Macbeth Unchecked Ambition Essay

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Ambition is not a force to be reckoned with. It is a force that is detrimental to human nature if left untamed and can corrupt people as demonstrated in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. It is critical to understand its true nature and the impact it has on individuals. By examining the downfall of characters in Macbeth, an insight into the destructive power ambition can hold when it consumes the human mind is found with the following points: unchecked ambition is a manipulative force, controlling your desires is crucial, ambition is a negative driving force, overindulgence in ambition changes your character for the worse, and finally, unchecked ambition brings upon a decline of morality. Utilizing the knowledge gained from reading

Lady Macbeth is an important example of how aspirations are a manipulating force. Driven by her aspirations for power, she manipulates Macbeth into murdering Duncan by challenging his masculinity with statements such as “When you durst do it, then you were a man; / And, to be more than what you were, you would / Be so much more the man. Nor time nor place / Did then adhere, and yet you would make both.” (1.7.49-52). As Lady Macbeth challenges Macbeth's ambition and masculinity, her desires become a manipulative force that drives both of them toward their tragic end. Lady Macbeth’s descent to madness and Macbeth’s eventual demise accentuate the destructive power of ambition, and how it is a manipulative

From first being described as brave, honourable and loyal, to being known as a tyrant. He was first known as an ambitious, brave and loyal man who led King Duncan’s troops into battle and brought victory to the crown. However, his character transforms into a tyrant, caused by his unchecked ambition, which allowed him to take a darker path, killing anyone that dared to stand in his way of achieving what he believed to be greatness. This serves as clear evidence that Macbeth’s excessive indulgence in his ambition had changed his character for the