ambition/power

• Ambition in Macbeth


  Shakespeare presents ambition as something which can corrupt a character and lead to an inevitably tragic fate for them. He uses Lady Macbeth and Macbeth as antimodels for people with an immense amount of ambition; their insatiable greed and ambition for power ultimately causes their deaths.
• "I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition which o'erleaps itself and falls on th'other"

  - beginning to doubt his plan of regicide

  - there is no justification for the murder - just his ambition

  - comparison - rider that's unable to take action and motivate the horse (himself to commit regicide)

  - describes - tension between Macbeth's unwillingness to go ahead with the plan and his acknowledgement that his ambition is leading him down a dark path

  
• "stars hide your fires, let light not see my black and deep desires"

  - "stars" - suggests Macbeth is a noble character but is hiding this nobility

  - he must either fail and let Malcom become king or overleap Malcom and find another way to become king

  - personal pronouns

  - "black and deep" - already trying to be excused for his actions - actions will go against the natural order - regicide

  - conflict - dark and light - good and evil - adds a gothic element

  - ambitious - shows remorse + embarrassment - unlike LM

  - use of personification/rhyme/metaphor shows his intelligence

  
• Power in Macbeth


  The more power he gains the mone corrupt Macbeth becomes - "Macbeth is a tyrant"

  - witches have the ultimate power - predict future - set macbeths down their path - lead them to downfall?

  - LM has more power than M - more manly?

  - "When you durst do it then you are a Man" - Lady M is insulting M's masculinity - he feels compelled to prove his power to her
• "All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!"

  - tells Macbeth his future - leads him to do such murderous deeds

  - Suggests Macbeth is Praiseworthy - a feeling typically associated with king Duncan

  - The witches Predictions set in motion the plot of the play as the Macbeths murder to ensure them

  - Chanting

  - "shalt" - imperative verb - it will happen - fuels ego

  
• Principally, Macbeth is a play about ambition and its consequences. It can also be seen as a warning against those who seek to undermine or overthrow the rule of a rightful king


  What are two lessons that can be gained from Macbeth about ambition and power
• Tragedy


  What kind of play is Macbeth
• It must have a tragic hero as its protagonist

  A tragic hero must have a fatal flaw, or hamartia

  What is a Tragedy
• The hamartia of tragic heroes of Ancient Greek tragedies was often hubris: having overconfidence in your own ambitions


  What was usually the hamartia in Greek tragedies
• The character of Macbeth is the play's tragic hero, and his hamartia is also ambition


  What is Macbeths hamartia
• In Ancient Greek tragedies, the tragic hero will be punished by the gods for their actions resulting from their hamartia. This very often led to the protagonist's death

  Shakespeare also decides to punish Macbeth for his ambition, but in a Christian context


  How is the punishment of Macbeth linked to Greek tragedies
• The character of Macbeth is corrupted by his ambition, which leads him to commit regicide (the murder of a king), the murder of his best friend and the murder of women and children. For this, he is condemned both to death at the hands of Macduff, but also - for all eternity - to Hell


  How is Macbeth corrupted and punished by ambition
• Shakespeare also presents Lady Macbeth as ambitious, and her punishment is equally severe but far less noble: she commits suicide


  How is LM corrupted and punished for ambition
• In essence, Shakespeare is presenting a morality play to his Jacobean audience: allow yourself to be morally corrupted and act against societal norms and you will suffer the consequences


  What is shakespeares intention by punishing M and LM
• Macbeth committing the treasonous act of regicide was therefore an act against God

  A Christian audience would have understood regicide as a mortal sin. This meant dying without the grace of God and being condemned to Hell, a terrifying prospect for a Jacobean


  What would Jacobeans have thought of M killing the king
• In the play, Duncan is always referred to as a "king", but Macbeth once he ascends the throne is frequently called a tyrant

  Kings were seen to bring harmony to their kingdom - in line with God's plan - but tyrants bring only chaos and disorder


  King vs tyrant
• Shakespeare can be seen to be upholding these contemporary views about kingship

  Shakespeare may also be suggesting that those unaccustomed and undeserving of power will be destroyed by it

  Shakespeare is suggesting that kings are legitimate rulers, but tyrants are not


  What is Shakespeare trying to show about being king
• Ambition in the play as a negative character trait: not just a desire to achieve something, but an unnatural desire to achieve something at any cost.


  How is ambition seen in the play
• Shakespeare has Macbeth speak the lines "vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself" in Act I, Scene VII. By choosing the verb "Vaulting" (jumping over), he suggests that to fulfil his ambition to become king, Macbeth must overcome any obstacle that stands in his way


  Quote that Macbeth says that shows how ambition is seen in Macbeth in the play
• This obstacle is King Duncan, and the only way to remove this obstacle is to murder him.

  
  

  To murder a king was a shocking, unnatural act in Jacobean England but Macbeth is prepared to commit regicide to realise his ambition. Ultimately, the cost he will pay for his ambition is his own life.


  What is the obstacle that Macbeth must 'vault' over to achieve his ambitions and why is this seen as a bad thing
• Macbeth's ambition to gain, and retain, the throne leads to him committing more and more evil acts

  Other characters seek revenge for these acts of murder

  Macbeth's own conscience also begins to terrorise him

  His death is a result of own mental disintegration and avenging heroes: he is killed by Macduff

  4 part spiral of chaos that comes from macbeths ambition and leads to his downfall due to his hamartia
• Shakespeare is also presenting a morality play to the audience:

  The play is a warning against those who seek to undermine — or overthrow— the rule of a rightful king

  Shakespeare may also be suggesting that those unaccustomed to or

  undeserving of power will be destroyed by it

  Shakespeare suggest that kings are legitimate rulers, but ambitious tyrants are not:

  If you are consumed by ambition, or hubris, you must prepare to suffer terrible consequences


  What is shakespeares warning from the play
• While it could be argued that external factors play a part in the downfall of Macbeth - the witches' trickery, Lady Macbeth's manipulation - ultimately, it is Macbeth's own character flaws, and particularly his ambition, that causes his downfall. Shakespeare could be suggesting that a person's own characteristics determine their fate, and Macbeth's death is, therefore, a direct consequence of his own evil actions.


