Macbeth

• Lady Macbeth goes from calling him "''worthy Cawdor!... all hail hereafter" to a "coward"(Act 1).
• By stipping him off the mantle

  of a dominant husband , through the epithet ‘coward’ she threatend the very foundationof his self-worth . This emasculation becomes a key factor in Macbeths downfall , as his ambition crumbles when his image of a powerful man shatters
• 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.
• Connotations on "design":


  The diction "design" connotes intentional creation, mirroring Macbeth's intentional crafting of his desired position as King through ambitious pursuits. Despite his transgression natural order in this pursuit, the seductive allure of these temptations of power and authority obstructs him from seeing the permanent and eternal consequences he will face.
• Macbeth clings to the belief that seizing the crown will fulfil his need to prove his masculinity to his wife. He mistakenly thinks the external validation of kingship will compensate for the internal strength Lady Macbeth seemingly stripped from him.