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Macbeth's Excessive Ambition Analysis

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The biggest hurdles one must overcome in order to achieve one’s aspirations are often their own imperfections. In Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the flaws in Macbeth’s personality act as an obstacle in his aspiration of being the most powerful individual. The imperfections in Macbeth’s character have a negative impact on his actions. Macbeth’s excessive ambition, his constant insecurity, and his gullible nature are the major imperfections that prevent him from achieving his ambitions and subsequently lead to his downfall.
Macbeth’s excessive ambition is one of his greatest imperfections. His excessive ambition is fueled by his greed for power. This causes him to commit many murders in order to procure a position of power or to protect his …show more content…

He refuses to let anyone other than himself become the king of Scotland. He says that “They hail’d him father to a line of kings: / Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown, / And put a barren sceptre in my gripe / Thence to be wrenched with an unlineal hand” (III, i, 64-67). Macbeth seems to have an unsatisfiable thirst for power. Macbeth know feels jealous of Banquo as he will have a line of king, while he will not. His ambition is not fulfilled after being crowned as the king, instead, it increases on the thought of having more power. His ambition had gone unchecked for a long time and he is willing to get his close friend Banquo killed by in order to maintain the position of king within his own bloodline. Macbeth is so obsessed with his own ambition that he does not take anything else into consideration. Before committing Duncan’s murder, he says “I go, and it is done, the bell invites me. / Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell / That summons thee to heaven, or to hell” (II, i, 69-71). Macbeth does not consider the consequences his actions will have. Scotland has attained peace recently after the end of the Civil War, and Macbeth threatens this peace by killing the Duncan, who is a virtuous and loyal leader. His murder of Duncan takes Scotland into a dark period. His unchecked ambition triggers a series of murders. Ultimately, Macbeth becomes the victim of his own blind ambition and is defeated in battle. Macbeth’s insecure nature is another one of his imperfections, which plays a major role in his downfall and failure to reach his ambitions. He constantly sees everyone as

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In the story "Macbeth" by Shakespeare, Macbeth is a character that would overlook his actions consequences as long as he ended up with more power. Macbeth greatest flaws are his desire for power and overconfidence, that also drove to his death. As the story progressed Macbeth loses his humanity and is overpowered by his greatest desire. Macbeth family Is also affected by this flaw.

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The play entitled Macbeth by William Shakespeare portrays Macbeth, a loyal and brave thane to the king. When a prophecy reveals he will become king, Macbeth is overcome with ambition and greed. Convinced of this prophecy and the encouragement from his wife, he is able to kill the king and take the throne. Although Macbeth was able to obtain the throne, he was was overwhelmed by power and guilt leading to internal conflict, which suggests that success is not desirable through cheating and corruption and ultimately cost more than its actually worth, Macbeth`s reckless pursuit of killing and becoming the king is representative of the power he has and what he is able to do with the power he's gained; therefore. His relentless ambition for king reveals the guilt behind power.

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His lust for power drives him to murder Banquo and Fleance to ensure that they will not become kings, and so that his own sons will inherit the throne. Making rationalizations for the murders, he recalls the witches’ prophecy, by saying “They hailed him to a line of kings... No son of mine succeeding.” (3.1) Desiring to retain the power he occupies, Macbeth becomes increasingly willing to kill in order to preserve it. His mental state begins to deteriorate rapidly as he becomes increasingly more paranoid due to the lingering guilt of the crimes.

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He believes that he is invincible and that he cannot be defeated. This overconfidence blinds him to the reality of the situation and ultimately leads to his downfall. Another character flaw is his unchecked ambition. One of the primary factors that drives Macbeth's actions throughout the play is his unbridled ambition. From the moment he hears

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After murdering King Duncan he realizes that he is just one step closer to the crown. As a result, he has the desire to kill anyone who stands in his way of him getting the throne. Banquo stands in his way as he knows that King Duncan needed to killed. In this case, Macbeth hires murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. He tells the murderers, “To leave no rubs nor botches in the work /

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However, he and his family end up on the trail of Macbeth's murders as he is perceived as a threat to Macbeth's reign as king of Scotland. Duncan also succumbs to the destructive nature of Macbeth's ambition despite being the rightful king. He is also a victim of other people's ambitions who exploit his good character for their own gains

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Greed for power leads corrupt leaders to pursue power through ruthless and violent ways, putting their countries in an unstable state. Macbeth commits murders and violent acts to earn his absolute power, but his corrupt mindset of yearning power leads to instability in the Scotland. After hearing from the witches, Macbeth admits that, “My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical/ Shakes so my single state of man/ That function is smother'd in surmise /and nothing is but what is not.”

