Every individual is driven by an ambition which often manifests itself in the desire to achieve a goal. In this context, individuals will go to any length to achieve their ambition. However, in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, too much ambition is depicted as a corruptor of good morals. Through the character Macbeth, Shakespeare chronicles how unbridled ambition can build and destroy individuals. This essay critically explores this theme by analyzing Macbeth’s character to exemplify how his uncontrolled desire for power leads him to success and, ultimately, destruction.
Macbeth’s greed for power becomes apparent in act 1 after the three witches foretell that someday he will become King of Scotland. Although Macbeth receives this news with apprehension, the possibility of being king and becoming Scotland’s most powerful person enthralls him. He muses on how that may happen and imagines himself committing a heinous crime to expedite the fulfillment of this prophecy:
“My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical,
Shakes so my single state of man that function
Is smother’d in surmise” (Act 1, Scene 3).
The above quote undoubtedly demonstrates that the enchantresses’ utterances have sparked considerable ambition in the protagonist. Curious, he urges them to divulge anything information, particularly regarding the means through which he will accomplish the trophy. However, they leave without revealing further details. Almost immediately, Macbeth recognizes that his journey of being Scotland’s most powerful man will almost certainly need bloodshed. In retrospect, he indicates the uneasiness that this thought causes in his mind:
“Why do I yield to that suggestion
whose horrid images doth unfix my hair…?” (Act 1, Scene 3).
Logically, one would expect that such reflections would invoke a change of heart or perhaps thought in Macbeth regarding pursuing an evil path to become king. However, towards the conclusion of the first act, Macbeth’s ethical foundation has been shattered by his greed for power. Interestingly, he continuously reflects on the morality of killing of murder Duncan to grab the throne. He employs an analogy involving a horse rider who is incapable of utilizing his boots to help his horse gallop more quicker. Instead, he uses ambition to jump over a barrier and fall.
“I have no spur
To prick the sides of my intent, but only
Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself
And falls on th’other” (Act 1, Scene 5.).
The preceding quote captures Macbeth’s indecision regarding his plot to assassinate Duncan. More importantly, it highlights the realization that his desire drives him to peril. Ultimately, the fulfillment of the evil plot and Macbeth’s ascendance to the thrown changes nothing as he is unsettled and dissatisfied. He feels distrustful that he could jeopardize his role, which becomes more disturbing after realizing he has no successor. Ultimately, he becomes aware that a king without an heir to inherit the throne is irrelevant. In the quote below, he implies that although he killed Duncan to attain his ambition, it has brought him no good but the need for more violence to secure his position:
“To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus” (Act 3, Scene 1).
In the play’s conclusion, Shakespeare illustrates that excessive ambition does not benefit the protagonist and anyone in his circle. Macbeth’s wife commits suicide, and he becomes despondent. At the same time, he is besieged by a legion eager to destroy him. Finally, in perhaps the play’s classic monologue, Macbeth expresses his realization that all of his sacrifices were futile. Lady Macbeth is dead, and likewise, his death is imminent while Malcolm is poised to be king.
References
Shakespeare, W. (2001). The tragedy of Macbeth (Vol. 2). Classic Books Company.