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How Is Lady Macbeth's Excessive Ambition

1698 Words7 Pages

To be ambitious means to show a strong desire to accomplish one’s goals. However, excessive ambition inevitably leads to a person's downfall. Shakespeare's Hamlet displays the struggles of Hamlet, the tragic hero. He vows to seek revenge on his uncle Claudius, for his father’s death, ultimately prevailing despite numerous challenges. Shakespeare's Macbeth displays how Macbeth, the tragic hero, receives a prophecy of becoming King, leading him to accelerate his ascension to the throne by murdering the current monarch, King Duncan. Subsequently, he grapples with arising conflicts threatening his throne. Throughout the plays, both of the tragic heroes prioritize their goals over their romantic relations, as evidenced through their dialogues with …show more content…

Upon killing King Duncan, Macbeth usurps the throne and plots to kill his dearest friend Banquo so as to not allow his descendants to become king as per the three witches' prophecies. Lady Macbeth, hearing this, warns Macbeth against it; however, Macbeth disregards his wife and replies, saying “Be innocent of the knowledge,dearest chuck,/Till thou applaud the deed.Come,seeling night,/Scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day/(.)” (Macbeth 3.2.45-47). Macbeth responds to Lady Macbeth's concerns with a dismissive tone, showcasing his disregard for his wife’s opinions in order to maintain his throne. This behaviour displays a shift in their relationship dynamic of being more strained, and his determination to maintain the throne. However, the use of the denotative diction of “chuck” denotes Macbeth’s love towards his wife. Nevertheless, the indirect characterization of Macbeth’s dismissive attitude towards his wife, displays how this affectionate nickname is a way for him to calm down Lady Macbeth in order for her to not be a hurdle in his goal. By dismissing his wife's concerns, Macbeth indirectly characterizes his relationship with his wife as more distant and distrustful. Not only that, Macbeth quickly deters the subject, using light and dark imagery as a way to display his emotions as feeling exposed in the light. He uses personification to display his paranoia about others watching his moves in the light, including his wife, and that he wishes the night to come to hide him in the darkness from the watchful eyes. Similarly, the killing of King Duncan eventually leads to Lady Macbeth’s madness. Macbeth calls in a physician to cure Lady Macbeth from her sleepwalking. However, the physician overhears Lady Macbeth’s confession of the murder in her sleep and states, “unnatural deeds / Do breed unnatural troubles: infected minds / To their deaf pillows will

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