ambition

• "vaulting ambition which o'erleaps itself/and falls on th'other" A1S7 Macbeth


  Metaphor of Macbeth's intent as a horse and his ambition is the spur which is the only way to make the horse go forward suggesting the only thing stimulating him to execute his purpose is his "vaulting ambition"
• black and deep desire' A1S4 Macbeth


  sees his own desire to be an evil thing

  hints towards supernatural forces

  he is already being consumed by the darkness (link to light and candle imagery later on in the play)
• I'll fight till from my bones my flesh be hack'd' A5S3 Macbeth


  by the end of the play he is not afraid to die and has gained confidence from the prophesy from the Witches

  hubris- his excessive pride

  hamartia - his fatal flaw which is his ambition ulitmately leads to his demise

  this is catalysed by lady m and the witches
• But screw your courage to the sticking place and we shall not fail' A1S7 Lady Macbeth


  Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth to stop being a coward about killing Duncan --- shows her ruthlessness in executing her ambitious plan
• The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step on which i must fall down, or else overleap, for in my way it lies' A1S4 Macbeth


  Sees any other power as a threat to his newly earned position
• I have no spur ... but only vaulting ambition which overleaps itself' A1S7 Macbeth


  Compares his ambition to a wild horse which he cannot contain, and will eventually lead to his downfall
• shalt be king hereafter' A1S3 Witches


  this prophesy triggers Macbeth's uncontrollable ambition, or did he already have these thoughts but needed affirmation
• 'when you durst do it then you become a man'