...are still relevant today. Shakespeare Macbeth and Mark Brozel’s reworking strongly suggest that Shakespeare does write about these issues. Macbeth is a classic tragedy which is so versatile that it can be set in any context. Ambition is the most prominent theme in Macbeth. The audience sees ambition run riots in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s mind, who try so hard to fulfil their desires, no matter what the cost is. For example, Macbeth goes from a good, loyal and honest general to a murdering maniac. This is what ambition does to a human being. It brings out the darkest of demons in a human being. “For mine own good All causes shall give away. I am blood Stepp’d in so far that, I should wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o’er”- Macbeth (Act 3, Scene 4) Shakespeare uses the technique of similes to compare Macbeth’s crimes as that of him walking through a bloody river. In this simile, Macbeth is comparing his heinous crime to wading through a bloody river. It is Macbeth’s thinking that once a man commits a murderous act for his personal gain, it is impossible to stop. Macbeth implies that turning back would be as tedious as committing the crime. In Mark Brozel’s 2005 adaptation of Macbeth, Macbeth-Shakespeare Retold, the theme of ambition is explored in a different context but with the same plot. Joe Macbeth (Macbeth) knows that he will always be over worked and under paid for his work and so does his wife Ella (Lady Macbeth). In order to eradicate this problem...
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...More often than not leaders have a stronger sense of what is happening than what is being shared. To be an authoritative leader is to know when to stop hearing out irrelevant opinions and thinking for yourself. Macbeth had the decency to include other in his wavering of decision making but was also willing to factor in his own benefit when needed. “Stars hide your fires; Let now light see my black and deep desires.” (1.4.50-51) This quote is speaking of Macbeth's recurring ambition for power. The “fire” being used to represent all of his hopes and dream of being king, after the push from Lady Macbeth the deed is done; Duncan is killed off, and Macbeth is left as king. Macbeth can be related to Niccolos Machiavellis’s The Prince, within this excerpt Machiavelli states “It is much safer to be feared than loved”, this is because when loved the leadership is confused with a friendship. To be loved does not necessarily mean respected, without respect all power would be even and a kingdom would be left in total anarchy. If Macbeth was loved by his riffraff he would have been unable to conquer and kill when it needed to be done. When a leader is viewed as a friend they lose all creditability of what power and control they are originally given. A leader needs to lead not befriend all of the crowd below...
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...In the tragic play script ‘Macbeth’ written by William Shakespeare, we follow Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as their ambition turns from good ambition like respecting their country and fighting for their King, to evil ambition, as they develop an evil flaw by performing evil acts like murder and deceitfulness. At the beginning of the play script, Macbeth is determined to do good works so that he will be well known and remembered. Then Lady Macbeth’s longing for the crown causes her to be very manipulative. She persuades her husband to do evil and once Macbeth does what she wants, they are caught in a spiral of evil doings. At the beginning of this play script, Macbeth does well in the war against the Norwegians. King Duncan orders the death of the...
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...Reading Shakespeare’s work makes one wonder, is this really what life is like? His writings show a common human experience and for this reason are considered timeless. In each of Shakespeare’s works the reader can relate it to their own life or to the society they live in. For example, The Tragedy of Macbeth relates to our current society, demonstrated by the theme of blind ambition. Macbeth’s desire to become king, and to remain king, became unhealthy. This can be shown in Act V Scene V when Macbeth admits that he feels numb and that nothing now can hurt him, not even the death of once beloved wife. Even before this, throughout the play we are shown how he strayed from his once noble nature and began to do anything in order to achieve his...
