Examples Of Ambition In Macbeth

Ambition. Too much and it can be a detrimental trait. Too little and a person has no desire to achieve anything. Macbeth is a five-act tragic play written by William Shakespeare and published in the year 1623 (Bevington 1). It follows the story of Macbeth’s rise to power, downfall, and eventual death. After a successful battle in Scotland, Macbeth, a general in the army, meets with the Three Witches who divulge prophecies for him and his companion Banquo. One of the major ones is that Macbeth will become the king. Driven by ambition, Macbeth does everything in his power to make this prophecy come true, even committing some heinous acts. Being ambitious is a useful trait to have but can easily have a negative impact if exploited. In Shakespeare’s

Macbeth is displayed to us as a chivalrous and determined protagonist whose character is defined by his ambition. We can see the extent of his ambition when he remarks that “[w]e’d jump the life to come'' (William Shakespeare 40) expressing that he has an immense craving for power and would risk anything to move up the hierarchy. After hearing the witches' prophecies, Macbeth is doubtful at first, but when he eventually does become the Thane of Cawdor he starts to believe that he soon will also seize the King’s throne. When he consults Lady Macbeth, she tells him that he must act immediately to reach the top. One murder leads to another, which leaves Macbeth feeling remorseful and destroys his piece of mind. We see Macbeth’s guilt when he says “[v]aulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself..’’(Shakespeare 41), explaining that he feels remorseful after killing King Duncan and ambition is the only thing that is keeping him moving ahead. Macbeth’s ambition leads to the undeserved death of several souls which ends up not working out in his favour. Macbeth, once known as the great noble hero, praised by everybody is now recognized as a murderous tyrant who is selfish, oppressive and cruel. Ambition is what pushes Macbeth to achieve what he wants and eventually, ambition is what leads to his tragic

Banquo is a general in King Duncan’s army who fought alongside Macbeth and is a great friend of his. Banquo also receives prophecies from the witches which reveal that he “shalt get kings” but he won’t be one (Shakespeare 19). However, unlike Macbeth, Banquo doesn’t immediately take action on the predictions, in fact, he doesn’t do anything about them at all. He certainly wants his sons to become kings but in a fair manner, not by sabotage and deceit. He fears the predictions that are made by the witches and starts to question them. Banquo is just as ambitious as Macbeth but can restrain it, indicating that he has greater conscience than Macbeth. Banquo, in some ways, is the complete opposite of Macbeth, he is kind, and devoted and remains loyal to the King, by fighting alongside Macbeth during the war. He is a man who believes in his morals and sticks to them. He thinks about the consequences rather than just acting immediately. Banquo is a character who is ambitious, but keeps his ambition in check and keeps his slate clean. Banquo’s way of manifesting his ambition is through inaction which makes him a trustworthy and special character full of loyalty and