Tragic Ambition In Macbeth

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Tragic Ambition
Julius Caesar once wisely reckoned, "If I fail it is only because I have too much […] ambition." The playwright William Shakespeare, if alive today, would earnestly confirm the truth in this quote, as demonstrated in his elegant tragedy, Macbeth. A tale of a thane named Macbeth 's quest for the throne, his life quickly spirals downward as he wholeheartedly believes and acts upon the prophecies revealed by the Weïrd Sisters regarding his fate. As he brutally murders and betrays several fellow royals, Macduff eventually returns the favor, taking Macbeth 's life, restoring the Order of the Universe. Macbeth and his wife are prime examples of how harboring too much ambition is the root of selfishness, which lends itself to …show more content…

Hyperbolizing the situation, he declares that the entire ocean would not remove the blood on his hands, which metaphorically represents how this blemish will forever mar his conscience. Appalls, ha, pluck, and no are a few words used to declare his fear and desperation. This diction conveys his anxiousness and inability to put this killing behind him, as he is paranoid of anyone discovering the true killer of the king of Scotland. His tone of speech also conveys this as he asks himself a rhetorical question, a sign of his deteriorating mental stability. Also declining in her mental stability is his wife, Lady Macbeth. Though she hides her emotions significantly better than Macbeth, she too is suffering greatly from this crime. In her sleep, she mumbles, "What need we fear? Who knows it, when none can call our power to account? […] O, O, O!" (5.1.39-41, 55). In this passage, Lady Macbeth initially tries to comfort herself by telling herself nobody will discover their heinous acts, but then her true feelings come to light as she screams "O, O, O!", releasing built-up stress caused by Macbeth 's atrocious behavior. This sleepwalking, especially her screaming, exposes the dangerous side of Lady Macbeth, where fear grips her mind. Words such as none, fear, and her desperate screams of "O, O, O!" all demonstrate her paranoia. Even her tone implies her deep angst as she plods around half-asleep. Lady Macbeth discloses her terrified emotions through her subconscious state, uncovering underlying fears. As the book concludes, so does this cycle, as their fears

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