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...become reality, Macbeth, from William Shakespeare's play “The Tragedy of Macbeth”, is determined to keep his power at any cost. When he encounters three wicked sisters, a line of kings, and bloody daggers his ambition will get the best of him. The kingdom hears of killings but does not know that their king is the murderer. And Macbeth, the coward, becomes fearless. Because he is brave, ambitious and dishonest, Macbeth will learn that power cannot protect him from fate. After hearing of the prophecy that Macbeth will be king, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth decide to kill Duncan and pin the murder on his men. Lady Macbeth questions Macbeth’s manhood and convinces him to man up and take the life of the current king of Scotland. Lady Macbeth drugs the guards and Macbeth goes in the chamber kills Duncan and his guards and says “I have done the deed, didst thou not hear a noise?”(Mac 2.5 14) Macbeth showed bravery in killing Duncan so that he can rule Scotland as king. Not only did Macbeth display bravery, but he also presents himself to be highly ambitious as well....
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...what happens when ambition leads to a choice that is morally wrong, followed by betrayal of other people in order to advance their own greed or power. Throughout the play of Macbeth three themes are present. Ambition, betrayal, and retribution are evident in the play in numerous different scenarios. Ambition is the source of most, if not all of the problems in this play. It all started with the witches prophecies “All hail Macbeth! Hail to thee Thane of Glamis/All hail Macbeth! Hail to thee thane of Cawdor/” (at this point Macbeth does not know he is the Thane of Cawdor, so when it happens he believes firmly in the witches prophecies). “All hail Macbeth! Shalt be king hereafter (Act 1:3:49-53)”. Macbeth is fascinated to a point where becoming king becomes an obsession for him. Furthermore, this ambition leads him to not only think about being king, but how to eliminate Duncan in order for him to become king. “If it were done, when ‘tis...
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...Ambition is often thought of as a form of greed, which can be defined as the excessive desire for something that is not needed or deserved. Selfish interests, that is not for the greater good, leads to bad ambition. William Shakespeare wrote the play, Macbeth, using character traits, like ambition, to depict how they can affect a person. At the time that Shakespeare wrote this play, political murder and revenge were not unusual ways to gain power. In the play, Macbeth, one of the main characters, Macbeth, unveils prominent traits: ambition, pride, and obsession to portray the theme to the audience that too much pride and ambition for something can lead to self- destruction. In Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, Macbeth went from being innocent and a saintly man to being guilty and too ambitious. After hearing the prophecies from the three witches, Macbeth was surprised to hear he was going to be king. He had not done anything wrong until his ambition to be king led him to murder. As Macbeth gets ready to fight Macduff, “Of all men I have avoided thee: but get thee back; my soul is too much charged with blood of thine already” (5.8 5-7). By the end of the play, Macbeth’s ambition of being king caused him to want to...
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...Macbeth Essay Ambition and greed can change people in an unfathomable way. Power can change a person to greedy in a heartbeat, just to make sure they stay in power and get things going in their way only. In the play Macbeth, Macbeth portrays ambition and greed very well. He has allowed greed and ambition to take over him and change himself completely. Macbeth’s hunger for power and his fine line between greed and ambition has contributed his transformation into power by the number of people he murdered, his confidence in believing he is invincible and his craving and need to be in charge. In Macbeth, Macbeth gets himself corrupted in greed, which leads him to crave power. Macbeth’s need for power created when Duncan declared Malcolm as the prince. Macbeth’s jealousy over Malcolm drove him to become ambitious and greedy. Macbeth takes radical measures to...
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...The play Macbeth by William Shakespeare dives into the story of Macbeth, the thane of Glamis who is given a prophecy that he will be the King, which sets the tragedies of the play in motion. Macbeth’s pursuit and possessiveness over the throne, along with the repeated use of nature to describe himself and the events around him, suggests that the innate ambition in humans may shift into an endless greed, which may lead to abandoned morals for a satisfaction that’s impossible to find. During the first part of the play, Macbeth is depicted as heroic in the way he battles and fights for his kingdom. He’s a trusted friend of the King’s, a confidant, and a loyal subject. When he receives his prophecy from the witches, however, he has thoughts of...
