Ambition vs. Conscious--Macbeth

A detailed Summary of Ambition vs. Conscious--Macbeth

Throughout the centuries, human beings have always had the need to achieve some things in life such as love, wealth, power, or authority. The ambition of Macbeth was power. In The Tragedy of Macbeth, Macbeth was a brave soldier of Scotland and was very loyal to King Duncan. As he returned from a battle with his friend Banquo, three witches hailed him as Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor and in the end, King of Scotland. This aroused Macbeth's curiosity of how he could become King. Throughout the play, Macbeth has one goal and that is to become King of Scotland. His ambition drives him to do things that he does not really want to do. Interfering with his ambition is his conscience, which tries to stop him from committing awful crimes. Lady Macbeth is also driven by ambition for her husband to become King. Macbeth's ambition and strive for power affects their lives in a negative way and eventually leads to their downfall.

The theme of ambition is first introduced in Act One where Macbeth hears the three witches greeting " All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of / Cawdor...All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter! (1, 3, 50-51). Macbeth hears this from the witches and his ambition r

In Act Five, the reader begins to catch on to Lady Macbeth's overpowering guilty conscience. Scene One opens with a Doctor and a Gentlewoman watching Lady Macbeth as she is sleepwalking and giving the details of Duncan's death and Macbeth's part in it. The Doctor is sitting with the Gentlewoman who serves Lady Macbeth and hears her guilt-ridden words:

Macbeth no longer wants to murder Duncan as his conscience overrides his initial intention to murder the King. Macbeth then realizes that his only motivation is ambition. Lady Macbeth's own ambition begins to take over as the ruling motive. Her ambition is displayed as an intense overmastering passion. When Macbeth's passion to kill Duncan shrinks, she is there to instigate the murder. It is displayed that as her ambition becomes greater, she starts showing her cruel and daring side (Jameson 191).

To prick the sides of my intent, but only

pow'r to accompt? Yet who would have thought the old

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Approximate Word count = 2347
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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