Theme Of Ambition In Macbeth

Ambition is often the driving force in one’s life. It is supposed to be the motivating factor that drives one towards success. Society also deems ambition a necessary quality of their leader. It can be said that Macbeth exhibits this quality of ambition. He is the strong, valiant warrior who has won in battle and brought victory to Scotland. However, Macbeth’s quest to acquire more power-his ambition-ultimately leads to his tragic demise. How can one allow himself to be destroyed by such a thing? Before Duncan’s murder, Macbeth questions and second guesses his ambitious tendencies and actions. Despite his anxiety, he succumbs to these tendencies and finds himself in an increasingly precarious situation, with his back against the wall and growing ever closer to his almost inevitable end.

Anyone who has read or seen Macbeth knows that his great undoing was his ambition. Ambition was the driving force for most of his actions. When Macbeth first hears the prophecy that he will become king his head is flooded with thoughts of killing Duncan to usurp his thrown. It was his ambition that led him to

Ambition is what motivates people to achieve a certain thing in their life. However, many fail if their ambition is too big and unreasonable. This is definitely the case for Macbeth in the William Shakespeare's play Macbeth. Macbeth's ambitious causes him to disregard his loyalty to Duncan. Moreover, Macbeths desires lead him to be immoral, going to extremes in order to achieve success. Ultimately, Macbeths deep aspirations for power demonstrates being over ambitious will end in disaster. Therefore, in the play Macbeth, Macbeths ambition leads him to corrupt his morality, resulting in his downfall

    Macbeth's ambition is what allowed him to become powerful. Without ambition, it is impossible to achieve goals. Therefore, ambition is what allowed Macbeth to overcome his obstacles and come closer to his final goals. As soon as he developed the trait of vaulting ambition, Macbeth is able to make his life fall into place exactly the way he wants it to. He first murders Duncan so that he will become king. Macbeth's ambition is directly the cause of this tragic incident. This murder is in cold evil blood by Macbeth's own hand; at this point he starts seeking his future on his own and will overcome any obstacles in his

The play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare is based upon old Scotland and this is used as the general time frame. During this time, Monarchy still existed and Scotland is in war with Whales. There are many emotions that arise throughout the play, but the most important of all is ambition. “Ambition is the desire for personal achievement. Ambitious persons seek to be the best at what they choose to do for attainment, power, or superiority” (“Ambition”). The motif of ambition in the play is that being ambitious leaves one blind to certain areas and can drive one insane to reach the intended goal. Numerous characters that showed this trait throughout the play were Banquo, Macduff, Lady Macbeth, and Macbeth.

We have all made mistakes in our lives, things we cannot reverse. I personally have never made such a bad mistake its life-changing but we see this happen in MacBeth, a play written by William Shakespeare. It has many themes and insinuates several different messages.

The cast of Hamilton: The Musical once sang “ambition is my folly”. This quote, sung by Alexander Hamilton himself, was showing that having too much ambition will lead to your downfall in life. One character that comes to mind when hearing the word, ambition, is Macbeth from the Shakespearean play Macbeth by non other than William Shakespeare. Macbeth follows the story of a former general named Macbeth who goes crazy with greed and power and does anything to remain king, even murder. Although Macbeth's journey to becoming king may seem simple, it was full of not only emotional but physical triumphs. Throughout the book, Macbeth’s ambition is driven by numerous factors including: the prophecy of the witches, Lady Macbeth, and wanting to stay king.

Macbeth’s ambition is powered by the sisters. Through the sisters he learns that he is to be king, he does not know how he is going to become king however. Ambition is the key to his downfall. Before he had this ambition he said that he would never have dreamed of killing the king to become king. The ambition drove him to kill the king, so that he could become then king.

The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare recounts Macbeth's meteoric rise as a soldier and promising future leader whose megalomaniacal ambition led to his tragic downfall. In addition to Macbeth's ambitions, which initially enable him to be strong leader and soldier, he is influenced heavily by his wife, Lady Macbeth, and the three witches that prophesize his ascent to the throne, as well as warn him of his eventual demise. It can be argued that it is Macbeth's ambition that allows him to succeed in his endeavors, however the goals to which he is working toward influence the results of his hard work. Macbeth's ambitions help him to become a war hero, and as his goals change, his ambitions drive him to become a tyrannical villain.

Ambition is a strong desire to do or to achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work. In Williams Shakespeare 's Macbeth the characters Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have a strong desire to ascend the throne and they are determined to do whatever it takes in order to achieve this goal, including deceiving and killing those they are closest to. The zeal of ambition predominately persuades both characters actions in Macbeth. Lady Macbeth portrays how the forces of ambition strike her to instil a powerful drive in her husband, also how she demonstrates an overweening pride and lack of morals in order to reach a goal and lastly how ambition leads Macbeth to betray those cares about most.

