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The Importance Of Ambition In Macbeth

Decent Essays

Ambition, what is it? Some people might see it as a good thing to have ambition, but in shakespeare that's not true at all. In shakespeare ambition is seen as a bad characteristic that can describe someone as almost crazy or evil in a way. For example in Macbeth Macbeth says “Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself, And falls on th'other. . . .” (Act 1,Scene 7, line 27-28). In this scene Macbeth is trying to rationalize his murder of king duncan, so ambition isn't really seen as the best thing. But is power worth its consequences? Ambition gone wrong is used in Macbeth through, Macbeth killing people for power, Lady Macbeth having macbeth do her bidding and kill people also for power, and when Malcolm was driven to take over and become king.

Ambition in used in Macbeth when Macbeth killed for power. In the beginning of Macbeth, Macbeth and Banquo are visited by the three witches and they tell them that Macbeth shall be king, “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (Act 1, Scene 3, Line 51), and that Banquo's sons shall be kings, “Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none.” (Act 1, Scene 3, line 68). This is the beginning of Macbeth's want for power. After this, Macbeth believes that if the prediction are true, he won't have to do anything for them to happen, but over time he becomes more and more absorbed by his want for power that he is willing to do anything to get it. This ambitious behavior seems to have been triggered by his wife, Lady Macbeth's, want for power in the first place though. When Macbeth was deciding whether to kill king duncan or not in order to get power, he eventually decided not to, But after he told his wife about his decision she was outraged and told him that, “When you durst do it, then you were a man”(Act 1, scene 7, line 49). She uses male vanity in order to trick him into killing the king in order for her to be queen. After this Macbeth does end up killing the king and the guards as well after framing them. After this key event he just continuously gets more and more absorbed with the want for power.

Ambition is used in Macbeth when Lady Macbeth manipulates her husband to do her bidding for power. After Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth that the three witches had told

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