she does this and says this is to completely break down Macbeth by calling him unmanly so he will go and do the evil