Ambition When someone has ambition it can be the motivation behind their rise. While they can achieve great things along the way, their downfall can come just as quickly. Ambition can cause someone to make terrible decisions and the consequences of those actions contribute to their fall. Many poems, stories and plays written during the time of Middle English, poets would often compose their writing around a few select themes. One of these is “ambition”. While there are many great examples of this, none show it as well as Beowulf on his quest for glory, Sir Gawain’s fight against the Green Knight or Macbeth’s rise to power in Scotland. Upon examining Beowulf it is rather obvious that he is desperate for glory. However, nothing worthy of his …show more content…
Sir Gawain was just a knight in King Arthur’s court, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t aspire for something more in life. Like many warriors before him, they all want glory, greatness and fame, Sir Gawain was determined not to be found in the ranks of men like that. Sir Gawain’s dream for something more came to him on an average day. A mysterious knight in green armor appeared in King Arthur’s court and challenged him to a game. Arthur had no intentions of playing, but Gawain and his ambition saw this as the perfect opportunity for the glory he has been seeking. Gawain accepted the challenge, and the now fearful Sir Gawain was desperate to find any way to get out of this deal and save his life. The night before the appointed time of the duel Sir Gawain was the guest in a Lord’s castle and during his stay the Lady of the castle was tempting him to break his vow. Although Sir Gawain was afraid for his life, he would not take any deal the Lady was offering except for a green sash. At first Gawain was skeptical about it, but it was apparently going to save his life. After the fight, the Green Knight was revealed to be the lord of the castle, he had been staying at. The Lady was working under the order of him as well. Once he had learned of this, Sir Gawain and his reputation as a knight was completely void in the end. This fight revealed his cowardice as a man. Although Sir …show more content…
Whether the Scots are fighting for independence or quelling rebellions, William Shakespeare’s Macbeth hits these points in depth. After some time into the first act, Macbeth learns that he will be king of Scotland soon. When he hears this he soon becomes obsessed with the idea of being on the throne and his personal ambition thrusts him into this fantasy world where he is king. Under the delusion that he is the rightful king, he murders King Duncan, his servants, his best friend and another man’s wife and son in their home. Macbeth’s ruthless actions have all been the result of a prophecy, a prophecy in which he had become paranoid to the point where he saw murdering his best friends as a necessary step to accomplishing his goal and cementing his place as the king. During his time as king, Macbeth had shown what he was capable of and while the events of the play never actually occurred it is a good example of what any man or woman could do if they are ambitious enough to chase their dreams, goals or