Macbeth says to himself, “If good, why do I yield to that suggestion/ Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair/ And make my seated heart knock at my ribs,/ Against the use of nature?” (1.3.135-138). This quotation tells us that Macbeth’s strong ambition tells him to want more because he feels unsatisfied. He thinks of murdering King Duncan and fulfilling the last prophecy because consciously, Macbeth knows that it is the only way to satisfy his ambition for things he does not have and that is by becoming the King of Scotland. This will eventually lead to his downfall and death, as karma exists. We know that it isn’t right for Macbeth to become the king, as Malcolm is the heir to the throne.
She thinks nothing of murder. Finally, she is wracked with guilt from her deed. First, Lady Macbeth is ambitious. When her husband writes her a letter saying that some witches suggested he might be promoted to Thane of Cawdor and then king, she seems latch right on to the idea. She is completely ready to make him king, even though he is not the king’s successor.
Ambition has an immediate effect on Macbeth right from the start of the play. His ruthless seeking after power is the tragic flaw that causes his downfall. When the witches tell Macbeth that he will become King, his interest is instantly aroused. The third witch greets Macbeth, “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter,” this creates an ambition in Macbeth that is unseen before this remark. He is filled with thoughts of betrayal and is eager to become King.
/ And oftentimes, to win us to out harm, / The instruments of darkness tell us truths,/ Win us with honest trifles, to betray’s/ In deepest consequence” (I.iii.121). Macbeth ignores Banquo’s idea, and instead further investigates the concept that he may one day be King. He considers whether the crown will fall into his hands, or if he will have to complete a dark deep in order to obtain it. The witches successfully plant the destructive idea into Macbeth’s head. Macbeth has a huge character flaw.
Lady Macbeth pushed him to kill Duncan so that he may be king but it was his own ambition that he acted upon, “I go, and it is done: the bell invites me. Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell that summons thee to heaven or hell.” (II, I, 21) He has made up his mind and if you didn’t know about Lady Macbeth one would think these were his thoughts and his alone. Another act of Macbeth’s ambition after becoming king is that he decides Banquo may no longer live, “It is concluded: Banquo, thy soul’s flight, if it find heaven, must find it out unto-night.” (III, I, 37) The underlying factor is that Macbeth did not even consult with Lady Macbeth before making up his mind; this was 100 percent him. After seeing the three witches again Macbeth makes the decision to kill Macduff and his family to verify Macduff will not be the death of Macbeth, “The castle of Macduff I will surprise; seize upon Fife; give to the edge o’ the sword his wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls that trace him in his hive.” (IV, I, 56) Also an action that Macbeth made on his own Macbeth’s ambition would lead the still living Macduff to exact his revenge on Macbeth. Ambition brings about the success and downfall of Macbeth; Lady Macbeth’s ambition got Macbeth started on success, then his own ambition led him the rest of the way to his eventual downfall.
Also Eliza resisted the sexual double-standard which I found really amazing. “Marriage is the tomb of friendship. It appears to me a very selfish state. Why do people, in general, as soon as they are married, centre all their cares, their concerns, and pleasures ion their own families? Former acquaintances are neglected or forgotten.
After hearing of Romeo’s banishment and being forced to marry Paris in the upcoming days, Juliet rushes to the Friar for advice. Although betraying Juliet, the Nurse’s decision to side with Lady Capulet was probably one of the smartest choices in the play. Unlike the Friar, the Nurse realized how outcome of Romeo and Juliet’s marriage could end badly. The Friar continues his irresponsible and childish actions by conjuring up a plan and potion in a matter of minutes. “Friar Lawrence, less ambitious and more desperate than his fellow manipulators, does not hope that Juliet’s death will dissolve the families’ hatreds but only that it will give Romeo and chance to come and carry her off” (Snyder).
From the moment she makes her first appearance in Macbeth, it is impossible to deny that Lady Macbeth is a force to be reckoned with. She doesn’t question her husband’s plan to kill the King; no, she questions his manliness, fearing he is too soft to actually keep his word: Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be What thou art promised. Yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness To catch the nearest way. (I, v, 15-18) She fears that Macbeth lacks the monstrous brutality necessary to kill Duncan and fulfill the prophecy of the three witches—which is surprising, considering he hacked his way through a throng of innocents just to chop a man in half and stick his head on a pike—and so she tells Macbeth that she will make the arrangements to
After hearing the news of Lady Macbeth’s death Macbeth appears unemotional “She should have died hereafter;…” Macbeth is overly confident due to the witch’s prophecies telling him that anyone born from a woman cannot harm him. You see his increase in arrogance after slaying Siward “Thou wast born of a woman. But swords I smile at, weapons laugh to scorn…” Feeling invincible, he ignores Macduff when he tells him how he wasn’t ‘born’ from a woman. “Tell, thee Macduff was from his mother’s womb untimely ripp’d.” When Macbeth hears of this he realizes what he has done and how he has been tricked by the witches but decides to continue the
Macbeth being hesitant and indecisive allows Lady Macbeth to overcome and influence him to do any wicked deed. Lady Macbeth feels her husband lacks the drive and courage to go through with the assassination of King Duncan. She explains, “Glamis thou art, an Cawdor; and shalt be what thou art promis’d. –Yet do I fear thy nature: it is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindness, to catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great; Art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it” (I.v.15-20) With this, she realizes that Macbeth is to laid back or nonchalant when he is not on the battle field.