Preview

Macvebeth - Macbeth Explores the Corrupting Influence of Unchecked Ambiton Essay Example

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
782 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Macvebeth - Macbeth Explores the Corrupting Influence of Unchecked Ambiton Essay Example
Shakespeare “Macbeth” is the story of how one man’s ambition can lead towards their demise. Macbeth explores the corrupting influence of unchecked ambition. Macbeth’s unchecked ambition leads him from a once noble man into a heartless man with no morals. The corrupted ambitions of Macbeth lead him to act against his conscious and this leaves him open to be easily manipulated.

Macbeth is introduced as a humble and honest leader, however as the play continues his blinded ambition leads him down a dark path in which he loses all moral senses. Initially Macbeth is said to be “Brave”, “Noble” and a “Worthy Gentlemen” who is willing to puts his life on the line to protect his kingdom “Thawdor”. This all begins to change after Macbeth hears his prophecy and suddenly his ambition to become king alights. Macbeth is influenced so heavily by his ambition that he loses his original “Nobel” and “Honest” traits and begins plotting the murder of Duncan, “O, never shall sun that morrow see!”. This shows the first stage of the corrupting influence of unchecked ambition taking over Macbeth. Macbeth carries out the murder of Duncan and then soon after begins plotting the murder of his close friend Banqou. This reveals that the influence of Macbeth’s uncontrolled ambition has now completely taken him over. The influence of ambition on Macbeth to stay as king completely wipes his mind of all his morals and all things that were once important to him, Lady Macbeth is portrayed near the begging of the play to mean everything to Macbeth and Macbeth tried to do what he could to please her. However, when Lady Macbeth dies later in the play Macbeth’s only words are “she should of died here after” as he is annoyed at the fact she died at an inconvenient time. This illustrates how the unchecked ambition that has a corrupting influence upon Macbeth turns him against his once noble and honest path.

The powerful ambitions of Macbeth which influence his decision making lead him to act

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Unlike Macbeth, the knowledge of the prediction, makes Lady Macbeth confident in her husbands future, and her desire for the throne strengthens and so does her impatiences. She believed her husband’s nature was ‘too full o' th' milk of human kindness’ to assassinate his own monarch and interpreted it, is a weakness. The controlling, Lady Macbeth manipulated Macbeth into submission by stating ‘When you durst do it, then you are a man’ to emasculate his character. Without Lady Macbeth’s persuasive ability, Macbeth would have never undertaken the unlawful murder of King Duncan and the unethical rise to the crown. Lady Macbeth was unable to control Macbeth, as he continued the heinous crimes of ‘Murder most foul’ throughout his rule. Lady Macbeth realises that her ‘desire was got without content’ as the consequences of their murderous actions, where met with remorse and insanity. Overwhelmed with guilt, the audience is able to witness Lady Macbeth fade in to the background, as Macbeth’s overshadowing, corrupt rule, grows. Through his wife’s ambition, greed and manipulation Macbeth’s morals are destroyed and his downfall as a person and a monarch becomes…

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Shakespeare’s masterpiece of a play, ‘Macbeth’, carefully depicts that Macbeth’s character was not ruined by fate but rather by damaging errors in his personality. Macbeth’s dangerous quality of ambition brings about his downfall as well as his treachery against his king, his tyranny and also his imaginativeness that eventually lures him into the murder. Although Shakespeare suggests that Macbeth’s decisions were greatly influenced by other characters in his text, it was Macbeth that ultimately decided to listen to these influences due to the many faults in his character.…

    • 88 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Renowned play, “Macbeth” written by William Shakespeare in 1606, is one of the most prestigious dramas to date. Valiant and truthful soldier, Macbeth experiences dire changes of evil, in order to gain his thriftless ambition for king. His immoral change might have been influenced by Lady Macbeth and the witches’ prophecies suggesting Macbeth is a tragic hero who had no intent of abhorrent deeds. Once honourable Macbeth pledges glory to his king and gained honour through valiant accomplishments. Fear strikes him as his mind starts to deteriorate into utter chaos by his treacherous actions. His self-conscious mind transforms him into a superstitious villain who suffers in despair as he implicates regret.…

