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Significance Of Ambition In Macbeth

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Ambition is an important quality which all people possess to some extent. It is vital to have this quality to gain the will to improve and be successful in everything that must be done through daily life. Although this characteristic has its significance, the consequences of an exceeding amount of it are criticized in William Shakespeare's Macbeth. The play follows a loyal soldier named Macbeth who receives a prophecy that tells him he will be king. With a spark of ambition, he tells his wife, Lady Macbeth, and her drive is ignited. Lady Macbeth’s strong ambition is the cause of Macbeth’s ultimate demise because her ambition contributes to his growing unruly behavior.
Lady Macbeth’s view on fate causes her to set into motion the events that will eventually lead to Macbeth’s downfall. When updated on the prophecy of her husband from the witches, Lady Macbeth’s first instinct is to formulate a plan for King Duncan’s murder so “never/shall sun the morrow [he will] see”(Shakespeare 1.5.71-72). By …show more content…

Fearing another prophecy told to his friend Banquo, Macbeth impulsive hires murderers to kill him and his son. Succeeding with only Banquo, Macbeth reaches his peripeteia and imagines seeing Banquo’s ghost. Instead of calming him, Lady Macbeth tries to cover up his embarrassing actions by convincing her guest that it is “a thing of custom” (Shakespeare 3.4.118). Because she selfishly disregards her husband’s desperate cry for help to gain the admiration of her affluent guests, Macbeth is left in ruins and his true self is lost forever. His ambition finally exceeds that of his wife and is regarded as an “untitled tyrant” (Shakespeare 4.3.122). Lady Macbeth no longer attempts to direct Macbeth’s actions for her own gain because he has acquired a fierce ambition for himself modeled after her’s and dies because of

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