Macbeth’s Motivations Analyzation Essay Has you ever wanted something so bad that you were willing to commit horrendous deeds to accomplish it? In Shakespeare's world renowned play Macbeth, the series of murders that are committed by the main character, Macbeth are instigated by his own greed and ambitions. Throughout the duration of the play Macbeth seems to acquire the ability to kill cold-bloodily. He starts his disposition with the murder of Duncan and that suddenly triggers his inner eagerness which then lead to the murder of his friend Banquo and soon Macduff’s family. The play begins by showing the main character, Macbeth as an honorable man who has just become the Thane of Thamis, but soon realizes this is not enough for him.
One of the main messages he is trying to deliver to us is to always weigh what you achieve to what the consequences will be. This especially holds true for Macbeth, as when first contemplating if he should kill Duncan, not once did he think of how he could be punished. Also, when Macbeth first hears the witch’s prophecy of him being a king, he jumps directly to the idea of murder. This kind of thinking is exhibited in Macbeth’s monologue in scene 5 act 5, where he discus’s the uselessness of living, and this attitude towards life made him go mad. This also points to how unintelligent Macbeth really was.
This shows Macbeth ambition gave him the desire to maintain his power by any means necessary if even that meant killing a loyal friend , which he did in getting Banquo killed. Macbeth vaulting ambition also has a strain on his relationship with his wife. Lady Macbeth is no longer the more ambitious person in the play. Macbeth ambition has now led to him making decesions on his own , no longer consulting Lady Macbeth. Meanwhile Lady Macbeth nows feel neglected by Macbeth causing her to suffer from depression.
49). Macbeth knows the ethics behind the murder of the King, and he knows that not only is his conscience going to suffer, but should he get caught he would lose everything. His family’s honor, his title as thane, everything he had worked so hard to accomplish gone blank at the instant his hand in the crime would be revealed. “Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires” (I. iv. 57-58).
Macbeth’s ambition leads him to murder Duncan with the assurance of good reward. He then enters battle with what again seems to be positive assurance. Only when it is too late does he realize that he is being led to his destruction. Macbeth’s constant reoccurring fatal flaw is his ambition. He is lead by ambition into situations and finds himself with no way out; this is what kills Macbeth.
However, Macbeth has the ultimate decision in whether or not to commit the assassinations, but he loves Lady Macbeth and wishes to please her. After Macbeth kills Duncan, he fairly disappointed in himself for doing it. After killing Duncan, murdering others appears to be the only solution to continue to cover up his terrible actions or lose all that he has driven for. Lady Macbeth is force on Macbeth that unleashes the wicked part of him. She has a forceful impact on him and is another key character to blame for his developing desire of killing others to get away with her master plan.
Again Macbeth’s conscience comes into play when he says, “We still have judgement here; that we but teach / Bloody instruction, which being taught return / To plague the inventor: this even-handed justice,” (I, vii, 8-10). He knows what he is doing wrong and that there will be consequences even before he murders Duncan. Macbeth is a weak man however, and ignores his conscience; he instead gives in to his power-hungry wife’s greed and allows his ambition to lead him on a dastardly journey. Although it may seem as though Duncan’s murder was not only Macbeth’s doing, he had a
Revenge must begin with a motive. In the play Hamlet, Fortinbras and Hamlet both seek revenge for the death of their fathers. Hamlet desires revenge because he is ordered to do so. Also he develops a hated for the new marriage of his mother and Claudius. Old Hamlet informs his son that he was murdered by his brother.
In the play Hamlet acts mad. He is not crazy however but is merely pretending to be. Before he begins this act he tells Horatio and Marcellus what he is about to do. Polonius notices that there is too much sense in Hamlets charade for him to be truly crazy. Hamlet makes sure his uncle is guilty of murder before enacting his revenge.
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.