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...This clever tactic caught me at the worst possible - exhaustion from the battle clouding my mind and rightful proud for my victory enhancing my sense of ambition. At first I refused to believe their prophecy that I will be Thane of Cawdor and then King, which is in my opinion the correct way to deal with evil. Banquo is an example of goodness in this matter, and we were naturally inquisitive as to how this would come about and the details of the prophecy, so my curiosity does not necessarily show that I was accepting of their prophecy. my wish that they had stayed is perfectly understandable in this context of innocent curiosity, and I even joked about the absurdity of the prophecy afterwards with...
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...What makes humans ambitious? Well, when looking at human ambition it dates back thousands and thousands of years. Ambition can be defined as a strong desire to do or to achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work. Readers get the idea of negative ambition throughout the play Macbeth. The play Macbeth, is another brilliant written piece by the famous playwright William Shakespeare. The play is about a great warrior, who gets the wrong idea about ambition after being told that he will become King of Scotland. Macbeth believed that the only way to achieve power and wealth is to kill anyone who gets in his way to the throne. Specifically, the use of irony, motif and characterization all prove that negative ambition can...
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...In Shakespeare's classic Macbeth, from the first line of act one, the reader is assaulted with conflicts. Though these conflicts seem so different, they all stem from the same issue; ambition. Ambition can be a good, however, all the drive and desire that comes with ambition can consume the very person attempting to harness it. Take Macbeth for example; the man was very loyal to all of his companions.The very thought of betraying any of those closest to him had not entered into his mind until the third weird came to him with the prophecy of his future. “All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!”. At this exact moment, the reader notices a change in Macbeth, just as the future king feels rise up within himself. Macbeth has known about...
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...Macbeth is great play written by William Shakespeare, mostly known for its violence. The story starts with a hero of scotland, named Macbeth, whom changes gradually throughout the play. The thought of being able to have so much power caused him to make some menacing decisions that caused only chaos and regret. Towards the end his whole ambition for becoming king all fall short and instead he becomes an oppressor or tyrant. In William Shakespeare`s play, ambition has brought the death of many from Macbeth. “our ambition should be to rule ourselves, the true kingdom for each one of us; and true progress is to know more, be more, and do more”.In the play, Shakespeare uses the concept of ambition to show how it affects Macbeth and his wife who thrive to reach the throne and will go through any means necessary to achieve that goal. Ambition starts when Macbeth meets three witches, who tell him his destiny as king. He then becomes obsessed with the idea of having all that power and fame. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth turn away from being honorable people to turning into murderous tyrants. He is so preoccupied with becoming king he favors power over anything, such as honor, respect, and other things knights favor, so in effect there have been countless murders and the merciless killing of innocent bystanders and witnesses. His ambition, in my opinion, is to blame for duncan's murder. Macbeth even accuses duncans kids of killing their father. The desire for power fogs macbeth's mind...
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...The Most harmful creation on Earth is named Mankind. The ones with power abuse it and the ones with none suffer greatly. The question is, is it that of ambition that motivates corruption? The answer is yes. Ambition is typically a strong desire to do or to achieve something, requiring determination and hard work. Once a goal is reached there is either an evaluation from others deciding on whether or not to congratulate the achievement that has been reached or, a self-celebration suitable to the goal that was reached. Self-celebration is the easiest way to abuse power for it raises self-confidence making a person truly believe that he/ she are better than others. One must find a certain level of maturity in order to have power and use it to help others rather than hurt them....
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...MACBETH "Stars, hide your fires let not light see my black and deep desires" Macbeth is an amazing story that can show how far we can fall if we allow ourselves to accept temptation. The tragedy of Macbeth is about a loyal soldier (Macbeth) who after a prophecy is told to him by three witches that he will rule Scotland his wife then tells him to kill the king. The question is who holds the most power in the story the answer is Macbeth as he kills the king instead of turning away temptation. Unlike the other characters who affect the story on a large scale such as the witches and their prophecy's of royalty and they even prophesize Macbeth's death in a way that makes Macbeth even more headstrong however they act more of a thought in your head like "what if" this is proven as Macbeth actually loses ambition to kill the king. Lady Macbeth holds much more power than the witches as...
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