Macbeth's Ambition Research Paper

Everyone has ambitions however the way one achieves their ambitions may differ from others. A person may follow their morals and work hard towards their goal and another may choose to take the easy way there by committing crimes which may result in their failure. This applies to Macbeth by William Shakespeare in that the tragic hero, Macbeth, decides to achieve his goals the easy way by committing sinful deeds. It all started going downhill for Macbeth when he kills King Duncan to become king. After that incident he starts to go insane and kills everyone who poses as a threat to him and his crown. Macbeth relies on the prophecies of the witches and recklessly commit crimes because of it which cause him to lose his allies and their respect and …show more content…
He displays erratic behavior in front of the guests and nobles at his banquet revealing to them that he is insane. Macbeth suffered from hallucinations after he had committed another murder. He starts to imagine things that are not real in result of him losing his mind. He starts to behave weirdly causing the nobles to become suspicious of him. When he sees Banquo’s ghost, Macbeth states, “Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves/ Shall never tremble. Or be alive again/ And dare me to desert with thy sword. [...]/ Hence, horrible shadow!/ Unreal mock’ry hence!” (3.3.102-107). Macbeth refers to Banquo’s ghost when he says “horrible shadow” and “unreal mock’ry”. This demonstrates how his state of mind is unstable because no one else in the room sees Banquo’s ghost except him. It gives the nobles a bad impression on him because he appears delusional and unroyal. His erratic behavior also causes the nobles to lose their respect and trust in him because it makes them suspect that he is the murderer. Macbeth’s ambition and dark deeds causes him to be unable to distinguish between what’s real and what’s not and this eventually desensitized …show more content…
After murdering Duncan, Macbeth becomes irrational and fears that someone would find out about it. This caused his mental state to worsen and eventually he lost his grip on reality. Macbeth becomes even more insane as he decides to kill Macduff’s entire household to ensure that the crown remains his. When one lets their dark thoughts dominate their action without thinking of the consequence it may lead to problems that worsen. Eventually this will screw up their mind and lead to one’s downfall or even