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The Failure Of Ambition In Macbeth By William Shakespeare

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Ambition will often be perceived by people as a good and positive word. Saying things like he is ambitious to get to his goals. But ambition is also a very dark and powerful thing to feel and can cause people to become corrupt. This idea of ambition working as a disadvantage is prominent in the play Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Macbeth is a play about an ambitious man who wants to be in power and does anything to get there. However, he is blinded by his obsession of power that it leads to his downfall and his kingdom’s downfall. With this said, the effects of ambition causes one’s mind to become corrupted which leads to one’s downfall. One character that not only already have this trait, but thrives on in it is Lady Macbeth. …show more content…

It makes him see and think as if he achieved something great, but in all reality, he did not realize all the dangers it was causing. In the play, there is a scene where Macbeth goes to the three sisters for advice and to have his questions answered “None of woman born shall harm thee” (Shakespeare 63 ). Macbeth’s confidence has been boosted dramatically.With this information he thinks it means no human could harm him. By thinking that no one could harm him, Macbeth’s mind is now completely taken over with his ambition for more power than he already has. With nothing in his way his ambition will continue to rise and continue to be unchecked due to the fact that there is no one to keep him in check now. This also causes whatever pieces of him that were still in linked with reality driven away. In the play, there is a scene where Macbeth is faced with Macduff and will not surrender. Macbeth only surrendered when Macduff says,”Hail, king...th’ usurper's cursed head…”(Shakespeare 96). Macbeth is filled with pride, ambition,and power which makes him feel so empowered, which he is not. These feelings are the reason he can’t and won’t see reality as it is. Causing him think that every one is below him and he is at the top of the hierarchy pyramid. Which isn’t the case. Even though Macbeth has been given the chance to see that he isn’t the greatest figure he only realizes it when death is presented to him. In the end the power of his unchecked ambition caused his downfall both mentally and physically, causing the once noble Macbeth to become the

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