How Does Shakespeare Present Ambition In Macbeth

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In the tragic play of Macbeth written by William Shakespeare in the Jacobean era during the reign of King James I. Throughout the play, Shakespeare presents the theme of ambition through the character of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, McDuff and appearance vs reality. shakespeare presents the theme of ambition through the character of macbeth.This is shown in the quote ‘’ vaulting ambition which o'erleaps itself’’ this quote suggests to the audience that ambition is to overpower and can lead macbeth to commit a sin of regicide.The adjective ‘’vaulting’’ shows how powerful ambition is and can cause macbeth to go out of his limits to kill the king.This would be seen as sinful in the jacobean era because the king was chosen by god and was part of the …show more content…

Shakespeare's use of equivocation “illness” for evil highlights how without ambition and thought there is no evil doing and Shakespeare wants to show that ambition and evil are two different sides of the same coin. In the jacobean era the character of LM would have been seen as extremely contradicting to the jacobean stereotype of powerless and weak. The audience would have thought of LM as abnormal because she presents characteristics of a male almost linking it to a witch. Next Shakespeare presents the theme of ambition through the character of Macduff. This is shown by the quote “bleed,bleed, poor country!” This suggests to the audience that ambition is not always bad but rather its what you use that ambition to achieve which either leads to your success or downfall.The repetition of “blood” as well as the “!” exclamation mark shows how Macduff is desperate to save his country and also how he is the character foil of Macbeth who is bringing the downfall of the country. In the Jacobean era the character of Macduff would have been exemplary to follow and kind of used by Shakespeare to show his loyalty to King James the 1 as well as to show the audience how to treat and serve the