thesis statement macbeth ambition

William Shakespeare

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Macbeth is a play about ambition run amok. The weird sisters ' prophecies spur both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to try to fulfill their ambitions, but the witches never make Macbeth or his wife do anything. Macbeth and his wife act on their own to fulfill their deepest desires. Macbeth, a good general and, by all accounts before the action of the play, a good man, allows his ambition to overwhelm him and becomes a murdering, paranoid maniac. Lady Macbeth, once she begins to put into actions the once-hidden thoughts of her mind, is crushed by guilt.

Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth want to be great and powerful, and sacrifice their morals to achieve that goal. By contrasting these two characters with others in the play, such as Banquo , Duncan , and Macduff , who also want to be great leaders but refuse to allow ambition to come before honor, Macbeth shows how naked ambition, freed from any sort of moral or social conscience, ultimately takes over every other characteristic of a person. Unchecked ambition, Macbeth suggests, can never be fulfilled, and therefore quickly grows into a monster that will destroy anyone who gives into it.

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An Analysis of Ambition in Macbeth by William Shakespeare

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Understanding Macbeth's Ambition

An Analysis of Ambition in Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'

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Ambition is the driving force of William Shakespeare's tragedy " Macbeth ." More specifically, it is about ambition that goes unchecked by any concept of morality; this is why it becomes a dangerous quality. Macbeth’s ambition inspires most of his actions, and that results in the deaths of numerous characters and the ultimate downfall of both himself and Lady Macbeth.

The Sources of Ambition in 'Macbeth'

Macbeth’s ambition is driven by a number of factors. For one, he has a deep internal desire for power and advancement. However, that is not exactly why he turns to crime. It takes two outside forces to ignite this hunger and push him to take violent action to obtain power.

• Prophecies: Throughout the play, the Macbeth witches make a number of prophecies, including that Macbeth will become king. Macbeth believes them each time, and often uses the predictions to decide his next actions, such as killing Banquo. While the prophecies always turn out to be true, it is unclear whether they are preordained instances of fate or self-fulfilling via the manipulation of characters like Macbeth.
• Lady Macbeth : The witches may have planted the initial seed in Macbeth’s mind to act on his ambition, but his wife is the one who pushes him to murder. Lady Macbeth’s persistence encourages Macbeth to put aside his guilt and kill Duncan, telling him to focus on his ambition, not his conscience.

Controlling Ambition

Macbeth’s ambition soon spirals out of control and forces him to murder again and again to cover up his previous wrongdoings. His first victims of this are the chamberlains who are framed by Macbeth for the murder of King Duncan and killed as “punishment.”

Later in the play, Macbeth’s fear of Macduff incites him to pursue not only Macduff but also his family. The unnecessary murder of Lady Macduff and her children are the clearest example of Macbeth losing control over his ambition.

Balancing Ambition and Morality

We also see a more honorable take on ambition in "Macbeth." To test Macduff’s loyalty, Malcolm pretends to be greedy, lustful, and power-hungry. When Macduff responds by condemning him and crying out for the future of Scotland under such a king, he shows his allegiance to the country and refusal to submit to tyrants. This reaction from Macduff, along with Malcolm's choosing to test him in the first place, demonstrates that moral code in positions of power is more important than the ambition to get there, especially blind ambition.

Consequences

The consequences of ambition in “Macbeth” are dire—not only are a number of innocent people killed, but Macbeth’s life also ends with him being known as a tyrant, a significant downfall from the noble hero he begins as.

Most importantly, Shakespeare gives neither Macbeth nor Lady Macbeth the opportunity to enjoy what they have gained—perhaps suggesting that it is more satisfying to achieve your goals fairly than acquire them through corruption.

Does Violent Ambition End With Macbeth?

At the end of the play, Malcolm is the victorious king and Macbeth’s burning ambition has been extinguished. But is this really the end to over-reaching ambition in Scotland? The audience is left to wonder if Banquo’s heir will eventually become king as prophesied by the trio of witches. If so, will he act on his own ambition to make this happen, or will fate play a part in realizing the prophecy?

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• The Theme of Guilt in "Macbeth"
• Everything You Need to Know About 'Macbeth'
• Tragic Flaw: Literary Definition and Examples
• Lady Macbeth Character Analysis
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Mr Salles Teaches English

Grade 9 Essay: How does Shakespeare present the theme of ambition in the play?

