Pelagio1

Omar Pelagio

Ms. Figueroa

Senior English

Period 2

Macbeth

Ambition can grow a person into someone new or completely destroy their morals and

their mindset. In Shakespeare’s play, Macbeth, it is quite evident that he was trying to show his

readers the use of universal blind ambition. It is to blame the sense of over-confidence and blind

ambition to be responsible for his own downfall. He is portrayed to be courageous, brave, and a

noble servant to his king of Scotland until he has a need for power.

Lady Macbeth comes up with the plan of murdering king Duncan being the only way to

gain the power Macbeth’s ambition so heavily crave. “Methought, I heard a voice cry, Sleep no

more!” (Shakespeare 365). Shakespeare shows that heavily blinded ambition leads people to

guilt and unhappiness. Macbeth, after he committed the murders, started to feel as if he was

being watched. His heavy guilt didn’t led him to power, peace, nor happiness as he had thought.

Ambition lead him to commit the murders in hopes of staying on the throne as an

innocent man. “Macbeth’s blind ambition caused him to struggle between good and evil” (Kivett

1). Shakespeare realized that a character like Macbeth could show that ambition can lie in the

lines of what is right and what Is wrong. Lady Macbeth was willing to put her husbands morals

and humanity on the line with the hopes of being a woman with power, a woman with courage.

She made the plan knowing Macbeth would be too coward to stand up to her and disagree with

the way her planning was going. “Art not without ambition, but without the illness”(Shakespeare
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343). Both lady Macbeth and Macbeth were driven by blind ambition which later on led to both

of their downfalls.

Ambition in this tale were influenced by others but the actions were committed by one.

The witches motivated the need for power that he felt when he was the told the prophecies

saying he is made to be the new king of Scotland but needs to take matters into his own hand.

While his wife, intimidated him into thinking he was weak and cowardly that will never gain

power due to him being too kind. He was manipulated into thinking he wasn’t worthy and had to

prove others he has the courage of becoming king.

In conclusion, Macbeth’s ambition is what led him to his biggest downfall. Destroying

his mindset, his goals and his happiness all for power. Macbeth let others get to him due to his

self-doubts, trying to prove to everyone someone he is not. Ambition can either push you to be

the best version of yourself or the worst, in Macbeth we saw how ambition can take a twisted

turn and turn you against everyone you thought would always stand by you.