Ambition In Macbeth Essay

In life, ambition can be dangerously evil and lead to harmful choices. In the play Macbeth by WIlliam Shakespheare, ambition is seen and used very well. The play begins with Macbeth being a very noble and honorable leader and warrior for King Duncan. However, after learning that he could become King, Macbeth decides to murder King Duncan in order to take his place. Macbeth is fully responsible due to his choices led by his ambition. His desire for power consumes him, and causes him to distance himself from his loved ones and to betray his friends. He has no feelings, not even towards his wife’s death. In his quest for power, he becomes increasingly isolated from those most important to him, ultimately leading to his downfall.

Macbeth is first

She urges him to kill King Duncan in order to seize the throne, and Macbeth succumbs to her persuasion. Lady Macbeth encourages Macbeth to be ruthless and unscrupulous in order to achieve his goals, and she even takes part in the murder of Duncan herself. Critic Paul Fletcher argues, “This estrangement makes him vulnerable to his wife when she enters; and perhaps all the while… he was only waiting for her, playing with the luxury of reluctance, toying with his conscience while secretly indulging his fantasy”(75). Their marriage becomes increasingly dysfunctional as Macbeth's ambition takes over. He becomes more and more distant from Lady Macbeth and relies on his own impulses rather than her guidance. Lady Macbeth, meanwhile, becomes guilt-ridden and tormented by her role in the murders. As Macbeth continues to be ambitious throughout the novel, he does not realize that it will impact him in his future. He becomes ignorant to his actions and becomes a tyrant instead of a true king. Fletcher also questions if Macbeths drive for power is “Witchcrsft, murder, or Rape?It is a sign of both his own restlessness and of the total society of Scotland that one image of evil should suggest another.”(77) Cl. He cuts himself off from his wife, his friends, and even his own conscience. This isolation makes him more vulnerable to his own fears and insecurities.Further more, Macbeth's ambition leads

He was unable to resist temptation which made his deeds dangerous for himself and others around him. As Watson claims, “But once Macbeth has rashly ‘done the deed’ of self-promotion at his wife's instigation, they both learn that ‘What's done cannot be undone’(2.2.14; 5.1.68). …The implication is that adults are accountable for what they do"(Watson). Certainly, he cannot change all of what he has done and will have to live with his acts of evilness. Macbeth's future became doomed and his relationships with everyone around him became destroyed because of his careless doings. His ambition was so strong that he could not even control it himself. Additionally, while “The notion that Macbeth is like any of us, only doomed to live in a world where one's dreams and desires become reality, is clearly bolstered by this moment, where we see Banquo horrified by the appetitive dreams the witches have aroused in him”(Watson). When they first hear the witches' prophecies, Banquo is suspicious of what they are saying while Macbeth jumps to the conclusion that he will become king and doesn't think anything of it. There is clearly a difference between the two of them as Banquo is more cautious of what could happen and Macbeth mainly cares about himself and allows his ego to take over instead of thinking about anything first. Watson also argues that “Macbeth is again a