essays on ambition in macbeth

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William Shakespeare

Macbeth is a play about ambition run amok. The weird sisters ' prophecies spur both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to try to fulfill their ambitions, but the witches never make Macbeth or his wife do anything. Macbeth and his wife act on their own to fulfill their deepest desires. Macbeth, a good general and, by all accounts before the action of the play, a good man, allows his ambition to overwhelm him and becomes a murdering, paranoid maniac. Lady Macbeth, once she begins to put into actions the once-hidden thoughts of her mind, is crushed by guilt.

Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth want to be great and powerful, and sacrifice their morals to achieve that goal. By contrasting these two characters with others in the play, such as Banquo , Duncan , and Macduff , who also want to be great leaders but refuse to allow ambition to come before honor, Macbeth shows how naked ambition, freed from any sort of moral or social conscience, ultimately takes over every other characteristic of a person. Unchecked ambition, Macbeth suggests, can never be fulfilled, and therefore quickly grows into a monster that will destroy anyone who gives into it.

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Ambition Quotes in Macbeth

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How Macbeth Addresses Power and Ambition

The Tragedy of Macbeth is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare that was first performed back in 1606. Macbeth dramatizes the psychological and physical damaging effects caused by the political ambition of those who look for power just for their own sake.

The driving force in this tragedy is the ambition, or more specifically, the ambition that goes unbridled by any theory of morality. And that is why the theme of ambition in Macbeth starts to look like a dangerous quality. We did some research on this topic and went through some of the free paper and essay examples on https://gradesfixer.com/free-essay-examples/macbeth-ambition/ . And many of the students who have written Macbeth essays on ambition state that all of his actions were inspired by his ambitions, and that led to horrific punishments and deaths of many characters, it even caused the downfall of both Lady Macbeth and him.

The source of Macbeth’s ambition

Macbeth’s ambition is driven by various factors. To begin with, he has a deep desire for advancement and power, although that is not the only thing that made him turn to crime. It took two other factors that forced that hunger and made him take various violent actions just to obtain power.

• The three witches were the ones who initially made Macbeth act on his ambition. Still, his wife, Lady Macbeth, was the one who gave him ideas and pushed him to murder. She was constantly telling him to focus on his ambition and not pay attention to his conscience. She encourages him to feel free and put aside his guilt, and murder Duncan.
• Throughout the whole tragedy, the witches make many prophecies, and Macbeth believes them every time and allows the prophecies to influence his next actions. As an example, Macbeth kills Banquo just because he was a threat to the throne. The prediction always ended up being true. However, it is unclear whether they are truly predictions of fate or simply were self-fulfilled due to the manipulation of Macbeth.

Controlling Ambition

The ambition of Macbeth starts to get out of control and makes him repeatedly kill, just to cover up his previous murders. His first victims are the people that he framed for the murder of King Duncan. He killed them as a “punishment.” Later, his fear of Macduff makes him murder Macduff and his family. That unnecessary murder of Macduff’s wife and his children clearly showed that Macbeth lost control over his ambition.

Balancing Morality and Ambition

We also see some honorable examples of ambition in Macbeth . Malcolm decides to test the loyalty of Macduff. So he starts pretending to be lustful, greedy, and power-hungry. However, Macduff condemned him and cries out for the future of Scotland. With that, he showed his allegiance to the country. Macduff’s steps and Malcolm’s decision to test him demonstrate that the moral code is a powerful position that is more important than just ambition to get there.

Consequences

The consequences of the ambition in this play are dire. Many innocent people are killed, and Macbeth dies known as a tyrant, which is a significant downfall because he started as a noble hero. Also, neither Macbeth nor his wife get the opportunity to enjoy the things that they gained. Thus, forming a summary and telling the readers that it is more fulfilling to achieve your goals in a fair way than achieve them through corruption.

Macbeth and his wife see how their ambitions made them cross many moral lines that lead them to their downfall. Once Macbeth killed Duncan, his ambition to hold the title of a king becomes very intertwined with his paranoia, and he becomes obsessed with maintaining the power that he got instead of enjoying the fruits of his ambition.

