Theme Of Ambition In Othello

Goals are constantly pursued throughout life and are crucial to the overall satisfaction of being, but are often ambitiously pursued with only the end result in mind. In William Shakespeare’s plays, Othello and Macbeth, an underlying connection of the result of blind ambition is presented. Through the use of ambition for power, love, and mental satisfaction, Shakespeare demonstrates that regardless of the source of ambition, if it is pursued without regard to morality, it results in destruction.
Firstly, the desire for prestige and power by characters in both plays results in destruction. For example, Iago and Macbeth both desire power and do so to the detriment of themselves and others. In Othello, Iago desires to gain a higher rank in the
For example, Iago's ambition for entertainment is one of the major driving forces for his evil deeds. Iago enjoys watching others suffer and boasts about their suffering, such as when he gloated that he will “[m]ake the Moor thank [him], love [him], and reward [him]/ For making [the Moor] egregiously an ass” (Othello 2. 1. 299-300). Iago feels no remorse for the people whose lives he has ruined, and, consequently, is caught in the end. Similarly, in Macbeth, the witches have an ambition for entertainment, as they reveal the prophecies to Macbeth. Macbeth uses these prophecies as encouragement to murder the king. However, he does not realize that the witches “palter with [him] in a double sense” until it is too late to save him from death (Macbeth 5. 8. 20). The witches did not have to inform Macbeth of the prophecies, yet they did so for fulfillment of their ambition and Macbeth paid for it with his life. The pleasure Iago and the witches gained from their ambitious deeds resulted in the death of many due to fact that morals were not considered. Another example of ambition for the satisfaction of the mind is exhibited by Iago and Macbeth. Iago has an ambition towards seeing his plan succeed so that he can relax as general. Because of this ambition he is willing to sabotage anyone he deems necessary, such as Bianca, when he claims that he “[suspects] this trash” of being “a party in this injury” (Othello 5. 1. 84-85). Iago disregards the well-being of others for his ambition for comfort, which is again why he gets arrested. Likewise, Macbeth has an ambition for comfort and he pursues it by ensuring that he maintains the throne. His assertion that “To be thus is nothing,/ But to be safely thus” is why he has numerous individuals murdered (Macbeth 3. 1. 49-50). His immoral belief that in order for him to be safe,