Macbeth Ambition Research Paper

Ambition: The Rise and Decline in Macbeth

Many people, both young and old, strive to rise higher in their caste system. Many teenagers aspire to go to college, and many working people aspire to be promoted. Ambitions drive these individuals to reach their goals. Ambition drives an individual to reach their goals with a powerful force, but ambition can also cause the demise of the individual. In Shakespeare’s renaissance play, Macbeth, William Shakespeare uses the character Macbeth to show case the destruction wrought about by ambition when moral values do not counter-balance the powerful force, and the way corrupt ambition reverts man to a primitive state, and leads to his eventual demise. Ambition can drive the individual into such a
A man can either become so overcome with guilt and turmoil that he can no longer physically go on, or the individual who wields corrupt ambition will eventually be destroyed by one who wields a moral ambition, and who accomplishes their goals without the use of sinful and vile acts. Each murder of Macbeth’s accompanies some sort of hallucination, initiated by his guilt. In act I Macbeth enters Banquo’s quarters to converse about the witches. Afterwards, Macbeth plans to whisk into Duncan’s chamber and murder him while he sleeps. Before he murders Duncan Macbeth sees a floating dagger and he cries out, “Is this a dagger which I see before me…” (II.i.44) This floating dagger serves to show that Macbeth cannot keep his nerves in control. It also reveals his guilt he feels for two reasons, one the lies he told his friend inspire guilty emotions, and second, he feels guilty about the plans that he puts into action. One death leads to another and Macbeth begins to make deals with assassins. Macbeth views Banquo and his son Fleance as a threat to his crown, and decides to eradicate the threat. Then after he murders Banquo Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo in his seat, and horror-struck Macbeth begins to converse with it in front of his court. Afterwards he recovers and tells his company that, “I have a strange infirmity which is nothing to those that know me.” (III.iv.85-86) These hallucinations show that even Macbeth’s guilt catches up with him. This guilt, all though eventually mastered by Macbeth, throws him out of character and makes it harder for him to act as though he has a clean conscience. If Macbeth cannot convince his subjects of his worthiness to be king then not only will he loose the thrown, but his life as well. Eventually matters escalate beyond Macbeth’s control. More threats have risen, namely Malcolm and Macduff, and Macbeth and his crown are in danger. Towards the