Ambition In Macbeth And Hamlet

Superior Essays
Within Macbeth and Hamlet, both plays, the main characters, Macbeth and Hamlet, chose to pride themselves with ambition, leading to their own tragedies and downfalls. Macbeth never halts at anything on his path to become “king”, and never is content with what he possess’. Similarly, Hamlet’s strong willingness to avenge the death of his father causes many consequences as he murders uncaringly. Macbeth and Hamlet can both be seen using ambition and vengeance as motivations to further their own agendas, in addition to their changing mindsets. However, Macbeth and Hamlet both yearn for triumph which also leads to identical effects on themselves, and others.
In Macbeth and Hamlet, the power of ambition leads to madness within Macbeth and Hamlet.
…show more content…
There’s no such thing” in which would foreshadow his actual murder (Macbeth 2.1.58-59). Additionally, Macbeth can be seen acting with madness when sending assassins to murder Banquo and Fleance. When Macbeth orders the assassins to murder them, the assassins reply, “We are men, my liege” (Macbeth 3.1.102). Macbeth shows his madness as he orders them like “dogs” which proves his madness and the reordering of Elizabethan Society with chaos at the top. In Hamlet, Hamlet shows madness after finding out that his father was murdered by his uncle, Claudius. He hereafter thinks “to put an antic disposition (frivolous/deliberate playfulness) on” (Hamlet 1.5.192). Hamlet is again seen …show more content…
In Macbeth, Macbeth at first is shocked when hearing from the witches “All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, thou shalt be king hereafter” (Macbeth 1.3.53)! Macbeth and Banquo confer on the meaning of this, and Macbeth goes on to say “If chance will have me king, why chance may crown me / Without my stir (Macbeth 1.3.147-148). However, as the play progress’ the “chance” is taken out from Macbeth becoming king, and Lady Macbeth and Macbeth plan to murder King Duncan while asleep, and smear his blood on the guards who will be left to blame. Macbeth however also changes his personal thoughts on “murder”. When planning/executing the murder of King Duncan, he turns hesitant which leads Lady Macbeth to become infuriated and just outraged calling him “a coward in thine own esteem, / Letting “I dare not” wait upon “I would,” (Macbeth 1.7.47-48). However, by the end of the play, Macbeth as fully changed into accepting murder and being “fond” of it such as when he orders assassins to murder the wife and children of Macduff in Scotland. In Hamlet, Hamlet’s thought on life and death drastically changes throughout the play over the course of events. At first, he believes “to die, to sleep- / No more--and by a sleep to say we end / The heartache and the thousand natural shocks / That flesh is to heir to -

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Universal Theme In Macbeth

    • 1090 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In Macbeth, ambition is one of the dominant themes. People who are motivated by their ambition can produce great things. However, when enticed by their burning desires, people pull themselves apart. The modern world constantly promotes the idea that ambition is enriching and necessary, but Macbeth reminds us that uncontrolled ambition is one…

    • 1090 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s well-renowned plays that centralizes on a king’s struggle with guilt and, ultimately, the road to his demise. Although Macbeth was known for being a man of bravery and honor, Shakespeare utilized a plethora of literary devices to showcase that his ambition had overcome his state of mind. In Macbeth, Shakespeare used strong dynamic characters, significant motifs, and powerful soliloquies to develop the theme that the ultimate desire for power has the capability to tempt even the most noble men to be driven to corruption. To begin with, Shakespeare uses a strong dynamic character to develop the theme that the desire for power can cause noble men to become corrupt. In Act 1, Macbeth concluded that the key to the…

    • 1173 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Before Macbeth’s time to murder King Duncan he is already second guessing his choices. Macbeth wants to murder King Duncan, but then is having second thoughts about his actions as the time grows nearer. Macbeth wants to follow through with the murder, so he can achieve his goal of becoming king. He also does not want to follow through with the murder to keep his hands blood free and live a happy prosperous life. For example he states some reasons why he should kill the king, “If it were done quickly when tis done, then’ twere well it were done quickly” , he also states reasons why he should not kill the king” “…

    • 1409 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Does ambition have the ability to shake a whole nation to its very knees? The author William Shakespeare wrote a bloody drama titled “The Tragedy of Macbeth”, which took place in the distance past of Scotland, England. In this piece, the main character, Macbeth wanted to become king, and in doing so he murdered anyone in his path. In the end was only slain by the forces of the true air to the throne. The theme of this drama can be portrayed through the ambition of these three men: Macbeth, Macduff, and Malcolm.…

    • 542 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare depicts Macbeth as he is overcome with ambition. When Macbeth first appears in the story, he was described as a hero when he comes to save the Scottish army against Irish invaders. Following the battle, three witches appear to Macbeth informing him that he will one day be king. Putting his faith in the prophecy, he believes that the only way to the throne is to kill Duncan, the current king. While he has his doubts, he is convinced to carry on by his wife Lady Macbeth.…

