...Macbeth Formal Writing Assignment Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are both ambitious which is a character trait that has modern connections. Macbeth displays ambition throughout his journey to becoming king. After the Banquet Macbeth responds “I am in blood Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o'er”. (3.4.166-169). Macbeth knows that going back will be the same as going forward, he regrets what he has done, but he has firm believe in becoming king and does not let that bring him down. Macbeth`s thoughts on murder. “My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, Shakes so my single state of man”. (1.3.149-152). Everything that Macbeth has been thought in his life, does not compare with the murdering that keeps coming to his mind....
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...Ambition: The key to self-destruction Ambition is normally seen as a positive quality in an individual, but it can in fact spiral out of control. In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, readers witness this exact situation; ambition is what leads to Macbeth’s destruction. This trait can also be referred to as his hamartia. The dangerous growth of ambition begins when the witches present to him a prophecy, continues when Lady Macbeth pushes him until, finally, he has built up enough to drive himself to destruction. To begin with, the first instance in which ambition presents a danger is when Macbeth gets encouraged by the witches’ supernatural promises. After he hears the witches declare that he will be named Thane of Cawdor and “shalt be king hereafter” (I. iii. 48), a spark is lit and his darker side comes out. This is especially noticed when he says, “my thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, shakes so my single slate of man that function / Is smother’d insurmise, and nothing is / But what is not.” (I. iii. 138-141). It is visible at this time that ambition is just beginning to drive him in the wrong direction and away from moral consciousness. This battle of conscious vs excessive ambition is central to the story. It is referred to by Lady Macbeth, upon welcoming Macbeth home after hearing of his title as Thane of Cawdor, when she states, “Thou wouldst be great, Art not without ambition, but without / The illness should attend it”. (I. v. 17-19) Here, she...
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...Excessive ambition can lead an individual to depression.Shakespeare wrote The play Macbeth to show support for the new king James I. The king was not popular because of his choice to make protestantism the official religion of Great Britain. Shakespeare wrote Macbeth to reveal that betraying the king will ultimately lead to their demise.In Macbeth, William Shakespeare uses Macbeth to show how excessive ambition when geared the wrong way can lead to darkness and depression. Macbeth is told by the second Witch in the beginning of the play that he is the new thane of Cawdor.When he and Banquo approached them she said “Hail to thee thane of Cawdor”(1.3.51-53).The second witch starts the play on Macbeth’s ambition by telling him he is the Thane of Cawdor before he actually is....
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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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...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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...Limitless Macbeth In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, the main character of Macbeth has many goals and does anything he needs to in order to make those dreams come true. Shakespeare develops Macbeth’s ambitions in the play which usually revolve around him trying to gain power. Shakespeare indirectly shows how the acceptable limit of ambition relates to death. He develops the idea that when death occurs Macbeths ambitions become darker and less acceptable. At first Macbeth is loyal and fights for his country but when the ambition of being king comes along he hesitates to kill Duncan. Once Macbeth becomes less humane and after Duncan’s death Macbeth’s ambition goes over the limit and he kills Banquo and MacDuff’s family, hungry for power. But is Macbeth now being king make him able to cross the acceptable limit of ambition without being questioned. Shakespeare in the beginning of his play suggests to his audience that Macbeth is a loyal, fearless, selfless warrior as shown in the quote “For brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name)/ Disdaining fortune with his brandished steel” (1.2 18-19). It’s showing how Macbeth battled his way through the Norwegian soldiers all the way up to Macdonawald and cut him from his stomach to his head. Duncan, the king, has a great response by breathlessly saying out, “O valiant cousin, worthy gentleman!” (1.2 26). This shows just how satisfied the king along with the whole country is of Macbeth for fearlessly fighting off the Norwegian invaders...
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...negative consequences of ambition in the text 'Macbeth' and in the film 'Gladiator' directed by Ridley Scott and how it can lead to one's downfall. Macbeth is shown as the "noble" hero by the King after slaying the Thane of Cawdor and claiming victory in the war for Scotland, while Ridley Scott's 'Gladiator' portrays Maximus as the "noble" hero but still not comparing to Macbeth like Commodus does in the film. Shakespeare effectively focuses on the cynical repercussions of ambition in 'Macbeth' and how it can lead to one's failure. Macbeth is shown as a wellborn protagonist after being regarded as "Noble Macbeth" by the King of Scotland, King Duncan after slaying the Thane of Cawdor and winning the war for his country. This starts to show the effects of Shakespeare's Aristotelian Tragedy where the tragic hero is established. Macbeth's ambition begins after he and Banquo are told their fates by prophesising witches. "All hail, Macbeth, that shall be king hereafter". This quote is indicated by one of the witches that starts to show the beginning of the end for Macbeth. The behaviour and attitudes of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth leading up to the murder of King Duncan are completely contrasted. Macbeth expresses great reluctance to act, convincing himself that the murder is unjustified, and will bring him great troubles, grief and negative consequences. "I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition". Macbeth says this to Lady Macbeth to show his hesitancy...
