Ambition And Contradiction In Macbeth

In Shakespearean time and within his plays, ambition was viewed as a downfall in character and a defiance to human nature. In today’s world, ambition is viewed as a respectable attribute in both males and females. Yet, In William Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, the destructive force of ambition transcends time. Although centuries apart, Macbeth, a noble who wants to seize the position of King, and Tonya Harding, a figure skater who wants to win an Olympic gold, are two examples of ambition, its misuses and consequences. Through Macbeth’s murderous rise to power and Tonya Harding’s shocking scandal in the figure skating world, what began as an ambitious desire to reach

The urge to be seen as perfect is a desire commonly found among humans. However, even some animals are not immune to such desires. A bird trying to attract the best mate in the forest by creating a perfect nest will fight to the death for a twig that it believes will make its nest excel beyond the rest. The bird will even go so far as to break the incubating eggs in a nest if it contains an item that the bird wants as its own. Similarly, in humans, there are characters that strive for perfection primarily based on self-satisfaction, rather than the well-being of others so much so that they begin to weigh ideology above humanity. The protagonist Macbeth, by the famous William Shakespeare, has different phases of respectability, all molded by his inevitability of fate. As an audience we interpret and form an opinion through Shakespeare’s use of psychological audience manipulation (Source C) to observe how one can fall prey to their own desire to create a perfect life; thus, it leads one to abandon their morals and commit horrible acts. When individuals begin to weigh ideology above humanity, they become bitter and accusing, they begin to lose their grip on reality and they create chaos and war. And at the end, Macbeth, the tragic hero stands up in front of us undeserving of the fate that was brought to him.

Two men search to find what they want, but end in failure. In The Tragedy of Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth, an excellent general, earns many titles throughout the play such as the “Thane of Glamis”, the “Thane of Cawdor”, and eventually, the King of Scotland. Macbeth is a general under King Duncan when the play opens as Macbeth successfully completes a mission under the King, which, in turn, earns him the “Thane of Cawdor.” After celebration over this, three witches visit Macbeth. These superstitious beings hint to Macbeth that he is the true King of Scotland, and the throne is his. The witches use factual recollections and predictions to convince Macbeth. Over the course of the play, Macbeth becomes obsessive about how to gain the

“In the end, cowards are those who follow the dark side.” (Yoda). In William Shakespeare 's play Macbeth the character Macbeth feeds into his own ambition to become King, after he had this encounter with three witches and they told him, his so called destiny. Macbeth is a coward because he didn 't fight his temptation to be King, he fell for the Dark Side because he did great evil to get there. In order to become king he murders some of the closest people to him. He also later finds out that he is a difficult man to murder, so it goes to his head and he believes he 's invincible. In Shakespeare 's Macbeth, the theme of blind ambition is developed through the motif of blood as seen in the assassination of King Duncan, the murder of Banquo, and the outcome of the second apparition.

The theme of ambition is clearly seen from the several hallucinations that Macbeth experiences throughout the play. Moments before the murder of King Duncan, Macbeth imagines a bloody dagger with the handle pointing towards his hand, and said dagger guides him into Duncan’s room before vanishing. While following the dagger, Macbeth says to himself, “I see thee yet, in form as palpable /As this which now I draw. /Thou marshall’st me the way that I was going; /And such an instrument I was to use.” (2.1.47-50) The dagger strengthens Macbeth’s conviction to murder the king. The dagger prompts Macbeth to hold its handle, guides him to Duncan’s room, and splotches of blood materialize to confirm that the king will die. Therefore, the actions

Macbeth takes place in medieval Scotland, where gender barriers were very strict. Men were supposed to act as strong fighters, while women were locked in the domestic sphere. These gender roles are prominent in the character developments of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. At first, Macbeth is a strong, heroic solider that shows unbounded courage in battle and loyalty to his king. As the play progresses, he becomes cold, ruthless, and miserable. Lady Macbeth takes on a “manly” role, which is surprising because of how patriarchal the society is. However, she “gradually falls apart, consumed by guilt, and eventually commits suicide”. (Klett)

What is ambition? Ambition is the determination to achieve one’s goals. In the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare the protagonist, Macbeth, possesses ambition, which led to his downfall. In the play Macbeth’s ambition is driven by prophecies from witches and his wife’s aspiration. Ambition caused Macbeth to commit multiple homicides and after those wrongdoings Macbeth is left with nothing. At the end of the play, Macbeth’s ambition caused him to lose Lady Macbeth to suicide and to no longer have moral sense. Ambition led to Macbeth’s downfall because Lady Macbeth and the witches caused him to make brainless decisions that caused his collapse.

