Macbeth's Ambition Essay

In Macbeth, a tragedy by William Shakespeare, Macbeth goes to the extreme, murder, in order to seize his place on the throne. Macbeth’s ambition for murder becomes ignited when he realizes the only way for him to quickly be the successor to the crown is to kill the current king, Duncan. As the play proceeds, he becomes increasingly paranoid about his place on the throne that he goes on a killing rampage, killing Duncan, his best friend, his best friend's child and his fellow nobleman including his family. Macbeth’s efforts proved nothing, ultimately being killed in the battle between himself and Malcolm, the rightful heir to the throne. Macbeth’s attitude toward pursuing his ambition transforms from willing to sacrifice his wellbeing, to thinking

Macbeth refers to this, saying “Could.., that but this blow/ Might be the be-all and the end-all here./ But here, upon this bank and shoal of time. We’d jump the life to come. But in these cases, we still have judgment here,” 1.7. 4-8). The syllables are. The phrase “the be-all and the end-all here” is interpreted two ways, with one symbolizing this becoming the end of Duncan and the start of everything Macbeth desires, and the other being the end of Macbeth if he gets caught. He then says “We’d jump the life to come”, which involves symbolising his potential fate after he murders Duncan. Macbeth considers the consequences of his actions in both his worldly life and afterlife, and gladly will put them in jeopardy so he knows confidently that the death of Duncan ends his work and starts his reign as king. Another example of Macbeth’s ability to consider the extreme to become king begins at act four when he says “The flighty purpose never is o’ertook/ unless the deed goes with it. From this moment/ The very firstlings of my heart shall be/ The firstlings of my hand” (4.1.165-168). This quote translates to Macbeth saying results only happen if you act upon it