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His capricious and malicious acts prove how naive and vile he is as a person. Macbeth even attempts to kill Banquo to prevent any trace of his nature from making him, a “fruitless crown.” Macbeth states, “Must lave or honors in the flattering streams, and make our face vizards to our heart, disguising who we are,”(3.2.45). With such desperation, Macbeth is willing to include other people in his premeditated murder. By having Lady Macbeth be part of his plot to kill Banquo, Macbeth reveals two things about himself: That he does not value those around him, even if they are his loved ones, and that he places his personal success over all aspects of his life.

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After achieving the title of the King of Scotland, Macbeth wants to secure his position as the king and desires to inherit the Scottish throne to his ancestors. His aim was showed in “To be thus is nothing, /But to be safely thus” (III, i, 52-3). This quote reveals that Macbeth not only wanted to become the king but also wants to secure his position as the King of Scotland for the welfare of his upcoming generation. This reveals Macbeth’s is implying the witches’ prophecies; as long Banquo’s sons live, Macbeth’s throne would not be able to inherit down to his ancestors. As the play progresses, Macbeth’s hires murderers to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance, as represented through, “Banquo, thy soul’s flight, /If

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A man, goaded by his wife, murders time and again to satisfy his hunger for power, slowly driving himself into insanity through his ambition. Ambition, both a blessing and a curse, lead Macbeth to a series of betrayals and murders of and by those closest to him. Conspiring with his wife in Act 1, Lady Macbeth had convinced Macbeth that by killing Duncan, King of Scotland, he could become the next King. He and Lady Macbeth planned the whole thing; who they would frame, how they would get past the guards, which one of them should be the one to do it, and how would they hide the knives once the deed had been accomplished. At the last second, Macbeth appeared to have a change of heart, but then his wife taunted him, insulting his manhood.

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Macbeth shows that he is willing to kill King Duncan because he is interested in the witches prophecy, after they tell him that he will become ‘Thane of Cawdor’ and then the King.

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Macbeth is the Shakespearean play that features the triumphant uprise and the inevitable downfall of its main character. In this play, Macbeth’s downfall can be considered to be the loss of his moral integrity and this is achieved by ambition, despite this, Lady Macbeth and the witches work through his ambition, furthering to assist his inevitable ruin. Ambition alone is the most significant factor that led to Macbeth’s downfall. The witches are only able to influence his actions through Macbeth’s pre-existing and the three witches see that Macbeth has ambition and uses it to control his action. Ambition alone is displayed throughout the play to be the most significant cause for Macbeth’s downfall.

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Macbeth feels his destiny is to murder King Duncan and become the King of Scotland, which is why Macbeth promises Lady Macbeth achieve his destiny. Therefore, Macbeth’s ambition for power leads to the death of King Duncan. Moreover, Macbeth’s ambition for power triggers the massacre the ones who impede him from his pathway to the Scottish Throne. First, Macbeth has murderers kill Banquo to avoid obstructions in his plan to become the King of Scotland. Macbeth tells the three murderers hired: “…

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Throughout literature, we see human characteristics in our characters. Characteristics such as punishment, downfall, middling character, free choice, and nobility. In this play called Macbeth we see all these characteristics fall into place throughout the good and bad choices acted on by our main character Macbeth. The play demonstrates how power will make or break character and lead to his/her own destruction by possessing a few of these characteristics. Macbeth demonstrates both literal and figurative nobility as the plot beings to grow throughout the play.

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Because the prophecy decreed Banquo’s sons kings, Macbeth is worried about his legacy not being carried on, and Duncan’s death being for nothing. To prevent killing in vain, Macbeth decided to kill again. This vicious cycle leads to him giving up some of his self control every time he

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