Many Shakespearian dramas, like Macbeth, are inspired by the ancient Greek notion of tragedy and the fall of man; much of which is powered by one’s lust for greater gains. Correspondingly, the play reveals how ambition creates the capability of deteriorating a man’s morality and world. This is presented through the titular character and his “dearest partner of greatness” (P. 23) and the consequences of their actions.

First, ambition is found in just about every character in Macbeth. Macduff, Malcolm, Macbeth, and Lady Macbeth all show very obvious signs of ambition. In the first act, Macbeth is ambitious after talking to the Witches. They address him as Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and last but definitely not least, King. This peaks Macbeth's interest and he begins to think about how he would become King. Thoughts of killing Duncan flood his mind. If it were not for his ambition, I am almost certain he would have never told Lady Macbeth or allowed himself to be convinced to kill Duncan. This quote signifies his ambition perfectly, "The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step / On which I must fall down, or else o'er leap, / For in my way lies. Stars, hide your fires; / Let not light see my black and deep desires. / The eye wink at the hand, yet let that be / Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see." (Mac 1.4.28). Furthermore, Lady Macbeth played a very important role in convincing Macbeth to murder Duncan. After reading a letter sent from Macbeth, Lady Macbeth was determined to become Queen and she was willing to do anything to receive the title, "...Thou'ld'st have, great Glamis, / That which cries, "Thus thou must do," if thou have it, / And that which rather thou dost fear to do, / Than wishest should be undone. Hie thee hither, / That I may pour my spirits in thine ear / And chastise with the valor of my tongue / All that impedes thee from the golden round, / Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem / To have thee crowned withal." (Mac 1.5.30). Additionally, Macduff is ambitious towards the end of the play. After Macbeth kills his whole family, Macduff is extremely determined to get rid of Macbeth once and for all. He joins forces with Malcolm, Siward, and the

Throughout the entire play, ambition plays a very big role in the whole plot. Lady Macbeth's drive to gain more authority is very a very powerful representation of ambition in Macbeth. Throughout the play, Lady Macbeth has a very intense drive to gain the power of Scotland by encouraging Macbeth to kill King Duncan and helps him carry out the action. Macbeth also has ambition, however, it is not as powerful as Lady Macbeth's and she knows that. "...But I worry about whether or not you have what it takes to seize the crown. You are too full of the milk of human kindness to strike aggressively at your first opportunity. You want to be powerful, and you don't lack ambition, but you don't have the mean streak that these things call for....", "Come you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, and fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty...." In the quotes just stated Lady Macbeth is shown for calling Macbeth out on his lesser ambition than herself and her becoming more driven to achieve what she ultimately wants. However, in the coming scenes, they are both beaten up with guilt.

Ambition, a trait which underlines success, but while unchecked can lead to self or societal corruption. In William Shakespeare’s tragedy, “Macbeth”, a brave general falls into tyranny and paranoia after he acts immorally upon the witches prophecies. Macbeth’s pursuit of long lasting power reveals the consequences of hubris and unchecked ambition, which ultimately leads to the the deterioration of his human nature and the corruption of the kingdom. Through the use of thematic motif, the theme of Macbeth’s unchecked ambition and hubris is examined through his struggle to alter and actuate fate, his haunting hallucinations, and the apparitions.

In the beginning, Macbeth is an honorable soldier who is loyal to his king; however, his ambition and desire to become king eventually lead to his tragic downfall. Macbeth makes a mistake when he believes the witches’ prophecy that he will be king. Even though they do not tell him why or how he will become king, all of Macbeth's choices are based on this prophecy and he immediately begins having thoughts of murdering Duncan. Therefore, it is his uncontrollable ambition that eventually leads him to kill the king. Magill says, " He is an ambitious man overpowered by his high aspirations" (3807). Macbeth is, indeed, overpowered by his desire to be king because he plans to murder Duncan. Macbeth says, "To prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself and falls on the other" (1.7.26-28). Macbeth is admitting that ambition is the only motivation he has for murdering Duncan. After he murders Duncan, Macbeth becomes stronger and more dangerous. He begins murdering people who are close to him because they might keep him from becoming the king. Bernad says, "The murderer, having done violence to all that he holds sacred, finds it less violent to repeat the deed" (49-61). Macbeth is willing to do whatever it takes to obtain what he wants. McGrail says, "Ambition prompts the desire to exceed natural and conventional