Macbeth's Ambition Research Paper

Too Much Ambition
Ambition is the strong desire to do or achieve something with hard work and determination; it is an excellent quality to have. Macbeth is a tragic play written by Shakespeare. In Macbeth there are several important themes, but the most important theme throughout the play is ambition. In many cases ambition is a very important and a powerful tool, but in this play ambition became destructive. Macbeth’s ambition led to his tragic downfall; ambition drove Lady Macbeth mad, ambition changed Macbeth, and ambition led to a string of murders.
Lady Macbeth was a woman who had extreme amounts of ambition. When she receives the letter from Macbeth about the witches and his fate she is the first person to think of murdering Duncan.
She says, “Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be what thou art promised. Yet I do fear thy nature; it is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness to catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great, art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it” (Ⅰ.ⅴ.12-17). Lady Macbeth believes that she has greater ambition than Macbeth, and she did in the beginning. Later in the play she asks herself what is the point of going through all of the trouble that they did if they aren’t happy. After killing Duncan, Banquo, and Macduff’s family the guilt of her ambition consumes her and she kills herself. Her ambition led to her having a tragic downfall. Macbeth’s ambition caused him to change.
Macbeth was a noble man before he met the three witches and let his ambition take over. After hearing his predictions from the witches, Macbeth is named Thane of Cawdor, and this makes him become too ambitious. At first Macbeth was focused on becoming the king, but his ambition was not enough to make him to want to murder Duncan. When Duncan says that Malcolm will be the next king Macbeth became very upset. He says to himself, “The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step on which I must fall down or else o’erleap, for in my way it lies, Stars, hide your fires; let not light see my black and deep desires. The eye wink at the hand, yet let that be which the eye fears, when it is down, to see”(Ⅰ.ⅳ.48-53). After learning that Malcolm would be king Macbeth’s ambition went into overdrive. This was the beginning of Macbeth’s tragic
downfall.
Character’s ambitions in Macbeth led to a string of murders.
Lady Macbeth and Macbeth’s ambitions both drove them to murder Duncan and his guards so that Macbeth could become the king. Then Macbeth’s ambition begins to get the best of him, and he becomes paranoid. Macbeth becomes so paranoid that his future as king, he hires assassins to murder Banquo, a man who he fought along side with, and his son. After Macbeth goes to the witches for more predictions, they tell him to beware of Macduff. Macbeth already felt betrayed by Macduff because he went to go fight with Malcolm, and out of his rage and ambition he hires the assassins to murder Macduff’s family. After Macduff learns about his family’s murder he is intent on getting revenge on the tyrant, Macbeth. Everyone had too much ambition in this play,and it led to terrible
deaths.
Throughout the play of Macbeth there are many themes,but ambition is the most important theme throughout the play. Ambition impacted all of the characters in one way or another, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth let their ambitions get the best of them and they both had a tragic death. Macbeth left his ambition unchecked, and it became destructive. Macbeth’s ambition had many negative impacts on other characters, especially on Macduff. Macduff says, Either thou, Macbeth, Or else my sword, with an unbattered edge, I sheathe again undeeded. There thou shouldst be; By this great clatter, one of the greatest note seems bruited. Let me find him, Fortune, And more I beg not” (Ⅴ.ⅵ.19-24). Macbeth had become a tyrant and he had done many terrible things to get there all driven by his ambition. Macbeth’s ambition was the main factor that led to his tragic downfall.