Macbeth's Ambition

Ilaysha Garcia

Period: 6th Brit.Lit.

01/23/2007

Macbeth’s Ambition

An eager or strong desire to achieve something, such as fame or power is the definition of ambition. In Macbeth ambition was a main theme. Ambition is often the driving force in one’s life. It is supposed to be the motivating factor that drives one towards success. Macbeth had ambition even though it leaded him to ruin and death. Lady Macbeth, on the other hand, pursues her goals with greater determination, yet she is less capable of withstanding the outcome of her actions. They used violence for power and their ambition was used in a bad way. In modern day today ambition can be used in both a good way and a bad way. People that are ambitious to succeed in a good way can be good but there are times when ambition takes over you and it makes you wanting more and at times it can lead to death or destruction.

Macbeth didn’t use ambition to do great things but it controlled him. “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself and falls on the’ other---” (Act1.Scene7.Lines25-28). Macbeth realizes that his ambition is too much. It is making him do something that he knows is wrong, and is against everything he has supposedly stood for, yet he also knows there is nothing he can do to stop it. After he kills Duncan he orders to kill Banquo and Fleance, both the people that were loved to him. His ambition blinded him ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth turn away from the honest and gentle people they once were (Act5.Scene8.Line69) Of this dead butcher and his fiend-like queen. Ambition is a quality within every human, however it sometimes drives people to partake in totally unnatural actions. Lady Macbeth has the ambition to make Macbeth king and would do anything to make him king. In (Act 1 Scene 7 Lines 39-44) “Such I account thy love. Art thou afeard To be the same in thine own act and valour As thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have that Which thou esteem'st the ornament of life, And live a coward in thine own esteem, Letting "I dare not" wait upon "I would.” When a person fueled is with ambition, that person can go beyond any boundary. In the mind of people lies a desire, and without ambition, nothing is left to propel that person to their desire and the hope of attaining that goal dies out. That desire is what drives the person to doing something without taking future consequences for granted.

Through all these things, one can clearly see that Macbeth is headed on a path for disaster. A path that was started right and forcefully driven by his ambition. His ambition drove him to kill Duncan so he could acquire what the witches told him he was going to be and gain. His ambition then drove him to order the murders of Banquo and Fleance. Even more disastrous than the external consequences of his ambition were his internal consequences. Macbeth was constantly in a struggle between right and wrong. He finally lost this battle, and gave in to the evil side of his ambition. He was a good man until his ambition took control. And unfortunately lead him to a horrible ending.