The Presence Of Ambition Within Macbeth Essay — страница 2

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sees Banquo’s ghost. As all nobles of Scotland look on, Macbeth shouts at a ghost which only he himself sees. In an honest effort to cover up her husband’s strange behavior, she attempts to explain to the nobles that “this fit is momentary; upon a thought he will again be well.” (III, sc iv, 55-56) One must notice she is quick to conceal the real meaning behind these “fits” of her husband. Ironically, as Macbeth becomes deeper and deeper engrossed in his madness, Lady Macbeth begins to set step upon the verge of insanity. Although Lady Macbeth once jokingly remarked to her husband “These deeds must not be thought after these ways: so, it will make us mad.” (II, sc ii, 32), in reality it is these deeds which do ultimately lead Lady Macbeth into the madness along

with her husband. Lady Macbeth is now beginning to change from her controlled, calm self to a panic driven lunatic. She begins to hallucinate like Macbeth did but instead sees blood upon her hand which she is unable to rinse off. “Yet here’s a spot.” ( V, sc i, 30) Although Lady Macbeth is once seen as a strong character, she becomes reduced to the point of embarrassment because of the conscience which she does possess within her. In fact, her conscience plays such a great role within her that she eventually kills herself because she is unable to rid herself of the “damned spot.” ( V, sc i, 34) Macbeth is a strong soldier who possesses a good conscience but loses it due to his wife’s pressure. At the beginning of the play, Macbeth is seen as “…brave Macbeth” (

I, sc iii, 16) and “a worthy gentleman!” ( I, sc iii, 24) However, the courage and honestly which Macbeth possesses soon becomes tarnished due to the blind following of the witches predictions and his most noted fault, ambition. Macbeth’s curious nature leads him to the witches which present him with two strange prophesies; one of them is Macbeth being named king. As a result, the witches have planted a seed within Macbeth’s mind which he later takes action upon. After returning home from the battle with Norway, Lady Macbeth wastes no time urging Macbeth to kill Duncan and take the throne. “Oh never shall sun that morrow see!” (I, sc vi, 61) Although Macbeth’s ambition for the throne is far less than his wife at this point in the play, he still has a strong

conscience. This is evident by his hallucinations of the dagger “Is this a dagger I see before me…I have thee not yet I see thee still” (II, sc I, 33-35) and later the ghost of Banquo. Even after he kills Duncan, his conscience makes him become extremely paranoid. “Whence is that knocking? How is’t with me, when every noise appalls me?” (II, sc iii, 56-57) This is the first step of Macbeth’s turning into a monster. After only one murder, Macbeth wastes no time or thought in killing others to make sure his evil deed stays secret. His actions take a turn for the worst when he spontaneously stabs the guards who were the “murderers” of Macbeth and even sinks as low as to kill the innocent family of Macduff, whom Macbeth sees as a threat. Macbeth even kills his best

friends Banquo because he fears that Banquo’s children will become kings of Scotland as the witches prophesied. All of these actions which Macbeth undertakes show his insecurity which has now become present within him. As the play progresses, Macbeth continues to spiral down into the hole of evil until the end of the play. At this point he comments to himself “. . .and that which should accompany old age, as honor, love, obedience, troops of friends . . . ” (V, sc iii, 24-25) indicating he wishes for a normal life where he could live to his age with honor and dignity. However, because of all the past sins which he has committed he will be unable to do so. Even when he hears of his wife’s suicide, Macbeth comments, “she should’ve died hereafter.” (V, sc v, 17)

Macbeth’s character is seen to be very strong physically yet extremely weak mentally, this is the weakness which causes his downfall. In addition to his mind, it is his never-ending ambition and his blind trust of the witches prophesies which ultimately change Macbeth from what he once was to the monster he had become. Over the entirety of the play the changes in morals, personality, and confidence within Macbeth and Lady Macbeth can clearly be seen as a result of their ambition for the crown of Scotland. Lady Macbeth, first presented as strong and able to commit murder, eventually went insane due to her guilty conscience and killed herself. Macbeth on the other hand, went from a sincere, conscientious person into a maniacal monster which no one could control. Thus they well