In Shakespeare’s Macbeth he illustrates the danger of ambition through the downfall and self destruction of the Macbeth’s. Their ambition sparks at the beginning with the idea of killing Duncan. It is then shown increasing through the entire play with the death of Duncan, Banquo, and Macduff’s family. At this point their ambition consumes them, their humanity is gone and all of their poor decisions start to have consequences that ultimately lead to their destruction.
Macbeth’s ambition is first seen in the beginning of the play. In Act 1, Scene 3, Macbeth is given prophecies from the three witches. Two of the three prophecies have already been fulfilled and this triggers his ambition. Macbeth sees the first two accurate predictions “As happy …show more content…
Macbeth shares the prophesies with her and she has the same first instinct. She believes that the solution is to kill King Duncan, but Lady Macbeth is not confident in Macbeth’s evil character. She thinks that he is “too full o’ the milk of human kindness” (1.5.16), and not capable of doing what it takes to fulfill this prophecy. She then illustrates what she believes is the road to success: “To catch the nearest way: thou wouldst be great: Art not without ambition, but without The illness should attend it.” She believes that Macbeth’s only path to greatness is to act immediately on his ambition and be willing to deal with the negative consequences that accompany this decision. She then wants to be able to act on ambition without any feelings of regret, so she calls upon dark spirits to “unsex me here, And fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full, Of direst cruelty! make thick my blood, Stop up access and passage to remorse,” (1.5.44-47). She wants to be able to act freely without grief or …show more content…
He starts to see, hear and imagine all sorts of things including “Macbeth shall sleep no more!” (2.2.56). His ambition has driven him into this state of distress: “I’m afraid to think what I have done/to know my deed, ‘twere best not know myself,” (2.2.66&92). He begins to question who he is and doesn’t want to live with his decision. At this point Macbeth’s “thriftless ambition” (2.4.37) begins to spin out of control. He describes killing Duncan as something he had to do for his own peace of mind, or to satisfy himself, “Whom we, to gain peace, have sent to peace,” (3.2.22). The truth is that his craving for power is unsatisfiable and he is constantly longing for more. Macbeth soon begins to feel insecure as the king because of the witches prophecies that Banquo will be father of a line of kings. He starts to view Banquo’s life as something holding him back from satisfying his ambition even further. The solution he comes up with is to “Cancel and tear to pieces that great bond which keeps me pale.” (3.2.54-55), he decides that Banquo needs to be killed. At the beginning of the book, Banquo is one of Macbeth’s greatest friends, and his ambition has turned this friend into nothing but a roadblock on Macbeth’s road to greatness. Macbeth uses this hate fueled by ambition to convince the murderers that Banquo is evil and needs
Macbeth’s ambition is first seen in the beginning of the play. In Act 1, Scene 3, Macbeth is given prophecies from the three witches. Two of the three prophecies have already been fulfilled and this triggers his ambition. Macbeth sees the first two accurate predictions “As happy …show more content…
Macbeth shares the prophesies with her and she has the same first instinct. She believes that the solution is to kill King Duncan, but Lady Macbeth is not confident in Macbeth’s evil character. She thinks that he is “too full o’ the milk of human kindness” (1.5.16), and not capable of doing what it takes to fulfill this prophecy. She then illustrates what she believes is the road to success: “To catch the nearest way: thou wouldst be great: Art not without ambition, but without The illness should attend it.” She believes that Macbeth’s only path to greatness is to act immediately on his ambition and be willing to deal with the negative consequences that accompany this decision. She then wants to be able to act on ambition without any feelings of regret, so she calls upon dark spirits to “unsex me here, And fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full, Of direst cruelty! make thick my blood, Stop up access and passage to remorse,” (1.5.44-47). She wants to be able to act freely without grief or …show more content…
He starts to see, hear and imagine all sorts of things including “Macbeth shall sleep no more!” (2.2.56). His ambition has driven him into this state of distress: “I’m afraid to think what I have done/to know my deed, ‘twere best not know myself,” (2.2.66&92). He begins to question who he is and doesn’t want to live with his decision. At this point Macbeth’s “thriftless ambition” (2.4.37) begins to spin out of control. He describes killing Duncan as something he had to do for his own peace of mind, or to satisfy himself, “Whom we, to gain peace, have sent to peace,” (3.2.22). The truth is that his craving for power is unsatisfiable and he is constantly longing for more. Macbeth soon begins to feel insecure as the king because of the witches prophecies that Banquo will be father of a line of kings. He starts to view Banquo’s life as something holding him back from satisfying his ambition even further. The solution he comes up with is to “Cancel and tear to pieces that great bond which keeps me pale.” (3.2.54-55), he decides that Banquo needs to be killed. At the beginning of the book, Banquo is one of Macbeth’s greatest friends, and his ambition has turned this friend into nothing but a roadblock on Macbeth’s road to greatness. Macbeth uses this hate fueled by ambition to convince the murderers that Banquo is evil and needs