preview

Macbeth Uncontrolled Ambition

Decent Essays
Open Document

Carter Nedruban
Mrs.DeLory
ENG3U1-06
Monday April 22, 2013

Victimized: No control over one’s own actions Being a victim is an uncontrollable position that most people do not deserve to suffer through. In William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, Macbeth is victimized in a variety of ways due to his surroundings which purloin his real character. Lady Macbeth’s uncontrolled ambition takes a turn for the worse on Macbeth, as she pressures him to murder the king. However, it all started from the witches’ prophecies that put the thought through Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s head that Macbeth could potentially become the next king. This thought expanded Lady Macbeth’s gender giving her freakish manly ambition triggering her to take over her …show more content…

Macbeth began the play as a loyal, noble villain, but power started to take over his life. Banquo begins to act suspicious of King Duncan’s murder; therefore Macbeth demands murder upon Banquo. Macbeth ordered the murderer’s to execute Banquo and they accepted the task, “It is concluded. Banquo, thy soul’s flight, /If it find heaven, must find it out tonight” (3.1.143-144). This is the first act that Macbeth had made since becoming king. His power on the throne continued to take over his mind, which made Macbeth order around to kill one of his former friends. If Macbeth stayed Thane of Cawdor, would he of demanded the killing of Banquo? No, Macbeth being king did not benefit him in any way; it only put negative acts upon him. As the play went along, and Macbeth attained more power, Macbeth’s language started to get malicious. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is a respected villain by all, but with him being victimized by all of his surroundings, his character started to transform. Macbeth says many spiteful lines, one being, “Go prick thy face and over-red thy fear/Thou lily-liver’d boy” (5.3.15-16). As the play advanced, it is almost as if Lady Macbeth and Macbeth switched characters. Lady Macbeth at the beginning of the play was cruel and manly, but as soon as Macbeth’s royal ambitions were achieved, Macbeth became merciless. Macbeth is a victim of power because when he was not on the throne, he was a well respected man, but when he became king he

Get Access