Ambition And Guilt In Macbeth By William Shakespeare

Macbeth is a tragedy set in 11th-century Scotland focusing on temptations’ ambition and guilt. Shakespeare was a popular playwright in the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe. He wrote some of the most popular plays, including Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and Julius Caesar. One of his most notable is Macbeth, often referred to as the Scottish play. Shakespeare was born in April 1564. When he was eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway and had three children. In 1603, a new monarch usurped the throne of England. He was James VI of Scotland. Shakespeare’s company became the king’s men under James’s Patronage and now sometimes staged plays for the new monarch (Mowat, Werstine). It is possible that the writing of Macbeth was intended to appeal to the interest of the new king. In Scottish history in the 11th century, Shakespeare identified a

The prophecy tells him he will become king. He then decided to kill the king to become king himself. Macbeth writes to his wife, Lady Macbeth, telling her what the witches told him (Shakespeare pg. 31). Macbeth’s wife is very excited about this news and she pushes him to kill Duncan. Macbeth’s conscience is telling him not to kill the king but his wife is putting him down and insisting on him killing the king. This begs the question, Why did Macbeth kill Duncan? Is it the prophesied fate, is it his own will and intention, or is it the extra nudge and pressure from Lady Macbeth? After Macbeth kills the king his guilty conscience is focused on making sure he gets away with it and who he needs to be wary of in the future. While lady Macbeth changes her mood for her ambition got her what she desired but left her with a guilty conscience as well. The two of them handle the murder in very different ways, they switch roles, and while Macbeth turned into a hardened killer Lady Macbeth breaks down with guilt eventually killing herself