What is the shortest essay which can get full marks.

I’m writing a guide to how to write essays at each grade for Macbeth. My Ultimate Guide to Macbeth shows you how to understand the whole play, scene by scene, to above grade 9. It also shows you how to write about each scene at grades 6, 7, 8, 9 and beyond grade 9.

I’ve written over 20 guides and it is the best guide I have ever written.

But, what if you are a student who just wants a grade 5, or just wants a grade 7, or you want a grade 9, but you want it as quickly as possible. You don’t want to read an Ultimate Guide to Macbeth - that’s going to have a lot of Mr Salles brilliance in it but, no offence Mr Salles, English isn’t even in my top 5 subjects.

I want the maximum marks, with the minimum effort.

So, that’s why I’m writing a series of new guides, showing you ‘just’ what you need for each grade, and no more.

How I wrote the essays in the essay writing guide (out in September)

I found all the essays I could which had been marked by a senior examiner.

I rewrote them, changing all the words, but keeping every idea and technique, and every quote.

Then I counted the features of each essay. Exam criteria are vague and open to interpretation. So I wondered, are there features of each essay I can count, which are not open to interpretation? And then, if we do count these features, will they predict the right mark?

Let’s find out.

This is an extract from the guide. Normally, my comments, and the examiner comments, follow the essay. Here, I have put the comments first so you can see what the examiner is looking for before you read the essay.

Response 24

Thesis Statement Yes Explanations 9 Quotes 5 Named Methods 5 Society/era/patriarchal/Jacobean/contemporary/ historical reference etc 3 Shakespeare 4 Exploratory Could, Might, May, Perhaps, Probably 0 Conclusion Yes Paragraphs 7

My Comments

Well, well, well. I was not expecting that mark. (It scored 25/30).

It doesn’t have anywhere near the number of references or quotations I was expecting for AO1.

It introduces the idea that ambition will affect ‘reason’, but never actually proves it –there are many easy examples and quotes revealing the mental state of Macbeth – is this a dagger, murdered sleep, never shake they gory locks, my mind is full of scorpions etc - and Lady Macbeth sleepwalking. The original essay included mistakes in identifying adverbs and nouns, which I’ve got rid of, because even naming them correctly adds no marks. There is very little context used to back up interpretations.

So, what has impressed the examiner?

There are both a thesis statement and a conclusion, so it becomes a well-constructed argument. The student has quoted from the end of the play right at the beginning, to show that they are dealing with the whole text. Although they don’t give many examples from the rest of the play, they do move through it chronologically, so it is a well-constructed argument. This, and very specific language to describe it, helps the student look at Macbeth’s character arc, his ‘journey’, showing how Macbeth changes. The answer looks at the structure of the play in two ways. First by viewing Macbeth’s life in two parts – a rise and fall. Secondly, by exploring Banquo as the antithesis to Macbeth in his ambition. These two ideas mark the answer out as thoughtful and different from most students’ essays.

Examiner Comments

The answer focuses on ambition right from the start and with every point. The thesis statement and next paragraph make it clear that the student is dealing with the whole text. The essay is thoughtful and developed. The student embeds quotations and references to illustrate their ideas. The student’s comments about Shakespeare’s intentions throughout the essay show that they realise his choices are deliberate. In order to get into level 6 the student should explore more of Shakespeare’s ideas.

Write down the other ideas you could put into this essay.

Find references or quotes to back these up.

Write another 350 words to add in to get 30/30.

Thank you for reading Mr Salles Teaches English. I want every student to be able to go up by several grades. Please share this post to help me reach that goal.

The 420 Word Essay!

Shakespeare reveals ambition as the dominant theme in the play, because it is Macbeth’s overpowering ambition which leads to his immoral murder of King Duncan. Lady Macbeth and the witches can only influence Macbeth in this because his ambition is already so great.

In this extract, Shakespeare explores how ambition influences even the most honourable. This is why he gives Lady Macbeth the perspective that Macbeth’s character is “ too full o’th’ milk of human kindness ”, which is her real perception because Shakespeare reveals it in SOLILOQUY. We associate “ milk ” with innocence and purity, which implies that Macbeth is too noble to act on his ambition. Yet, once he has reigned as king, he is viewed as a “ butcher ”, because he has become both cruel and indiscriminate in his killing.

