ambition/power

• • through Macbeth and Lady Macbeth - the desire for power can lead to heinous acts and ultimately destroy themselves
• • Macbeth once a brave warrior became a tyrant consumed with paranoia and guilt
• Lady Macbeth is driven by her ambition to see he husband crowned King which descends into madness
• Shakespeare warns that the pursuit of power for its own sake leads to moral decay and personal ruin
• Shakespeare may have intended to convey a moral message about the consequences of violating natural order and the ethical boundaries of ambition
• The play emphasises the destructing consequence of overreaching one's position showing that ambition unchecked by morality is dangerous