  Thesis statement for ambition
• Although he is ambitious, Lady Macbeth's evil influence is the reason he commits regicide

  Reason 1 why his ambition leads to his downfall
• "I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, only ambition" - macbeth

  
  

  Act II, Scene I where Lady Macbeth attacks Macbeth's masculinity and persuades him to kill Duncan

  Two areas where LM persuades Macbeth to commit regicide
• Macbeth knows the religious consequences of regicide, but his ambition drives him to commit the murder anyway

  Reason 2 why his ambition leads to his downfall
• Semantic field of Heaven and Hell: "damnation", "angels" etc.

  
  

  "That summons thee to Heaven, or to Hell"

  Two areas where he talks about religious consequences
• As the play progresses, Macbeth's ambition to remain king sees him commit more and more heinous crimes, which lead to his downfall and death


  Reason 3 why his ambition leads to his downfall
• His kindness - and sympathy for Duncan and his comrades - evaporates

  
  

  Assassinations of Banquo and Macduff's family; lack of remorse; wilful trusting of the witches


  Two areas where his crimes become more heinous
• Macbeth is saying that it is his own ambition that is his only motivation to murder King Duncan

  This soliloquy comes as Macbeth is deciding whether to kill King Duncan or not

  I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, only vaulting ambition" Macbeth, Act I, Scene VII context
• Shakespeare has his protagonist, Macbeth, clearly state his hamartia ("ambition") to the audience

  It is implied that there is no other motivation for Macbeth ("no spur")

  Shakespeare could be suggesting that Macbeth's fatal flaw ("ambition") overcomes all of his other, positive character traits

  Later in the same soliloquy, Macbeth says this ambition "overleaps itself" (trips itself up), suggesting Macbeth is aware on some level that he is doomed if he commits regicide

  I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, only vaulting ambition" Macbeth, Act I, Scene VII analysid
• Lady Macbeth is suggesting that only if Macbeth commits the murder of King Duncan that he could be considered a real man

  This comes after Macbeth has expressed doubts about the plan to commit regicide

  "When you durst do it, then you were a man" Lady Macbeth, Act I, Scene VII context
• Lady Macbeth is attacking Macbeth's masculinity

  It would hurt Macbeth's pride; in the Jacobean era, manliness would have been equated with strength, so here Lady Macbeth is calling Macbeth weak

  It is an example of role reversal: Lady Macbeth, unusually for a woman, is manipulating and dominating a man

  As a woman, Lady Macbeth's power is in her skills of deception and manipulation

  "When you durst do it, then you were a man" Lady Macbeth, Act I, Scene VII analysis
• Macbeth is suggesting that although in life lots seem to happen, ultimately, it is meaningless and without purpose

  This powerful soliloquy comes after Macbeth is told of the death of Lady Macbeth

  "Life [...] is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing" Macbeth, Act V, Scene V context and meaning
• This is an example of nihilism: a belief that life is pointless ("signifying nothing")

  For a largely Christian Jacobean audience, this rejection of God's plan and the suggestion of a rejection of Heaven and Hell, would have been shocking

  However, it is also a moment of pathos: the audience, despite his blasphemous words, would still feel sympathy for a once noble general who has lost his wife

  It perhaps also represents a moment of anagnorisis: a tragic hero's realisation that all his actions were for "nothing" and that he will be defeated

  "Life [...] is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing" Macbeth, Act V, Scene V analysis
• In 'Macbeth', Lady Macbeth and Macbeth have an unquenchable desire for power. It is their ambition and greed for power that spurs them to commit heinous acts in order to gain paramount power. Instead of nurturing their ambition and using it to succeed, it becomes each characters' hamartia, and arguably is the cause of Lady Macbeth's demise and Macbeth's defeat


  Another example of intro ambition
• Repetition of 'though wouldst'

  "Illness should attend it"

  LM showing ambition in her soliloquy act 1 sc5 quotes
• Here we see how Lady Macbeth's ambition feeds her desire for pivotal power and has the capacity to immediately corrupt herShakespeare's use of repetition in Lady Macbeth's soliloquy, stating "thou wouldst" conveys how Lady Macbeth's ambition causes her to instantly think of the possible hegemony she can have over others. Whilst at first the Shakespearean audience could believe that Lady Macbeth's ambition is nurturing healthy desire for success, this viewpoint is swiftly thwarted as Lady Macbeth believes that an "illness should attend it". Shakespeare's use of the noun "illness" would make the Shakespearean audience profoundly fear Lady Macbeth; it not only associates her with evilness and corruption but foreshadows her hubristic actions later in the play.


  LM showing ambition in her soliloquy act 1 sc5 analysis
• The Jacobean society had a homogeneous Christian belief system, so here when Lady Macbeth talks about "illness", fear would be evoked within the Shakespearean audience as they realise Lady Macbeth's ambition is ultimately going to cause her to defy God.


  Context of LM ambition
• In her soliloquy, Lady Macbeth is proposing to the audience that she is going to "chastise [Macbeth] with the valour of [her] tongue"


  More LM ambition