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Macbeth's Ambition Research Paper

697 Words3 Pages

Ambition, as described by the Cambridge Dictionary, ambition is “a strong desire to do or to achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work”. Ambition is usually seen as a good quality by most people, but in some cases it can be a burden. Ambition is a theme present in many novels and stories. That is the case of Macbeth. In his play Macbeth, Shakespeare, portrays ambition as a trait, or theme that may lead to bad consequences. One of the main factors that drives Macbeth’s ambition is the prophesy made by the Weird Sisters. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the three witches, also known as the Weird Sisters are supernatural and have the appearance of women. Even though they “look” like women, they also look like something from …show more content…

Ever since Macbeth found out that he would become king, his mind has been all over the place. His ambition only grows as time goes by. His spouse, Lady Macbeth is a huge part of his growing ambition and desire to kill the king. The desire to kill King Duncan actually comes from his spouse. As she hears that the King will be visiting Macbeth’s castle, she resolves in her mind that the King could never leave the palace, at least not alive (Stratford, 2011). She does indeed believe in the witches’ prediction of her husband becoming king, and as a consequence, she would become queen. Since she truly believes it, she thinks that it is okay to step over anyone that is on the way, since the prophesy did not say anything against that. Lady Macbeth ends up convincing her husband of killing the king to get his place. The problem was that he had two sons, Malcolm and Donalbain. Macbeth eventually kills King Duncan. After that, Lady Macbeth’s mood lightens as she congratulates her husband on his new distinctions, saying, “"Great Glamis, worthy Cawdor! Greater than both, by the all-hail hereafter. Thy letters have transported me beyond. This ignorant present, and I feel now. The future in the instant." Nevertheless, even after everything he and his spouse do, their ambition was so much that they ended up

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