Internal Conflict Between Ambition And Integrity In Macbeth

William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a tragedy of friendship, cunning, and betrayal. As the medieval setting in the Kingdom of Scotland is introduced, readers follow the journey of the brave Macbeth—the Thane of Glamis and knight of King Duncan—and his ambitious pursuit of the crown of Scotland. The story is introduced with Macbeth given the title of Thane of Cawdor after his victory over traitors of the crown, and is subsequently visited by Three Witches. His encounter with the Three Witches—in which he is referred to as “that shalt be king thereafter”, or the successor to King Duncan—alongside Banquo leaves him in a state of shock and confusion. He states that the “good” news of the witches leaves him imagining something terrible, something that leaves him

This fighting reluctance expresses Macbeth as a person that—despite influence and eventual murder—is not morally callous (despite his prestige as a knight possibly giving readers an impression otherwise) and someone who struggles with an internal conflict between ambition and morality. Macbeth’s morality and integrity is expressed through the personification of his heart “knocking at his ribs”, displaying how much his internal conscience and beliefs fight against the mere idea of assassinating Duncan. However, Macbeth’s reluctance is not just initial—as readers later find out through Lady Macbeth’s emasculating comments—or solely based on basic integrity. Readers later find out that a primary catalyst behind Macbeth’s reluctance is the character and compassion of King Duncan, as said in “Besides, this Duncan / So clear in his great office, that his virtues / Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against / The deep damnation of his taking-off”