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...“Significant ideas are raised in plays” Discuss significant ideas in Macbeth Throughout the Elizabethan era, literary work was written for performance on the stage in order to entertain an audience. These performances, known as plays raise significant ideas that are the underpinning issue or idea that propels and sustains the play. As time passes, different generations look at the significant ideas in Shakespeare with new eyes, redefining and reinterpreting as influenced by the political, social and cultural conditions of each era. These significant ideas that are raised in Shakespeare’s play Macbeth (1606) include supernatural, ambition and temptation, and violence. Macbeth introduces an element of fantasy into the normal tragedy narrative through the characters of the witches. The witches are important figures in the play, as their function is both to predict Macbeth’s fate and to signal to the reader what is to come. Far from serving as a distracting element, the witches help focus the audience on some of the darker and more sinister aspects of the play. Shakespeare’s use of this supernatural idea is raised throughout the entire play. If the witches’ prophecy is understood to be imposing a supernatural order on the natural order of things, the natural order can also be understood as responding with tempestuous signs. Following Duncan’s death, Lennox describes the “unruly” night in detail and his personal emotions. Similarly, Ross notes that “the heavens, as troubled...
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...2017 Hannah Barovier The Power of Ambition “Whether we fall by ambition, blood, or lust, like diamonds we are cut with our own dust.” This statement made by John Webster describes the downfall of Macbeth, which was brought on by unchecked ambition, his hamartia. In William Shakespeare’s great tragedy Macbeth, a man upsets the natural order by committing regicide, simultaneously putting him at war with himself. Macbeth is driven by his lust for power and loss of morals. His unchecked ambition leads to his own self-destruction, and the natural order is restored. Over the course of the play, Shakespeare imparts that ambition will never fulfil a lust for power, and while it can be positive, it has the ability to fundamentally alter one’s...
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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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...force of ambition causes one to take extreme measures in attaining triumph. Google defines ambition as the strong desire to do or achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work. Due to ambition many individuals lose their love and compassion for others. Though, ambition is meant to help people reach success it can also result in one’s downfall. In William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth ambition is the key component that controls the hearts and minds of men. Shakespeare uses the characters Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to portray the cruel effects of ambition. During the play Macbeth receives a prophecy from three witches saying that he will be the King of Scotland. This prophecy arouses Macbeth’s ambition for power,...
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...Macbeth Essay – Is Lady Macbeth more responsible than Macbeth for the murder of King Duncan? Is Lady Macbeth a more evil character than her husband? Why? Macbeth is a play that was written by William Shakespeare in 1606. The story is basically revolves around a prophecies that was told to Macbeth, which in hearing the prophecies sparks Macbeth’s ambitions, which lead him on a path that would inevitably lead to his downfall. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth himself share responsibility for the murder of King Duncan. Even though Macbeth was the one to actually end his life Lady Macbeth is as much to blame as he is. Her responsibility is shown through her manipulating and influencing him. Lady Macbeth’s character is shown throughout the play with her ambition, slyness and control over Macbeth, it shows over the course of the play that though Macbeth’s ambitions are great hers are much greater. Her ambition is so extreme that she would even go as far as to cast her femininity away: “Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty! make thick my blood; Stop up the access and passage to remorse, That no compunctious visitings of nature Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between The effect and it! Come to my woman's breasts, And take my milk for gall” Lady Macbeth believes that ‘remorse’ is a factor in her femininity of which she must rid herself of if she wished to continue. She also must...
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...In Macbeth, ambition is characterized as a dangerous quality. Ambition is the downfall of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, which triggers the murders that take place in Macbeth. Although, Macbeth’s tragic flaw is ambition, it is the driving force of the play which is influenced by Lady Macbeth and the three witches. Lady Macbeth plays a major role in the downfall of Macbeth. She influenced and convinced Macbeth to commit the murder about Duncan, believing that the power would bring both of them happiness. Lady Macbeth says “Hie thee hither, that I may pour my spirits in thine ear and chastise thee with the valour of my tongue. (Shakespeare 353)” It is as though Lady Macbeth is Macbeths bad conscious. She remarks, that she will solve his dilemma by poisoning his mind with her evil plan of murdering Duncan. Unlike her husband she is made of sterner stuff and has no moral scruples because she is evil to the core and decides to convince Macbeth to murder the king. This is the first murder victim of Macbeth. After the death of King Duncan, Lady Macbeth commits suicide which it is another breaking point of his down fall. Macbeth’s quest and desire for the power caused him to become a man of no emotions. Macbeth is an easy person to persuade and convince. Since the three witches gave him his prophecies, Macbeth’s character changed gradually over the course of the play. He became obsessed with making sure the prophecies come true as well as having a strong desire for power as...
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...world around them. People use ambition to make this happen by challenging fate and striving for what they desire, which could result in good or bad outcomes. Ambition is a desire for change, which can either cause success or destruction in a person. People who are influenced by ambition can achieve great things, whereas others, who are tempted by these desires, and will do anything to achieve them, may be destroyed. The latter is the case in William Shakespeare’s dramatic tragedy, “Macbeth”. In Shakespeare’s play, “Macbeth”, the theme vaulting ambition is portrayed because it leads to Macbeth’s eventual downfall and destruction, and...
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...play, “Macbeth,” Macbeth strips away his heroic traits when his ambition comes into play and slowly dehumanizes into a non-empathic monster which causes his marriage downfall. In the early stages of the play, Macbeth is the one in the relationship to fear failure and to lose his sense of morals while, in contrast, Lady Macbeth prays to be “unsexed” and to lose her sense of guilt. After they murder Duncan, their attitudes slowly start to change throughout the play and now Macbeth is one to obtain the power and replaces...
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