Ambition In Macbeth

Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” is an enticing story. This play is brilliantly written full of murder, ambition, and witches. Probably Shakespeare’s smaller plays it is only twenty or thirty so pages long. The setting is in Scotland and though there is no date stated historians date the play around 1040-1057 C.E. Most of the characters are real though some are not, like the witches. These witches though are a huge part of the story because they are the ones that set the plot rolling. They do this by greeting Macbeth saying “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” (Shakespeare 1.3.49). The three witches also call him by thane of Cawdor and Glamis. Immediately after this turn of events Macbeth is crowned thane of Cawdor. This makes Macbeth start to trust what the witches say. To become king however Macbeth must kill Duncan, the current king. Sadly Macbeth backs out of his plans when he returns home to his wife. Who tells Macbeth to be courageous but Macbeth asks what would happen if they were to fail. Lady Macbeth replies with “we fail: but screw your courage to the sticking-place, and we will not fail.” So Macbeth murders the king and ascends the throne. Afterwards though Macbeth becomes paranoid that someone will usurp his throne. So he begins to hire murderers to kill his Banquo who suspects Macbeth of

The reason for Macbeth’s string of murders and ascendance to the throne is because of his ambition. Ambition drove him to become king of Scotland after he became thane of Cawdor. Lady Macbeth drove Macbeth’s ambition to kill Duncan and ascend to the throne. Afterwards Macbeth’s ambition drove him to murder so that he could secure his power. This eventually led Macbeth down a dark path to destruction which, In-turn ending with Macbeth dead. Ambition was Macbeth’s driving spark of life and power, but also the thing that killed Macbeth in the end of the