Banquo's Ambition In Macbeth

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At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is a brave and virtuous man who fights for his country and has the respect of many, including the king. After receiving a prophecy from the three witches, Macbeth's ambition is awoken and he kills King Duncan and takes the throne for himself. After killing the king Duncan to become king, Macbeth is clearly consumed by his guilt saying that “Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor shall sleep no more: Macbeth shall sleep no more.” . Once king, Macbeth feels as though he has to commit more and more murders in order to protect himself from suspicion and opposition. In order to secure his place as king, he orders that his friend Banquo and his son Fleance be killed in order to suppress Banquo's …show more content…
His blind ambition overpowered his will to maintain his morals in order to achieve his goals. Pushing his morals to the side allowed Macbeth to commit horrendous acts of treason and murder. Macbeth succumbed to his greed and his quest for power. Not only did Macbeth murder to become king, he also murdered to sustain his position without opposition. It’s impossible to predict whether Macbeth's outcome would have been different if he had ignored the witches prophesy. The witches prophecy presented an opportunity but it was Macbeth who decided to act upon them. Macbeth was not a victim of fate but yet a victim of his ambition and his desire for power. Regardless if it was destined from the start, it was Macbeth's choice to act upon the prophecy in such a violent manner. The witches never foretold a murder nor did they suggest to murder the king. It was by chance that Macbeth became thane of Cawdor without him needing to intervene, it happened by chance. By becoming Thane of Cawdor, it affirmed for Macbeth that the witches prophecy was true, MAcbeth took it upon himself to make the rest prophecy come true, and become king. Being too ambitious and greedy lead Macbeth to murdering the king in order to be the king. If Macbeth would have let things roll out without intervening then things might have been left up to fate and Macbeth could have become King. Instead, Macbeth took it upon himself to become king by slaughtering Malcolm to take

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