Para 1

• "With Tarquin's ravishing strides, towards his design" (Act 2).

  • Macbeth ambitiously strives to emulate Tarquin, the Roman tyrant whom raped his wife, so he can embody what it means to be a ruthless blood-thirsty leader.
  • Macbeth's ambition is further fuelled by the lingering emasculation he experienced at the hands of Lady Macbeth in Act 1. For him, power becomes synonymous with brutality, and this perception is compounded by his insatiable ambition, which propels him towards a relentless pursuit of dominance through brute force.
  • The diction "design" connotes intentional creation, mirroring Macbeth's intentional crafting of his desired position as King through ambitious pursuits. Despite his transgression of natural order in this pursuit, the seductive allure of these temptations of power and authority obstructs him from seeing the permanent and eternal consequences of guilt he will face.
• How it links to guilt?

  • Macbeth's conscience, tormented by guilt, is a direct consequence of his insatiable ambition. His hubris, manifesting as an overwhelming desire for power, becomes the reason for his eventual physical and psychological downfall.