Ambition

• What was ambition seen as in Jacobean England?


  ambition was equated with sin
• What effect do the witches have on macbeths ambition?


  Although they don't mention murder, Macbeth's thoughts

  jump ahead to the possibility of killing the King: "My thought, whose murder yet is but

  fantastical // Shakes so my single state of man // That function is smother'd in surmise

  // and nothing is but what is not" (A1.S3).
• What does Duncan's death show about ambition?


  Ross exclaims: "Gainst nature still! // Thriftless ambition, that will ravin

  up // Thine own lives' means!" (A2.S4).

  ➔ Therefore, Duncan's children are going a "[a]gainst nature" in killing their father,

  simply in the pursuit of their supposed ambition. The audience is obviously aware

  that it was in fact Macbeth who killed Duncan; so it questions whether it is also

  against nature for Macbeth to kill someone he respected and was indebted to, just in

  the hope of fulfilling his ambition. Ross' exclamation also implies that ambition is an

  unnatural phenomenon.
• How is ambition linked to guilt?


  Ambition is the play's central theme and guilt is its result. Macbeth and his wife are

  tormented by guilt, so much so that their sanity is undermined. The apparition of Banquo's

  ghost to Macbeth in Act 3 Scene 4 may be interpreted by a modern audience as a

  psychological phenomenon, the projection of Macbeth's mind - a mind which has been

  unhinged by guilt (however, Jacobean audience were more familiar with and less sceptical

  about supernatural phenomena and therefore might have been more likely to view the ghost

  as real).
• How is the motif of blood used to symbolise sin?


  In Act 2 Scene 2, Macbeth encounters his wife after murdering Duncan

  and asks her a rhetorical question: "Will all great // Neptune's ocean wash this blood //

  Clean from my hand? // No, this my hand will rather // The multitudinous seas

  incarnadine". In other words, the sin Macbeth committing by murdering Duncan is

  indelible; it will not wash away. In fact, he declares, in dramatic, Latinate language, it is

  more likely to spread, turning the oceans red
• How is the motif of blood used to symbolise loyalty and bravery?


  Macbeth is

  introduced by an army captain, who declares that "brave Macbeth - well he deserved that

  name // Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel // Which smoked with bloody

  execution // Like valor's minion, carved out his passage // Till he faced the slave"

  (A1.S2). In convoluted and gruesome language, the captain thus describes how ruthlessly

  Macbeth executes - this is meant to be a commendation and a sign of his valour.
• What does macbeths hallucinations in a2s1 show?


  Macbeth also hallucinates blood at various points in the

  play, imagining in Act 2 Scene 1 "a dagger in the mind". Addressing this dagger directly,

  he says, "I see thee still, // And, on thy blade and dudgeon, gouts of blood, // Which

  was not so before". These vivid images would likely evoke visceral reactions from the

  audience and are visual representations of his guilt.
• What does Macbeth believe about his ambition?


  Macbeth admits that it's only his ambition for

  power that leads him to wanting to kill his

  King: "I have no spur // To prick the sides

  of my intent, but only // Vaulting ambition,

  which o'erleaps itself // And falls on the

  other" (A1.S7).

  ➔ He compares his current situation to

  horse riding; ambition is the

  metaphorical spur he, the rider, uses

  to motivate his horse (i.e. make his

  plans a reality).

  ➔ However, as he notes, a horse rider

  may overestimate their ability when

  trying to clear an obstacle and

  consequently fall down. Macbeth's

  admission foreshadows his tragic

  end.
• What does Lady macbeth believe about ambition?


  Shakespeare implies that Lady Macbeth believes that you can

  only act on your ambitions and achieve greatness when you sacrifice or ignore their

  moral compass. She doubts Macbeth's ability to do this; according to her judgement

  he is "too full o' th' milk of human kindness // To catch the nearest way" or, in

  other words, do what (supposedly) needs to be done.

  ➔ Evil is equated with "illness" in this quote. Lady Macbeth's words suggest that she

  believes pursuing one's ambitions generally necessitates doing evil deeds; evil and

  ambition and intimately linked.