    • 349 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Macbeth is a Shakespearean tragedy, written between the years of 1599 and 1606. It tells the story of a Scottish general, known as Macbeth who receives a prophecy from three witches claiming that he will, someday, become king of Scotland. The play demonstrates two main themes through the desires of kingship and power Lady Macbeth has for Macbeth and the numerous murders committed by Macbeth in order to fulfill these and his own want for power. The two main themes of Macbeth include ‘the corrupting nature of unchecked ambition’ and ‘the relationship between cruelty and masculinity.’ The first and most common theme, ‘the corrupting nature of unchecked ambition,’ initially arises when Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth of his new title and how he is…

    • 554 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth, after hearing the prophecies the three witches gave him, becomes conflicted within himself, ‘If chance shall have me King, why, chance may crown me, without my stir’. Ultimately, Macbeth chooses ambition over morality, but not without pressure from his wife ‘Are you a man?’ and severe inner turmoil ‘My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical’. To contrast the devious character of Macbeth, Shakespeare included Banquo, a fellow noblemen and Macbeth’s closest friend, to act as Macbeths foil. He immediately chooses morality over ambition without question and forewarns Macbeth of the Weird Sisters and their ability to twist the truth: ‘instruments of darkness tell us truths, win us with honest trifles, to betray’s in deepest consequence’. Banquo’s undying allegiance to King Duncan demonstrations the difference between Macbeth and Banquo, and how the upkeep of morals keep us in check. After choosing power, Macbeth’s suspicion of Banquo and his role in the prophecy leads to Banquo’s murder. After killing his friend, Macbeth is plagued with guilt, and hallucinations become recurrent for both Macbeth; ‘our graves must send those we bury back’ and his wife; ‘will these hands ne’er be clean?’ This shows that ambition can lead to immoral acts when overcome by desire.…

    • 615 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many people have hopes and goals that they would like to accomplish. They may desire powerful positions or jobs, while others may desire prosperity and riches. This is known as ambition, the spell binding force that leads people towards success. However, ambition may result in harmful acts to get their satisfaction. In William Shakespeare’s tragic play, Macbeth, the protagonist, Macbeth, is described as a very loyal and noble soldier. As the play progresses, Macbeth’s character dramatically changes because of several different factors. These factors influence Macbeth greatly and cause him to make numerous bad decisions. The influence of the witches’ prophecies, the influence of Lady Macbeth, and Macbeth’s blind ambitions are the most important factors that lead to Macbeth’s tragic deterioration.…

    • 1283 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Dreams destitute of ambition and passion are often not accomplished or satisfied. In the play, MacBeth by William Shakespeare, it depicts a story of man named Macbeth who’s overly ambitious development of character lead him to his desired fate. However, because his ambition blinds him of his moral constraints, eventually that very ambition that lead him to success, demolishes his life and reputation. In the play, it is ambition that has power over characters because of its ability to controls their decision making process as well as determined the efficiency of their moral compasses. Macbeth’s ambition for power leads him to make decisions that are morally incorrect and detrimental to his previously known character.…

    • 254 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth

    • 557 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Macbeth is one of the greatest tragedy themed plays by William Shakespeare. One of the main themes of Macbeth is that Ambition does not stop once you start thinking about it.…

    • 557 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout the play Macbeth, the character Macbeth goes through a series of changes that lead him down a path of evil. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is seen as a hero and loyal soldier to King Duncan. As the play progresses, Macbeth is manipulated by the witches or “weird sisters” prophecies of becoming king, his wife’s lust for power, and his own “misguided ambition that leads him to murder King Duncan.” (Bloom 18) As time passes, Macbeth’s greed and ambition lead him to commit several murders and eventually his own demise.…

    • 309 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Macbeth Essay

    • 1070 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Due to the witches, Macbeth ends his life as a tyrant. However, at the start of the play, he was known and respected by many, even, “The King happily received Macbeth” (Shakespeare 10). The base of Macbeth becoming the epitome of a tyrant lies in the witches’ first meeting with Macbeth. Their deceitful prediction that Macbeth “shalt be King hereafter,” sends his weak character into a rapid fatal decline (Shakespeare 14). At first, he thinks the idea of becoming king, “stands not within the prospect of belief,” but soon after, he begins thinking evil thoughts about murdering King Duncan, so he can replace him as King of Scotland (Shakespeare 19). After the murder of Duncan, Macbeth still does not feel his crown is safe, due to another prophecy from the witches. Macbeth fears still, above all else, his good friend Banquo, because the witches, “hailed him father to a line of kings; yet upon [Macbeths] head they placed a fruitless…