    • 208 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It is a natural human inclination to achieve success; however, any desire in excess can become a destructive force. This is what happened to William Shakespeare’s tortured protagonist Macbeth in one of the Bard’s most unsettling tragedies. Although Macbeth’s ambition initially appeared to be typical of a soldier’s need to succeed and receive recognition from his leader, it would eventually take over his life, obliterate his conscience, and transform his character from hero to villain. Macbeth was clearly his own worst enemy, but there were others in his life who contributed to the orchestration of his downfall. The witches and his equally ambitious wife fed his ego and whetted his appetite for power.…

    • 253 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    ‘Macbeth’ looks at the devastation that can occur when ambition oversteps its good boundaries. The attraction that ambition causes plays a key factor in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s decision to kill Duncan, and begin much of the action of the play. Ambition is the main driving force of the play. Ambition is struck into Lady Macbeth by the prophecy, Lady Macbeth’s desires for her husband inspire ambition within him. It is the corrupting influence of “vaulting ambition” that transforms Macbeth from a good and great man into a cruel murderer.…

    • 90 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Macbeth Dishonest Analysis

    • 1096 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Ambitions control much of society. The struggle to achieve goals often leads individuals to become arrogant once their dreams are realized. It is only when these desires are achieved through dishonest means, that humans express true regret. William Shakespeare’s masterpiece, Macbeth, is the embodiment of excessive vanity and ambitions to accomplish the inconceivable. Particularly, the protagonist attempts to send a powerful message to the Elizabethans; when something is achieved with dishonesty, an individual, such as Macbeth illustrates paranoia intensively increasing due to his sins.…

    • 1096 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Shakespeare reinforces the theme of ambition throughout the passages of the book we have read so far in class, which caused aggressive behavior and regret. In the book there have been multiple themes in the book, but the one theme that stands out the most is ambitions. Ambitions have impacted the lives of multiple characters including Macbeth in his case causing regret. “I’ll go no more I am afraid to think what I have done. Look on ‘t again I dare not.”,(2.2…

    • 178 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In the story of “ Macbeth”, Macbeth was driven by ambition. He didn't care what he had to do or who he had to hurt to get what he wanted. Macbeth kills the king. Later on he started to have guilty conscious. He started going crazy and not doing so good.…

    • 358 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    One may try and argue that Lady Macbeth or ambition drove Macbeth to commit his murderous acts to become king, but they are missing out on the main catalysts of everyone’s actions including Macbeth; the witches. Without these three demonic figures, Macbeth would be a history rather than a tragedy. By sparking Macbeth’s most inner desires, they were able to guide him down his dark path, which ultimately led to his death. The ideas they pushed to the front of his mind eventually drove this heroic man to become as dark as the devil himself.…

    • 1762 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Excessive ambition and greed will change a man’s personality. The sight of blood tempts a noble person to do greedy and dishonourable deeds. Macbeth is an honourable man, having being recognized as a trustworthy and brave man by the King. The thoughts and plans of murdering King Duncan have made him guilty, however, he still continues…

    • 1592 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In life there are many events that can manipulate the human mind and lead people to do corrupt things in order to achieve the power of success they desire. Throughout literature the theme of passion versus responsibility is always recurring. This conflict is present in Shakespeare play, Macbeth demonstrates how passion versus responsibility can affect not only the individuals, but also everyone else. Mary states that Macbeth provides a starting point for of Shakespeare 's teaching about tyranny and the limitations to human desire (McGrail 1). Stating that Macbeth fate leads to an unexpected love for honor.…

    • 868 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Tragedy Macbeth, a tragic play written by Williams Shakespeare, shows a couple and their ambition for Macbeth to become King of Scotland. This play implies that ambition can cause people to commit treason or even murder in order to achieve power. This has been shown in other places of literature, such as Lord or the Flies, and in real life as well. Ambition can make people do things that they would never do in order to get power or wealth.…

    • 521 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Macbeth Good Vs Evil

    • 792 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Right when he tells Lady Macbeth of his fate, she instantly desires to be a part of making it happen, solidifying his uncertain decision to kill Duncan, putting himself one step closer to the throne. After the completion of the murder by Macbeth’s own hands, and the subsequent breakdown of his composure, Macbeth becomes desensitized to murder in a way, ordering others to off those who stood in his way. He states to the murderers hired to accomplish the task: “And though I could with barefaced power sweep him from my sight and bid my will avouch it, yet I must not…” (III.i.121-123). These extremely immoral doings show that once Macbeth experienced to the “thrill” per se of murder, there lie nothing to stop him from letting his evil ambition eat upon his…

    • 792 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays