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What Are The Consequences Of Macbeth's Ambition

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In Macbeth, ambition is a dangerous quality. It causes disaster for both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth and causes deaths in Macbeth. Ambition is a lot in the play. Macbeth’s ambition is out of control and forces him to kill again and again to cover up his previous mistakes. Macbeth’s first victims are the Chamberlains who are blamed and killed by Macbeth for the murder of King Duncan. Banquo’s murder is next once Macbeth is scared that the truth could come out. Ambition has series consequences in the play: Macbeth is killed as a tyrant and Lady Macbeth commits suicide. Shakespeare does not give the characters the opportunity to enjoy what they have achieved; saying that it is better to achieve your goals fairly than to achieve them through corruption. Lady Macbeth expects a lot …show more content…

However, his ambitions take him nowhere. It is true that his ambitions do not drive him a big distance. In committing the murder of Duncan, other factors including Lady Macbeth, the witches and Macbeth’s own ambitions each influence Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is the most influential factor of Macbeth’s murder of Duncan, followed by the witches and Macbeth’s ambitions. This is so because Macbeth’s ambitions only give him the idea of becoming king, while the witches’ prophecies let Macbeth know that there is a large probability for him to become king. Lady Macbeth’s dominance over her husband is the biggest factor for Duncan’s murder because she is the one who gets Macbeth up and working, without his lady, it seems not possible that Macbeth would kill Duncan. Macbeth’s murder of Duncan is caused by the dominance of his wife, the witches and his own ambitions. Ambition took a hold of Macbeth, such that he was willing to hurt anyone in his search for power and suffer the consequences. Ambition and power are not the halves that created the destruction of the monarch, Macbeth; instead it was ambition that opposes with his

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Shakespeare presents the theme of ambition in Macbeth. Ambition is a strong desire to do or achieve something, ambition can also be presented in a positive and negative way. Shakespeare presents ambition in a negative way through some characters who are Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and King Duncan. The reason these characters present ambition in a negative way is because they end up dying. Ambition is also present in a positive way through some characters who are Macduff, Witches and Malcolm these are the characters who survive in the play showing that you can be ambitious but not too ambitious.

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In play Macbeth, Shakespeare reveals that an individual’s great desire for power will lead him/her to perform consequential deeds that will scar his/her conscience and change the outcome of his/her life eternally. Macbeth is informed by three witches that he is going to become king and this initiates Macbeth’s thought of becoming powerful. Macbeth doesn’t act on his thoughts until he tells his wife, Lady Macbeth, that he could become king. Lady Macbeth is extremely power hungry and does all she can to convince Macbeth to be just as desirable as her. Together, they come up with a plan to murder King Duncan, so that Macbeth can become king like the witches foretold.

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Like all of Shakespeare’s other plays, “Macbeth’s” protagonist Macbeth is incredibly successful but suffers from one fatal flaw, his great ambition. His ambition will be the cause of his great success but ultimately also of his downfall. The man’s ambition drives him to seize every opportunity to promote his own agenda. His ambition hurts him the most when he decides to kill King Duncan and Macduff.

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1015 Words | 5 Pages

Macbeth is also a power hungry man who would do just about anything to achieve his goal of becoming King. When Macbeth first hears the prophecies from the three witches he instantly became invested with the journey to become king. Similar to Lady Macbeth, nothing was going to come between him and his potential power, “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” (1.3.52-55). This quote exemplifies how Macbeth’s initial solution to becoming king was murder.

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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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This lust for a title earned them tragic deaths in the end. The most common theme within Macbeth is that ambition has the potential to turn into greed. This greed that is formed is dangerous and will never result in a positive

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Macbeth evidently undergoes a mental process by which he come round to the idea or murdering Duncan. He does this as a result of his wife’s manipulation, her leverage being his manliness. Without the role of Lady Macbeth, the murder of King Duncan would never have occurred in the play. Lady Macbeth had already been plotting for the murder since she received the letter concerning the three prophecies by the witches. Although Macbeth had sinister thoughts about having the throne, Macbeth would have never dared to take it upon himself to kill King Duncan and steal the throne from

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like in scene one and two, is where we first see the desire of the power climbing to Macbeth. Which in reality Macbeth had no reason to kill Duncan, Duncan was just amazing at being king.as he being selfish and wants all the power for himself. Macbeth committing the murder of Duncan was under the influence if the three witches. Guilt cause him a grate a great deal og mental and anguish and leads him to hallucination’s. Now the motivation of Macbeth has grown more to have it all.

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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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Macbeth’s ambitions influence him to attain his desire for power. This ambition drives him to become reckless for the sake of reaching his goals. This recklessness leads to the murder of Duncan- the first in a line of murders Macbeth commits to reach his power. These murders represent Macbeth’s gradual loss of morality.

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569 Words | 3 Pages

Blind Ambition and Greed The play “Macbeth”, by William Shakespeare illustrates many themes through the characters from the beginning to the end of the story. But the main central theme introduced is Ambition and Greed. As the play goes on we read how Macbeth permits his Ambition and Greed to dictate the outcomes and tragedy’s that occur to himself and others.

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Macbeth’s ambition is what is causing him to intervene with his prophecy and pursue his goal (rather than leave it to chance). In a way, it is Macbeth’s own “black and deep desires” that make him kill in the first place as the witches never tell him to do so. Furthermore, apart from ambition, it is Macbeth’s own weak will and moral system that causes him to do the actions that result in his downfall. Macbeth’s weak will is undeniable and is illustrated before killing Duncan. “I have of spur/To prick the sides of my intent, but only/Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself/And falls on the other” (I, VII, 25-28).

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The next step the reader sees of Macbeth’s growing ambition is in Act II. Macbeth is writing a letter to his wife informing her of the prophecies made by the Weird Sisters, and also of the King’s intentions to visit their household that evening. Reading this, Lady Macbeth promptly concocts a plan to murder the King in their household. That night, Macbeth tries to draw off the plan, “We will proceed no further in this business” (1.7.31). This shows that Macbeth’s ambition has not become so strong as to kill someone, nonetheless, this does not last long.

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531 Words | 3 Pages

Macbeth we see him use ambition as a motif to show how when unchecked it can lead to moral decay. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth seek the throne and all of its power which leads to their destruction. In Act 1 Scene 7 Macbeth comes to terms with the fact that killing Duncan is simply a move for power with no moral backings, “ I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself And falls on th’ other-”. Although Macbeth begins to realize that he is committing murders and destroying lives for power there is nothing stopping him. Unfortunately Lady Macbeth was overcome with the guilt of what she had done that she took her own life.

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