Ambition And Ambition In Macbeth

Power Destroys “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.” This quote, from Abraham Lincoln, accurately describes what happens in Macbeth, a play written by William Shakespeare. The desire for power can bring someone glory or destruction. In the end, it all depends on how someone seeks that power and how he or she reacts once they get it. This is what happens to Macbeth. He seeks power and gains it, but the way that he does this is not upright. His ambition for power leads him to do morally incorrect actions. Throughout the play, Macbeth seeks to gain power and feed his ambition through the murder of all those who stand in his way. Macbeth first shows his intention for power when he murders …show more content…
Once he discovers that Banquo’s son, Fleance, has escaped, he turns his attention to his next challenger: Macduff. This all starts when Macbeth finds out that Macduff has fled England. “Tis two or three, my lord, that bring you word / Macduff is fled to England” (IV.i.140). Upon hearing these news, Macbeth decides that “From this moment / The very firstlings of my heart shall be / The firstlings of my hand” (IV.i.145-147). What he is basically saying is that whatever he thinks, he will do. Unfortunately, this happens to be to murder Macduff’s family. When Macbeth decides to do this, he mainly does it for power. Macbeth wants to show Macduff that he has the capability do anything he wants to do. Macbeth is willing to kill anyone that stands between him and his crown. Since Macduff was no longer present, he decided to kill his wife and children, even though they were no true threats to …show more content…
This starts when Macduff hears the news that his family has been slaughtered. Macduff knows that Macbeth is responsible for their deaths and promises to kill him saying “Front to front / Bring thou this fiend of Scotland and myself. / Within my sword’s length set him; if he ’scape, / Heaven forgive him too” (IV.iii.235-238). When the war against Macbeth takes place, Macduff finds him and battles against him. Macbeth is eventually killed and beheaded by him. In the battle, Macbeth could have easily given up once he figured out that he was going to lose to Macduff. He, however, does not do this. Macbeth continues to battle because he refuses to die a coward, even if his death is inevitable. This final act of Macbeth shows that he will try with all his might to kill anyone who challenges him and to try to have power although it is