Macbeth Essay

Black and Deep Desires: Ambition in Macbeth Ambition can drive one to extremes. It can serve as a catalyst for one to act outside of their normal behaviour. These acts can either lead to one's success, or to their downfall. In William Shakespeare's tragic play Macbeth, the playwright explains how a man met his demise when his ambition took over his life. Macbeth's greed, insecurity, and despair motivates his ambition, which leads him to their ultimate demise. In the opening act of the play, Macbeth's greed becomes evident, which leads to ambition that causes him to take lethal action. The first example of this ambition is found after King Duncan names Macbeth “Thane of Cawdor”, and names Malcolm the heir to the Scottish throne. "The prince of Cumberland! That is a step / On which I must fall down, or else o'erleap, / For in my way it lies." (1.4.50–53) Macbeth now knows that he must either forfeit his claim to the throne, or he must clear Malcolm out of his way to become heir. Macbeth knows that he will have to resort to foul play to get the crown. Later on, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth discuss whether or not they are to kill Duncan. They decide together that it is worth murdering Duncan to get the crown. This cutthroat ambition is sponsored by their greed, and this leads the Macbeths to perform their first heinous act. Macbeth executes his plan perfectly, and he is now the King of Scotland. Macbeth is now fraught with insecurities, and his ambition is now motivated by it. For example, the third act opens with a soliloquy from Macbeth. He is not satisfied that he is king, for "To be thus is nothing, / But to be safely thus." (3.1.50–51) Banquo's sons are destined to be Kings, and Macbeth simply cannot accept this. In the end of the soliloquy, Macbeth firmly states that he will defy the witches’ prophecy. Later on, Macbeth also starts to worry about another old friend, Macduff. Macbeth hears from a servant-spy that Macduff is in England, which to Macbeth is a