A tragedy is essentially the portrayal of the fall of a great person because of a flaw in their character. Macbeth’s flaw, of course, is his ambition.
Ambition is defined as the strong desire to achieve something, and this is obviously evident in the play as Macbeth strives to make himself King, and prevent fate from occurring. Not only is ambition present in Macbeth, but in Lady Macbeth as well.
Ambition motivates both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to commit dreadful deeds, and later, Macbeth’s ambition turns into obsession. By the end of the play, Macbeth’s ambition ultimately causes his ruin and that of Scotland.
There is no doubt that Macbeth has ambition. His ruthless seeking after power is the tragic flaw that causes his downfall. When the witches tell Macbeth that he will become King, his interest is instantly aroused. Macbeth ponders over whether to believe them, and he agonises over whether he should kill Duncan to gain the throne. Macbeth lists all the reasons he shouldn’t – “return/To plague th’inventor”, “I am his kinsman and his subject”, “his host”, “this Duncan…hath been/So clear in his great office”, “The deep damnation of his taking-off”. Macbeth states that his only motivation to kill is his ambition – “I have no spur/To prick the sides of my intent, but only/Vaulting ambition”.
It could be said Macbeth has three motivations to kill Duncan – his own ambition, Lady Macbeth’s ambitions and the persuasive nature of the witches. Macbeth’s ambition is to become King. His only problem is whether he should wait for it to happen, or to make fate his own. Lady Macbeth’s ambition motivates Macbeth until he becomes a tyrant. Macbeth probably would not have killed Duncan if it were not for his wife. Lady Macbeth, due to her own ambition, taunts him and urges him that performing the deed is the only way. The witches are an external projection of Macbeth’s own inordinate ambitions. After their first prophecy comes true, Macbeth’s ambitious nature causes him to think of murder.
Ambition turned a frank, sociable, generous man into a cruel, tyrannical, usurping murderer. Macbeth’s blindly rushing forward on the objects of his ambition betrays the harassed state of his feelings. Even though Macbeth is not essentially evil, ambition makes him strive for evil, and on the way, forces him to perform evil deeds. However, many of the traits that we see in Macbeth are commended, even if he is ruthless in his killings. He is not destitute of feelings, unlike a cold-blooded villain. He feels sympathy, remorse and pity.
Lady Macbeth, on the other hand, is much more cold-blooded, and a character we fear because of that. Her obdurate strength of will and masculine firmness gives her the ascendency over her husband's faltering virtue. She at once seizes on the opportunity to fulfil her ambition and never flinches from her object till all is over. However, in saying this, Lady Macbeth is also not void of commendable characteristics. At times she is naïve, but she also has feelings, shown when she cannot kill Duncan – “Had he not resembled/My father as he slept, I had done’t.”
The moment Macbeth and his Lady killed Duncan, was when things turned for the worse for them. Immediately afterwards, Macbeth could feel nothing would never be the same – “Methought I heard a voice cry, ‘Sleep no more:/Macbeth does murder sleep’, the innocent sleep”, “I am afraid to think what I have done;/Look on’t again, I dare not”, “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood/Clean from my hand? No”. This was the turn of the tides, when order would turn into disorder and result in suffering – the start of the tragedy.
Macbeth’s ambition now turns into an obsession – an obsession to prove the prophecy wrong, yet trusting it at the same time. He silences his conscience and the voice of honour. After committing one murder, he embarks on more. Hiring assassins to kill Banquo and Macduff’s family, his arrogance and determination lead him to believe he is invincible.
Lady Macbeth’s ambition leads to her downfall as well. The murder of King Duncan turns out to be too much for her. She falls into mental collapse, going insane. Near the end, she dies, supporting the description ‘tragedy of ambition’. What could’ve been a great woman was instead led to a tragic end because of a flaw – her ambition.
Macbeth’s ambition gives him no satisfaction. He refuses to believe it until it is too late. What use is being King if his sons will not be next in line? His ambition ultimately causes his ruin and that of Scotland, where a country’s health reflects that of its ruler. His death came about because of a tragic flaw in his character, like his wife – ambition.
Through these reasons, ‘tragedy if ambition’ is a correct and adequate description of Macbeth, as ambition is the cause of the downfall of both Macbeth and his wife.
