Duncan's Ambition In Macbeth
Death at the Hands of Witches, Taunts, and Ambition John F. Kennedy, Indira Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Abraham Lincoln, Julius Caesar, Mahatma Gandhi… Besides this list being full of leaders, what do they all have in common? All of these people were in positions of power when they were assassinated. Like these leaders, King Duncan in Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, is assassinated. However, unlike most of these assassinated leaders, the public is able to see into the mind and plans of the assassin, Macbeth himself. But what truly influenced his decision to commit regicide? Macbeth had two major influencers that pushed him to fulfill his ambitious nature by killing Duncan: the Weird Sisters and Lady Macbeth. This group of individuals
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Given this prophecy, Macbeth feels entitled to the position. However, when Duncan appoints Malcolm Prince of Cumberland, Macbeth begins to have "black and deep desires." (1.4 l.58). Instead of leaving it up to fate like he first decided, Macbeth feels that he must overcome Duncan’s choice. He then immediately thinks of murder to obtain the role of king. Although he is extremely hesitant in his decision and seems to back away from it multiple times, in the end he goes through with it. Him, and no one else kills Duncan. The witches and his wife, do have significant roles in giving him the idea and convincing him to commit regicide, but he is the only one in control of himself, so he ultimately makes the decision to kill Duncan. Therefore, his ambition becomes the decider and catalyst for the regicide. No matter how much his wife questions his manliness, Macbeth’s ambition becomes the only thing able to overcome his hesitancy long enough for him to to commit …show more content…
The witches in their meeting with Macbeth and two thirds of their prophecy already being true, put the notion of regicide in Macbeth’s head and spurns his ambition further. Lady Macbeth is there when Macbeth is questioning his plans and does anything in her power to convince him to complete the murder. Without all three of these components coming together, Macbeth would have not killed Duncan, and fate would have decided whether he would have become
Given this prophecy, Macbeth feels entitled to the position. However, when Duncan appoints Malcolm Prince of Cumberland, Macbeth begins to have "black and deep desires." (1.4 l.58). Instead of leaving it up to fate like he first decided, Macbeth feels that he must overcome Duncan’s choice. He then immediately thinks of murder to obtain the role of king. Although he is extremely hesitant in his decision and seems to back away from it multiple times, in the end he goes through with it. Him, and no one else kills Duncan. The witches and his wife, do have significant roles in giving him the idea and convincing him to commit regicide, but he is the only one in control of himself, so he ultimately makes the decision to kill Duncan. Therefore, his ambition becomes the decider and catalyst for the regicide. No matter how much his wife questions his manliness, Macbeth’s ambition becomes the only thing able to overcome his hesitancy long enough for him to to commit …show more content…
The witches in their meeting with Macbeth and two thirds of their prophecy already being true, put the notion of regicide in Macbeth’s head and spurns his ambition further. Lady Macbeth is there when Macbeth is questioning his plans and does anything in her power to convince him to complete the murder. Without all three of these components coming together, Macbeth would have not killed Duncan, and fate would have decided whether he would have become