Ambition Theme Analysis in 'Macbeth'

Throughout the story " Macbeth" there were many possible choices for a theme but I felt like the best one was the theme of ambition. Ambition is a major theme in Macbeth and it provides the reasoning for the central deed and the results that follow, which eventually lead to Macbeth's downfall. A tragedy is the portrayal of the fall of a great person because of a problem in their character. Macbeth's flaw is his ambition. Ambition is defined as the strong desire to achieve something, and this is evident in the play as Macbeth tries to make himself King, and prevent himself from dying. Not only is ambition present in Macbeth, but in his wife Lady Macbeth also. Ambition motivates Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to commit dreadful deeds, and later, …show more content…
One of those literary elements is the use of foils, which there are plenty of examples. Banquo is used as a foil to Macbeth to show and emphasize their differences as characters. Banquo is put in the same scenario as Macbeth, which is that the witches have predicted a great future for him. An example of this is when they are telling him he will "father a line of kings, though he will be none himself". Banquo is more worthy than Macbeth, for he is content to wait for this fate to take place, while Macbeth continues to hurt those that he thinks will try and stop him which even includes Banquo. Another literary element is the use of irony throughout the story. It is ironical when Lady Macbeth views herself as a strong willed person and her husband, Macbeth as weak. What is true though, is that, Lady Macbeth falls because of all her evil deeds she has committed and Macbeth finds the courage and power to keep going. Yet another literary device that Shakespeare uses is the power of foreshadowing, which he uses at the beginning of the story. The three witches talk about Macbeth and how something major will happen with him and that they will wait until the battle is over for them to intrude. The final literary device that Shakespeare uses, is the different types of conflict. The first type of conflict that is shown is man vs man. Near the end of the story when Macduff finds out that Macbeth killed his entire family, he is angered, which then leads to him having a conflict with Macbeth. Macduff sets out on a mission to get revenge on the one person who took away he had and Shakespeare is able to use two characters who are ruthless against each other. On the other hand, is the conflict of man vs himself. Macbeth is constantly questioning his decisions and what he wants to do with his life but is eventually persuaded by another