Macbeth Ambition notes

AMBITION
Macbeth’s ambition is his tragic flaw. Devoid of any morality, it ultimately causes Macbeth’s downfall.
The factors stoke the flames of his ambition: the prophecy of the Three witches, who claim that not only
will be thane of Cawdor, but also king, and even more so the attitude of his wife, who taunts his
assertiveness and manhood and actually stage- directs her husband’s actions.
Macbeths ambition, however soon spirals out of control. He feels that his power is threatened to a point
where it can only be preserves through murdering his suspected enemies. Eventually, ambition causes
both Macbeth and lady Macbeth’s undoing. He is defeated in battle and decapitated by Macduff, while
Lady Macbeth succumbs to insanity.

How is ambition presented in a passage? In the play as a whole?

Transgressive act

Macbeth – To be king Stands not within the prospect of belief, no more than to be Cawdor
Macbeths thinks that it is impossible to become king because kings are appointed by god and cannot be
forcibly removed

Two truths are told

Macbeths speaks these lines as he realises that the witches’ prophecy (that he will be thane of Cawdor)
has come true. He immediately starts to wonder whether this means that their third prophecy (that he
will be king will be also true. The eagerness with which he turns to this idea suggests that he finds the
possibility appealing, even though he also realizes he would have to commit a terrible and violent act in
order to achieve the position. These lines hint at Macbeth’s ambition and foreshadow his later actions
even though, at this point in the play, he seems to refuse to consider acting upon it.

Thou wouldst be great

Lady Macbeth speaks these lines as she reflects on her husbands’ character. She knows that Macbeth is
capable of ambitious dreams, but she thinks that he is unwilling to display the ruthless behaviour
necessary to achieve those dreams. These lines reflect lady Macbeths own philosophy of power, in
which only individuals who are willing to set their morality aside will rise to greatness. They also show
that she is a sound judge of character. And understand her husband very well.

I have no spur
To prick the sides of my intent but only
vaulting ambition, which o’releaps itself
and falls on th’other

Macbeth speaks these lines as he starts to doubt his plan to murder Duncan. He uses a complicated
metaphor that compares his experience to horse-riding. He describes being unable to motivate himself
to act by likening himself to a rider who cannot use his spurs to motivate his horse to take action by
likening himself to a rider who cannot use his spurs to motive his horse to go faster. The one thing ghe
does have is ambition, which he compares to a horse and rider who overestimate their ability to leap
over an obstacle, and end up falling down. The passage describes the tension between Macbeths
unwillingness to move ahead with his plan, and his acknowledgement that his ambition is leading him
down a dangerous path.

To be thus nothing to be safety thus

Macbeth speaks this line after he has become king, but continues to feel restless and insecure. He is
afraid that he might lose his position and is also frustrated by the fact that he has no heir. Without the
knowledge that his lineage will continue after him. Macbeth finds it meaningless to be king. This quote
reveals how him giving in to his ambition and murdering Duncan has not bought him peace, but rather
has left him more paranoid and anxious. The line also reveals how Macbeth’s first violent action sets off
a chain of reaction of him continuing to commit violent actions in order to maintain his hold on the
power he has gained.

Parallel to contemporary society

The play was written to scare off anyone trying to overthrow King James - implying that anyone that
would dare do so was in alliance with the devil (as Macbeth was with the witches) and that they would
suffer an unsavory downfall like Macbeth - and also to win favor with the new king. Today, this still
carries an important message as it teaches the reader to exercise restraint when it comes to their secret
desires and to be aware of the consequences that these desires hold. Macbeth, during the time the play
was written, would have been considered a villain, however, we as contemporary readers recognise that
Macbeth was only human and could not help but wonder at what could be instead of accepting his new
title of Thane of Cawdor. Take, for example, a gambler. They make a small win and feel invincible so
keep betting and betting because their greed consumes their rational thinking and soon, instead of
winning, they risk all and lose. Just like the eponymous character, they lose themselves in the possibility
of something better. Macbeth is an exaggeration of the dangers that come with greed and ambition but
is still relevant today due to man's inability to exercise restraint when it comes to desire.

Ambition is when you have the determination or desire to want to achieve something no matter how hard
you have to work to get it. For example, in Macbeth both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth strive to be
powerful, and they are willing do to anything they can to achieve that goal even if that means being
dishonorable. This is relevant today, because ambition is a big key to living in the 21st century. If you do
not have ambition, you will not be successful. You have to want to get through college, work, school, or
even the “social event the could be big for your career,” therefore if you have ambition it will be a breeze
getting through all these things. So, ambition is a big theme that connects Macbeth to the 21st

There are lots of morals to be learnt from the play. Firstly, I think the main moral of the play is not to be
tempted to do bad things in order to gain power. In addition, another moral of the play would be that
even if you think you are in too deep there is always a way out; and you can stop. It also teaches you to
trust yourself and to stand up for yourself.
I have learnt that sometimes your ambition can lead you astray and you
can do bad things. I have learnt that with enough pressure you can do
something you never thought you could do.
Ambition is the driving force of William Shakespeare's tragedy "Macbeth." More
specifically, it is about ambition that goes unchecked by any concept of morality;
this is why it becomes a dangerous quality. Macbeth’s ambition inspires most of
his actions, and that results in the deaths of numerous characters and the
ultimate downfall of both himself and Lady Macbeth

Macbeth’s ambition is driven by a number of factors. For one, he has a deep