For many individuals pride is the driving force behind motivation and ambition but when one’s pride gets the best of him or her it can cause the individual to break down and self destruct. Every human has a little pride in them but when that pride becomes selfish and done for personal benefit that is when it can become dangerous, taking focus away from the things that really matter like honor, love, family, friends and integrity. In his play, Macbeth, Shakespeare suggests that if one’s motivation is selfish and pride-driven, eventually honor and integrity are lost leading to one’s destruction.

Is it not weird how ambition for power corrupts one corrupt and leads them to their destiny? Ambition for power is lust which tempts one to be corruptive to acquire and protect it. However, in William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, it is evident that ambition for power ultimately leads to corruption when Macbeth’s ambition for power causes the assassination of King Duncan, when Macbeth’s ambition for power compels him to execute those who obstruct his inheritance to the Scottish Throne, and finally, when Lady Macbeth persuades Macbeth to assassinate the people who impede his Kingship of Scotland out of lust for power.

A very explicit theme in the play Macbeth is: lust and ambition. This is can be probably seen in every character in the play: Macbeth, Young Siward, Malcolm, Lady Macbeth and many more. All of the characters are driven by a desire to do what they believe is best: it usually begins with ambition. Ambition tends to lead a person to lust whatever they desire and to try to achieve it. Lust is usually thought to be a bad emotion: in such a way that it tends to become evil, but in Macbeth it also shows a good side: showing the perseverance and pride it gives to the person.

William Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth tells the tale of Macbeth, a scottish soldier who had been foreseen with the crown atop his head by three witches.The story is a gruesome tale of lies and bloodshed. As a result of the prophecy, Macbeth stays in power through greed, ambition, and violence. His wife, Lady Macbeth, first began his use of violence by plotting the murder of King Duncan. Lady Macbeth’s the guilt of her devilish deed served as her fatal trait; Started by using violence to get what was desired lead to a vicious cycle of more and more violence.

Political leaders naturally have ambition but leaders like Napoleon and Adolf Hitler gained too much ambition that eventually led to their downfall. In february of 1807 the battle of eylau took place between Russia and France, it eventually led to negotiations between them on the island of tilsit. I got my quote from the article DISCovering Biography, “his ambition seemed limitless but he was not omnipotent”. At this point napoleon had endless ambition and drive, he defeated European power after European power, rearranged the map and enforced french dominance. Nevertheless he was not all powerful , he still had to take control of England. Unfortunately, the move to take over England contributed to his downfall. It led to guerilla warfare in

We have to admit that in our minds, the concept of power and ambition is linked to men. In the world of politics, the war over power often occurs between men, this world is a masculine world. A world that from beginning of the history linked men with war, fight, bloodshed and greatness, but women with softness, weakness and incapability; especially in the old times of Shakespeare. In spite of this, Shakespeare introduces us to an interesting female character called “Lady Macbeth”. A powerful woman with ambition and courage. Lady Macbeth played by “Amanda Billing” at Pop Up Globe, is so tough that even the loss of her child doesn’t leave her devastated. She says “I have given suck, and I know how tender ‘tis to love the babe that milks me. I would, while it was smiling at my face, have pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums,

Ambition plays an important role in the everyday life, it drives the humankind to have a desire to achieve one’s goal. All things considered ambition has both positive and negative qualities depending how it is achieved, which can lead to one’s success or one’s downfall. When selfishness plays a role in ambition, it can cause wrongful acts to take place, for instance, a literary example of ambition is displayed in the play, The Tragedy of Macbeth, by William Shakespeare. The play mentions how the protagonist is portrayed as the tragic hero named Macbeth, a noble general of Scotland who is admired by many for his bravery, was encountered by three witches who told Macbeth he was going to be the Thane of Cawdor and abolish any threats in his way to become the king of Scotland, creating him to become anxious to discover more about his destiny. Macbeth’s eagerness leads him to attempt to fulfill the three prophecies by murdering for the kingship. Macbeth starts to suffer from a guilty conscience causing him to go ludicrous which leads him to his tragic demise. Some consequences of Macbeth’s ambition result to

William Shakespeare’s Macbeth incorporates a wide range of stylistic devices, including figurative language, symbolism, repetition, soliloquy and foreshadowing to explore the destructive nature of unchecked ambition. Shakespeare explore the role of the supernatural, and questions the influence of fate and free will on people’s actions. He also examines how gender lines are blurred due to the ambiguous nature of gender, leaving ambition unchecked, and how false appearances are a consequence of this unchecked ambition.