Macbeth Ambition Research Paper

Wyatt Dakken Mrs. Quintus English IV 4-25-24 Macbeth Theme Essay The thought of using ambition isn’t new to the human eye, and in fact it has been around as long as humans have existed. The word ambition has a slightly different meaning to every different person. This creates a different feeling for everyone that has ever been ambitious. They all think they are ambitious, but are they? The play Macbeth shows’s ambition in one way it can be viewed. This is because both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are very ambitious characters. This is how ambition can be used for one’s success, or a poor use could lead to a downfall. The character Macbeth is a very motivated and ambitious person. He is so ambitious in fact that he will do anything to become the

The play even shows that he is not quite sure how to use his ambition “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition” (Shakespeare Act I. Sc7.ln 25-27). This foreshadows the use of his ambition. He is very ambitious, but clueless as to how to use his ambition properly. The character Lady Macbeth is also very ambitious, but uses her ambition very corruptly. Lady Macbeth is constantly pushing Macbeth to do things, and whether those things are good or not is hard for him to figure out. The ambition she uses to obtain power could be viewed as more corrupt than Macbeth’s. This is actually a very big reason as to why Macbeth ends up being so corrupt. She almost makes Macbeth feel as if he has to take morals out of his mindset “Thou wouldst be great art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it” (I.5.15-17). This makes it seem that she wants her husband to use ambition, but no morals are paired with it. Macbeth eventually ends up killing to become the king, but Lady Macbeth was a big motivator in this murder. Macbeth used his ambition to achieve his goal of becoming the