This change from excessive kindness to tyranny is a surprising journey, which warns the audience of the danger of ambition. Moreover, Shakespeare portrays ambition as a force which will overcome morality and reason. He gives Lady Macbeth the view that Macbeth is “ not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it ”. The COMPARISON of ambition to “ illness ” implies that it is destructive, and also that this destruction can turn on the ambitious person themselves, attacking their sense of morality and ability to be kind.

Macbeth lists every reason not to murder Duncan, before focusing on his “ vaulting ambition ”. This METAPHOR implies that his ambition is more powerful than his conscience, so he will overcome his moral objections.

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Macbeth – A* / L9 Full Mark Example Essay

This is an A* / L9 full mark example essay on Macbeth completed by a 15-year-old student in timed conditions (50 mins writing, 10 mins planning).

It contained a few minor spelling and grammatical errors – but the quality of analysis overall was very high so this didn’t affect the grade. It is extremely good on form and structure, and perhaps could do with more language analysis of poetic and grammatical devices; as the quality of thought and interpretation is so high this again did not impede the overall mark. 

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For more help with Macbeth and Tragedy, read our article here .

MACBETH EXAMPLE ESSAY:

Macbeth’s ambition for status and power grows throughout the play. Shakespeare uses Macbeth as an embodiment of greed and asks the audience to question their own actions through the use of his wrongful deeds.

In the extract, Macbeth is demonstrated to possess some ambition but with overriding morals, when writing to his wife about the prophecies, Lady Macbeth uses metaphors to describe his kind hearted nature: “yet I do fear thy nature, / It is too full o’th’milk of human kindness”. Here, Shakespeare presents Macbeth as a more gentle natured being who is loyal to his king and country. However, the very act of writing the letter demonstrates his inklings of desire, and ambition to take the throne. Perhaps, Shakespeare is aiming to ask the audience about their own thoughts, and whether they would be willing to commit heinous deeds for power and control. 

Furthermore, the extract presents Macbeth’s indecisive tone when thinking of the murder – he doesn’t want to kill Duncan but knows it’s the only way to the throne. Lady Macbeth says she might need to interfere in order to persuade him; his ambition isn’t strong enough yet: “That I may pour my spirits in  thine ear / And chastise with the valour of my tongue”. Here, Shakespeare portrays Lady Macbeth as a manipulative character, conveying she will seduce him in order to “sway “ his mind into killing Duncan. The very need for her persuasion insinuates Macbeth is still weighing up the consequences in his head, his ambition equal with his morality. It would be shocking for the audience to see a female character act in this authoritative way. Lady Macbeth not only holds control of her husband in a patriarchal society but the stage too, speaking in iambic pentameter to portray her status: “To catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great”. It is interesting that Shakespeare uses Lady Macbeth in this way; she has more ambition for power than her husband at this part of play. 

As the play progresses, in Act 3, Macbeth’s ambition has grown and now kills with ease. He sends three murders to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance, as the witches predicted that he may have heirs to the throne which could end his reign. Macbeth is suspicious in this act, hiding his true intentions from his dearest companion and his wife: “I wish your horses swift and sure on foot” and “and make our faces vizards to our hearts”. There, we see, as an audience, Macbeth’s longing to remain King much stronger than his initial attitudes towards the throne He was toying with the idea of killing for the throne and now he is killing those that could interfere with his rule without a second thought. It is interesting that Shakespeare presents him this way, as though he is ignoring his morals or that they have been “numbed” by his ambition. Similarly to his wife in the first act, Macbeth also speaks in pentameter to illustrate his increase in power and dominance. 

In Act 4, his ambition and dependence on power has grown even more. When speaking with the witches about the three apparitions, he uses imperatives to portray his newly adopted controlling nature: “I conjure you” and “answer me”. Here, the use of his aggressive demanding demonstrates his reliance on the throne and his need for security. By the Witches showing him the apparitions and predicting his future, he gains a sense of superiority, believing he is safe and protected from everything. Shakespeare also lengthens Macbeth’s speech in front of the Witches in comparison to Act 1 to show his power and ambition has given him confidence, confidence to speak up to the “filthy nags” and expresses his desires. Although it would be easy to infer Macbeth’s greed and ambition has grown from his power-hungry nature, a more compassionate reading of Macbeth demonstrates the pressure he feels as a Jacobean man and soldier. Perhaps he feels he has to constantly strive for more to impress those around him or instead he may want to be king to feel more worthy and possibly less insecure. 

It would be unusual to see a Jacobean citizen approaching an “embodiment” of the supernatural as forming alliance with them was forbidden and frowned upon. Perhaps Shakespeare uses Macbeth to defy these stereotypical views to show that there is a supernatural, a more dark side in us all and it is up to our own decisions whereas we act on these impulses to do what is morally incorrect. 

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An Analysis of Macbeth’s Ambition

How it works

Napoleon Bonaparte once said, ‘Great ambition is the passion of great character. Those endowed with it may perform good or very bad acts. All depends on the principles that direct them .’ In William Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth, we see how Macbeth takes a prophecy he gets of potentially becoming a king into his own hands and goes above and beyond to seize and keep the throne. In this paper, I will first explain how akrasia and the existence of bad company were the driving forces for Macbeth’s ambition to gain power.

Next, I will explain how paranoia and despair become the factors that drive Macbeth’s ambition to keep power. I will also explain the consequences Macbeth had to face because of his over-ambition. Macbeth’s relentless pursuit to seize and keep the throne portrays how treacherous obsession with ambition can lead to undesirable consequences reflected by Macbeth’s catastrophic collapse.

Akrasia was Macbeth’s first drive for his ambition to become king. Macbeth was a noble and hard-working man even though known to be a valiant soldier. He was also the army general and a man great at his job but after stumbling across the prophecy that he could be king everything he had suddenly was not enough, he wanted more. The weakness of will drove Macbeth to do things he would not have normally done as he says “I have no spur to prick the sides of my

intent, but only vaulting ambition, which overleaps itself, and falls on the other.(1.7.25-28). The metaphor, no spur to prick the sides of my intent could mean that Macbeth has no probable cause to kill King Duncan. According to the Cambridge dictionary, vaulting ambition is ‘a strong wish to be extremely successful, powerful, rich, etc., and a belief that this is more important than anything else. Shakespeare uses of vivid vocabulary and a metaphor to emphasize the depth of Macbeth’s awareness of his unethical actions and his irreversible drive to commit murder for the throne thus akrasia.

• 1 Lady Macbeth Ambition
• 2 Blind Ambition

Lady Macbeth Ambition

Lady Macbeth is a corrupt trigger that influences Macbeth into seizing power in an immoral way. Macbeth a nobleman who comes across a prophecy from the witches’ All hail Macbeth thou shalt be king hereafter. Thereafter, Lady Macbeth receives the news from her husband about this prophecy. She talks him into killing Duncan to take the throne and when he shows reluctance, We will proceed no further in this business. He hath honored me of late, and I have bought, Golden opinions from all sorts of people, which would be worn now in their newest gloss, not cast aside so soon. she challenges his manhood, When you durst do it, then you were a man. And to be more than what you were, you would, Be so much more the man’. (1.7.49-51).

Lady Macbeth provides a correlation between murder and masculinity which means that Macbeth becomes a man only after he commits murder and that before that he is not a man if he withholds and this agrees with the perspective in the Elizabethan period where society masculinity is viewed as overpowering and overarching. George William Gerwing in the article “Lady Macbeth.” Shakespearean Criticism analyzes Lady Macbeth’s character and highlights how ambition for lady Macbeth is more sacrificing than it is selfish as her desire is to sorely help her husband at the expense of her own dreams if any. The authors clarify a contrasting assumption that Lady Macbeth’s ambition was cruelty and greed-driven but rather as a woman who dedicated her lifetime and energy to Macbeth and made sure he became king and stayed King for as long as she lived thus Lady Macbeth was not bad company but rather a woman who supported her husband in a way she could. However, in agreement with Langis, and Unhae in the article Shakespeare and Prudential Psychology: Ambition and Akrasia in Macbeth, virtue should be a part of one’s drive in ambition, and upholding virtue does not make one ambitious. Lady Macbeth’s masculinity manipulations drove Macbeth also gives Macbeth the motivation to totally disregard virtue and commit murder thus her failure to be his voice of reason hence she was in bad company.

Lastly, Macbeth fights to keep the throne even in moments of despair, showing how his desire for power had gone out of control. Macbeth is told by his wife at the beginning of the play that as long as they do everything together it will be alright. Macbeth’s wife does and since she was his partner in crime and voice of reason he could have ended the strive for power but instead he is persistent regardless. Later on, Macbeth approaches Macduff with confidence that he would attain victory as he says, Thou losest labor, As easy mayst thou the in trenchant air

With thy keen sword impress as make me bleed:

Let fall thy blade on vulnerable crests;

I bear a charmed life, which must not yield,

To one of woman born. Macbeth refers to his life as charmed which suggests that he had had everything he needed as king and he was undefeatable to all men. Macduff’s reply. Despair thy charm;

And let the angel whom thou still hast served

Tell thee, Macduff was from his mother’s womb

Untimely ripped (5.8.1-20) changes the outcome of things. Macduff’s mention of his birth from his mother’s womb Untimely ripp’d literally meant that he was not born the natural way but with C section instead Macbeth had been foretold by the witches that he had to be away of a man not born woman and he actually met Macduff who fit the description. Macduff mentioning this shows how destiny and reality coincide with one another. Macbeth’s last hope is destroyed by this revelation Regardless of being aware of the truth, Macbeth did not run for his life or hide rather he was willing to fight until his last breath. Macbeth’s ambition to keep the throne over consumes him that he is willing to exchange his life to keep the place even after knowing that it is a hopeless fight.

However, in agreement with Langis, and Unhae in the article Shakespeare and Prudential Psychology: Ambition and Akrasia in Macbeth, virtue should be a part of one’s drive in ambition and upholding virtue does not make one ambitious. Lady Macbeth’s masculinity manipulations drove Macbeth also gives Macbeth the motivation to totally disregard virtue and commit murder thus her failure to be his voice of reason hence she was bad company.

Blind Ambition

Macbeth thought he only had to kill King Duncan in order to make him king but throughout the play we see how paranoia leads him to become a ruthless murder. Before committing the murder Macbeth thinks nothing could possibly go wrong but after, he hears voices say Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor shall sleep no more, Macbeth shall sleep no more”(2.2.47.57). Sleep is a crucial part of our daily lives and signifies rest and end of the day. Glamis hath murdered sleep could be symbolic of how Macbeth’s act of murder has resulted in destruction of peace because it was for personal gain. Next, Cawdor shall sleep no more how he has to carry the unease and responsibility of his actions from this day forward. The last part of the phrase, Macbeth shall sleep no more, could be symbolic of the his future self who has to constantly protect his unruly acts constant therefore his mind will not be at ease nor can he rest.

Repetition of this loss of sleep and Macbeth hearing voices shows anxious thoughts which reflect his paranoia. According to Mental Health America. Paranoia involves intense anxious feelings and thoughts often related to persecution, threat or conspiracy. Macbeth because he had committed murder starts hearing voices chastising his crime becomes delusional and acts defensively by killing the guards. He does not stop there, he also feels threatened and goes on to kill his friend Banquo. Instead of focusing on being a king for the people Macbeth is too worried about the threats around him showing how paranoia was driving his ambition to remain king.

Throughout this tragedy play we explore all that Macbeth did to keep the throne. He killed king Duncan, killed the two guards out of paranoia, killed his friend Banquo because he felt threatened, ordered killing of Lady Macduff just so he could remain king. This is a reflection of how Macbeth is a true Machiavellian. Because he killed and ordered killing which is immoral and shows that he wanted to advance by any means necessary. Just as Hergie Alexis, & Kossi Joiny points out in the article Machiavellism in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth: A Critical tudy, ambition is covered by Machiavelli in Macbeth when Macbeth’s dream to be king is fulfilled and mantained through a cunning political plot of killing and this creates a lot of diorder and ultimately leads to his death.

As proven in Macbeth by Williams Shakespeare, Macbeth’s ambition makes him blind to the consequences of securing power. Throughout the play, Macbeth’s sole purpose became being king and staying as king by however means necessary. Even though that was what seemed to be his greatest victory, he became a murderer with tainted hands, lost his noble character, killed friends, became a tyrant, lost his wife and in the end he died. Through it all Macbeth lost more than he ever gained and even the throne itself became a curse more than it was a blessing.

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GCSE Macbeth thesis and model paragraph - Macbeth's ambition

Subject: English

Age range: 14-16

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A model thesis and first paragraph for the question: How does Shakespeare present Macbeth’s ambition? Topic sentence for second and third paragraphs and room for writing a We Do model, followed by students’ independent paragraph. I Do We Do You Do structure applied to essay. Great for introducing essay writing or feedback after assessment.

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