Macbeth’s ambition can be contrasted with the ambition of Banquo, who also listens to the witches’ predictions and had many ambitions for his sons. However, Banquo’s morality didn’t allow him to pursue his goals at such a terrible cost. At the end of this tragedy, Macbeth had achieved everything that he wanted but was left without anything. With Lady Macbeth’s death, he had no hopes of producing a prince, so he finally understands that his ambition made him lose all that he holds dear.

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Hi! I really like your thoughts and the way you expressed them so clearly. However, there seems to be a problem in the text: the passage “his fear of Macduff makes him murder Macduff and his family” seems to be wrong, since Macbeth does not kill Macduff. It is quite the opposite, actually. Thank you for sharing your ideas!

The ambition, or more especially the ambition that is unrestrained by any idea of morality, is the driving force behind this catastrophe. And for this reason, Macbeth’s theme of ambition begins to seem like a potentially deadly one. Razones por Divorcio en Estado de Nueva York Abogados de Divorcio de Rochester Nueva York

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Macbeth — An Analysis of Ambition in Macbeth by William Shakespeare

An Analysis of Ambition in Macbeth by William Shakespeare

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Published: Aug 23, 2018

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Understanding Macbeth's Ambition

An Analysis of Ambition in Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'

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Ambition is the driving force of William Shakespeare's tragedy " Macbeth ." More specifically, it is about ambition that goes unchecked by any concept of morality; this is why it becomes a dangerous quality. Macbeth’s ambition inspires most of his actions, and that results in the deaths of numerous characters and the ultimate downfall of both himself and Lady Macbeth.

The Sources of Ambition in 'Macbeth'

Macbeth’s ambition is driven by a number of factors. For one, he has a deep internal desire for power and advancement. However, that is not exactly why he turns to crime. It takes two outside forces to ignite this hunger and push him to take violent action to obtain power.

• Prophecies: Throughout the play, the Macbeth witches make a number of prophecies, including that Macbeth will become king. Macbeth believes them each time, and often uses the predictions to decide his next actions, such as killing Banquo. While the prophecies always turn out to be true, it is unclear whether they are preordained instances of fate or self-fulfilling via the manipulation of characters like Macbeth.
• Lady Macbeth : The witches may have planted the initial seed in Macbeth’s mind to act on his ambition, but his wife is the one who pushes him to murder. Lady Macbeth’s persistence encourages Macbeth to put aside his guilt and kill Duncan, telling him to focus on his ambition, not his conscience.

Controlling Ambition

Macbeth’s ambition soon spirals out of control and forces him to murder again and again to cover up his previous wrongdoings. His first victims of this are the chamberlains who are framed by Macbeth for the murder of King Duncan and killed as “punishment.”

Later in the play, Macbeth’s fear of Macduff incites him to pursue not only Macduff but also his family. The unnecessary murder of Lady Macduff and her children are the clearest example of Macbeth losing control over his ambition.

Balancing Ambition and Morality

We also see a more honorable take on ambition in "Macbeth." To test Macduff’s loyalty, Malcolm pretends to be greedy, lustful, and power-hungry. When Macduff responds by condemning him and crying out for the future of Scotland under such a king, he shows his allegiance to the country and refusal to submit to tyrants. This reaction from Macduff, along with Malcolm's choosing to test him in the first place, demonstrates that moral code in positions of power is more important than the ambition to get there, especially blind ambition.

Consequences

The consequences of ambition in “Macbeth” are dire—not only are a number of innocent people killed, but Macbeth’s life also ends with him being known as a tyrant, a significant downfall from the noble hero he begins as.

Most importantly, Shakespeare gives neither Macbeth nor Lady Macbeth the opportunity to enjoy what they have gained—perhaps suggesting that it is more satisfying to achieve your goals fairly than acquire them through corruption.

Does Violent Ambition End With Macbeth?

At the end of the play, Malcolm is the victorious king and Macbeth’s burning ambition has been extinguished. But is this really the end to over-reaching ambition in Scotland? The audience is left to wonder if Banquo’s heir will eventually become king as prophesied by the trio of witches. If so, will he act on his own ambition to make this happen, or will fate play a part in realizing the prophecy?

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