    • 1070 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth in the beginning of the play is a noble, humble and honourable person who, without question would sacrifice his life for the liberty of his King, Duncan. As the play progresses he attitude towards life in general changes completely, mainly due to the pressure that Lady Macbeth inflicts on him. However, Lady Macbeth has quite a surprising personality as she is not the stereotypical Elizabethan woman. Lady Macbeth is expected to be fragile, meek, innocent and comforting but in this unusual circumstance Lady Macbeth would very much rather “dashed the brains out” of an infant child. This is plain evidence to suggest that Lady Macbeth is of no stable condition. In addition to this surprising fact Lady Macbeth is cunning and bloodthirsty. She demands Macbeth in Act one, Scene Five to “look like th’innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t”. It is very common for a man to demand a female to pursue tasks but for a woman to demand a man, especially of something like sacrilege, is very unusual. This could mean two things, Macbeth is weak and is unable to depict his own decisions or/and that Macbeth is mentally deteriorating. Macbeth reason with Lady Macbeths orders in his soliloquy in Act one, Scene seven and from the things he…

    • 1055 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth Analysis

    • 1022 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The driving force behind Macbeth’s descent into madness is spurred on by the continued influencing by outside forces. Although Macbeth is first presented as a loyal general to his king, he desires greater power and stature in the kingdom. Macbeth’s ambition to obtain this power is first sparked by his encounter with the witches on his return home from battle. The witches greet Macbeth with “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter!”(9). After Macbeth receives the witches’ prophecy he begins to dwell on the idea of becoming the king of Scotland even after Banquo’s advice to avoid the evil temptations. This is the first instance in which the reader sees a glimmer of dishonor in Macbeth, although he questions whether or not the title will simply fall to him or if he will have to perform a dark deed to acquire the throne. Upon reading a letter from her husband describing the…

    • 1022 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Another theme addressed in the play Macbeth is the theme of ambition and how, unchecked, it can lead to corruption. In the beginning of the play “brave Macbeth” is hailed by Duncan as a “valiant cousin!” and “worthy gentleman.” After his encounter with the witches, however, he realizes that “Two truths are told, As happy prologues to the swelling act Of the imperial theme.” This sparks an ambition in Macbeth which brings him to have “horrible imaginings: My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical.” Spurred on my Lady Macbeth’s…

    • 502 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare outlines how the lust for power can bring out the worst in people. This is evident through Macbeth’s vaulting ambition to be king which ultimately leads to his downfall. Through Macbeth wrestling with his conscience about the prophesies of the witches he started to gain the trait of ambition. We also see his ambition continue to grow through the persuasion by his soul mate which is also shown through the 1961 CBC TV production of Macbeth. His want to stay king brought out the tyrant within him and shows the evil side of Macbeth, letting his ambition take over. His growth of ambition through the play leads to his tragic death.…

    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth

    • 1434 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Ambition is a very forceful way for one to pursue an achievement or desire. The play of “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare truly conveys the internal and external conflict through his life. Such internal conflict arises by Macbeth killing King Duncan just to be able to hold the throne for himself. Macbeth has such ambitious ways towards being the power of loyalty, which his conscience pulls him the wrong way. The urgency behind Macbeths senses seeps through his true character later on in the play when he evolves into a cold hearted killer. One must notice that fact the nothing perfect will stay forever, and the powerful ways of Macbeth will not last forever. Macbeth never does consider that there would be no heir to the throne, and that all this ruthless killing he has done just to be deemed as the king is all for nothing but personal accomplishment. One might notice that Macbeth has evolved from a loving husband to a man of dishonor and distrust. The play of “Macbeth” conveys a sense that he has such potential and possibilities of becoming king if he had some patience. One may notice that Macbeth goes through specific events where he evolves his character complexity and depth. William Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth” provides vivid evidence of a true loving man that allows his conscience to push him towards the bad decisions, thus circulating Macbeth into a cold blooded ruthless killer. Ambition has to power to turn a loving society into a hateful, tyrannical, killer.…

    • 1434 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays