An example of this is his lack of any legitimate reasons for killing King Duncan and obtaining the throne except for his own ambition and greed to become king. The prophecies that Macbeth receives from the witches seem so true that he relies on the words of these predictions alone, instead of taking action himself to secure the works of the prophecies. Macbeth let his ambition blind him; as did the ruler in “Ozymandias”. Another consequence of ambition is loneliness. Ozymandias and Macbeth had so much ambition that they put themselves above all of their peers and former supporters.
Macbeth himself was always yearning for power. It is first shown when he is made thane of Cawdor, and is jealous of Malcolm for becoming heir of the throne. “As Macbeth hears the title given to Malcolm, he shows again the conflict within him between ambition and fear.” (Campbell 216) His greed and ambition for more gets the better of him, as he plots with Lady Macbeth to kill King Duncan and become the heir to the throne. This was a very selfish act in his position; by killing Duncan and becoming king, Macbeth disrupted the chain of being and doomed all of society as a whole. “The Great Chain of Being was supposed to keep the Earth in a stable condition and order.
Bad company corrupts good character. The Once and Future King, by T.H. White, tells of an ill made night whose name was Lancelot. Lancelot’s displeasing appearance required that he do something with his life that did not have a prerequisite for a pretty face, or charming looks; he needed something that took the eyes off of him, and on to the actions he preformed. Knighthood fit that bill very well.
B.L.M.H.S Jordan Nanton Period B 5/27/12 Macbeth Essay : Ambition Ambition can be defined as a desire for some type of achievement such as power , money, or fame , still too much ambition can be a bad thing. Too much ambition in a person can lead to horrible decesion making and eventually there downfall. In the tragic play of Macbeth this theory is evident as Macbeth the protaganist in the play becomes to ambitious which eventually leads to his death. In this paper I will explain to how Macbeth’s ambition directly leads to his downfall. Macbeth started the play as a brave and honourable warrior , which led King Duncan to promote Macbeth from Thane of Glamis to Thane of Cawdor.
Once the witches show him his future, he becomes obsessed with speeding up the anticipated coming into power. He is told he will be King of Scotland, so Macbeth makes it happen by killing the King, which casts a shadow of doubt on his two sons, thereby allowing Macbeth to ascend to the throne. Once Macbeth seizes power through violence and murder, his life is darkened with the crime of regicide, he has killed a rightful, good and much loved king. His life begins to fall apart after this because he develops a serious case of paranoia over having the crown stolen from him. He becomes a slash and burn murderer and he loses sight of his humanity, he has no morality governing his actions.
Macbeth’s ambition to become king, which is a position of great control over scotland’s affairs, causes him to lose control in his own life. In order to attain the throne, Macbeth commits murder, and the resulting guilt overwhelms and takes over his life. He becomes paranoid, and as he attempts to secure his throne by removing anyone whom he suspects to be a threat, he neglects Lady Macbeth, who had ultimate control over him so that he lost control in his life when Lady Macbeth distanced from him and died. Even at the beginning of the play, Macbeth had become submissive to the fate that the witches had prophesized for him, such that he did not account for the choices that he makes in life anymore and lost control. Macbeth becomes victim to guilt when he kills Duncan for the throne, and guilt then takes over his life, leaving him without control of his own behaviors.
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. In Macbeth it is arguable who has the most ambition throughout the story but also proves too much ambition can be a bad thing. So how much ambition is too
A Tragic Hero Ambition is a good servant, but a poor master and the only way to control ambition, is to have self control. William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, is the tragic tale of Macbeth, a once virtuous man, who when corrupted by power and greed is driven from his status as well respected warrior, to a dishonest, unloyal murderer. Macbeth’s gluttony, pride, and ambitions led him to turn into an unstable, callous man who would stop at nothing just to gain power. His greed to achieve more power resulted in the merciless killings of his king, best friend, and other innocent civilians. His criminal actions lead up to his tragic ending of life, “They have tied me to a stake; I cannot fly, / But bear-like I must fight the course,” (V, vii, 1-4).
Deadly sins The seven deadly sins are renowned for a reason, which is that just one of them can drive a person insane. Greed and envy together can lead a person into doing immoral and unjustified deeds. In the play "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare, Claudius is the villain who contradicts Knight's The Embassy of Death because Claudius's actions and behavior result from his innate greed for wealth and envy of true love that his brother King Hamlet had; on the other hand, Knight views that his actions were forced upon him due to Hamlet's unstable mentality. (wrap up the thesis statement, condense to the main point. You don't need to make a comparison, but pick which view you agree with, Knight or Shakespeare's, or make it into 2 separate sentences.
In his rage, Oedipus kills the old man and his fellow travelers. Later on in the play, Oedipus’ excessive pride blinds him to advice and makes him deaf to the help of those closest to him especially Creon, when Oedipus says, “do you think I do not know the you plotted to kill me, plotted to steal my throne? Tell me in God’s name: am I a coward, a fool, that you dream you could accomplish this?” (Oedipus Rex 28). This quote shows how Oedipus’ pride makes him deaf to