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Power Of Ambition In Macbeth

1013 Words5 Pages

Ambition is a candle; a leading light with a willpower that guides one to the next light. Yet a wind appears in the opposite direction; making its way to the candle. The strength of the flame will not remain as the wind reflects the malicious change. Poet, William Shakespeare, in his play, “Macbeth”, portrays an intrepid man who loses his humanity and rushes his fate of becoming king; turning into the most hated man in his kingdom. Shakespeare’s purpose is to expand the consequences of leading with an egocentric mentality and depicting the limits of one’s ambition. Shakespeare presents Macbeth in a determined yet conceited tone to express the contrast of his characteristic from the beginning to the end. Therefore, Shakespeare depicts the change …show more content…

As he returns from battle, three witches appear revealing the future predictions that he will become king. After realizing that Malcom, the oldest son of the king, will be next in line, Macbeth decides to kill king. However, he still struggles with the decision as he carries compassion and loyalty to King Duncan. The power of knowledge, in this case, gave Macbeth the upper hand to his ambition which made him wonder what he needs to do to make it come true. Here is where Macbeth’s characteristic develops into a desire to become king, changing his path of just protecting his kingdom to a man who suddenly wants it all. Soon the power of the knowledge fuels into the driven of proving he will be king as his pride is doubted by his own wife. Yet one nudge from Lady Macbeth on whether or not is was increases his ambition and fuels his pride to finally kill King Duncan. Macbeth’s character is now evolving into a man who will do anything, even harming others, just to get to his goal. This emotion takes a toll on him as it is now the wind that blew out what was once an innocent, courageous candle; leaving him alone with darkness. This affects the play as now of now those around him are no longer safe and the faith of the kingdom will soon experience …show more content…

Macbeth characteristics of greed and ambition are examples of what is seen as good desire that can easily turn negative because of the person’s true intentions. Shakespeare applies the change and the contrast of Macbeth’s characteristic to amplifies his theme of how ambition is sane until harm becomes an outcome and a prize belongs to those who play their cards right; not to those steal them. Although ambition can be good, this play set an excellent example for young readers when ambition can turn into greed which will allow them to be cautious of how they thrive for their

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