Juxtaposition In Macbeth

As a personality trait, ambition refers to an individual’s desire and determination to achieve success and power. Generally, ambition is necessary to rise professionally, socially, or personally. Despite being a necessity, ambition is a delicate ideal that rarely exists in a steady, healthy balance between dull indifference and destructive eagerness. William Shakespeare depicts the potency of ambition from the very beginning of Macbeth. Macbeth fears ambition, expressing his hopes to “Let not light see [his] black and deep desires. / The eye wink at the hand, yet let that be / Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see.” (Macbeth 1.4.53-55). Macbeth’s fears depict Ambition as natural, exhibiting how “...the need to get ahead ought to be hard­wired

Following the witches’ prophecy, proclaiming that Macbeth shall be king, Macbeth is under the impression that “If chance will have [him] king, why, chance may crown [him] / Without [his] stir” (Macbeth, 1.3.145-146). Meanwhile, Lady Macbeth is adamant “That [she] may pour [her] spirits in [Macbeth’s] ear / And chastise with the valor of [her] tongue / All that impedes [him] from the golden round” (Macbeth, 1.5.25-27). Although Macbeth wants to be king, he hesitates to take action and earn it. Lady Macbeth is aware of her husband’s inability to pursue his ambition; she is also aware that, with her persuasion, Macbeth will give in to his ambition and abandon the morals that hold him back. Despite the unconventionality of these roles for the time, they align with the characters' circumstances. Most studies indicate that, “[i]t's members of the upper middle class, reasonably safe economically but not so safe that a bad break couldn't spell catastrophe, who are most driven to improve their lot” (Kluger, Time.com). In Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s case, they are high-ranking members of society, but the whisper of higher status is all it takes for them to want more. For Lady Macbeth, especially as a woman in the given period, society suppresses her desires for direct power; her

But, as the consequences of their actions begin to come to light, Macbeth becomes more determined while Lady Macbeth loses her forceful spark. Although apathetic for the most part, guilt over her involvement in the murders inevitably riddles Lady Macbeth. This guilt drives her into a state of distress where she believes “[h]ere’s the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of / Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. Oh, Oh, Oh!” and it is clear, both to the audience and characters, that “...[her] heart is sorely charged” (Macbeth, 5.1.42-44). Lady Macbeth appears to be in crisis, unlike the character introduced in the beginning, as she feels the consequences of her manipulative actions. Her overwhelming sorrow inevitably leads to her demise. Lady Macbeth’s revelations reflect the idea that “[women are] more selective about when they engage in competition; they're willing to get ahead at high cost but not at any cost” (Kluger, Time.com). When Lady Macbeth felt King Duncan was the only obstacle preventing Macbeth from becoming king, she was more open to taking ambitious actions. However, as more challenges rose against Macbeth’s power, she became less willing to act on her ambition. In a role reversal, Macbeth is no longer in touch with the moral restraint he expressed earlier, instead “[he] [has] almost forgot the taste of fears…Direness, familiar to my slaughterous