How is the theme of Ambition presented in Macbeth?
Shakespeare wrote Macbeth with a sea of themes and downfalls, each component playing a
pivotal role in the progression of the play. Ambition, defined as a desire or determination to
achieve something, can be seen as Macbeth’s and his wife’s most frequented trait
throughout the entirety of the play. Arguably, it was considered to be the most prominent
as many comments that it is a value that had indefinitely marked Macbeth’s fatalist
compliance. The play itself has a recurring element foreshadowing and pinning down that
the heightened ambition was the principal cause that made Macbeth and his wife run afoul.
It syndicates the ideas of greed and a deviance from hierarchy, often invoking more
tyrannical behaviour with its constituents carrying forth a directed path unto Macbeth and
Lady Macbeth’s character (especially towards their depositioning).
Initially, we can describe Macbeth’s ambition to be more natural in the sense of its strive
being within the bounds of his ability and status. In act one, scene two (lines 15-17),
wherein Shakespeare writes “But all’s too weak, for brave Macbeth- well he deserves that
name- Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel” these lines were spoken by the
Captain in praise of Macbeth’s contribution to the battle, by this we understand that
Macbeth would have harbored a great degree of ambition to have even thought of battling
his opponent. The sentence “For brave Macbeth- well he deserves that name-” tells the
audience of how the third party views Macbeth, here it states that he “deserves that name”
and continues to keep him in praise which invigorates the theme of pride, one trait often
associated with ambition. It is even said (around line 19) that Macbeth was “Valour’s
minion” meaning that he was bravery’s favorite, by this we know that Macbeth is no
stranger to these set of events and perhaps no more invisible to ambition than he is to
bravery. At this point, the ambition portrayed by Shakespeare in Macbeth’s character is one
(as I've mentioned prior) that is more suitable to his character and hierarchical status and
drawing from this information we can conclude that there are various streams of ambition
that are crafted and incorporated within the seams of the tragedy.
The most significant shift in the surge of ambition can be seen directly in Act 1, Scene 3
(lines 69 to 73), where Macbeth comments “Stay you imperfect speakers, tell me more…
Stands not within the prospect of belief” after the encounterance with the witches. The
more innate ambition becomes unstable as it flickers to something Macbeth clearly
acknowledges is beyond his reach, he says “Stay you imperfect speakers, tell me more”
which suggests to the audience his curiosity in the possibility of ever becoming king- he
desires to know more, however, he almost instantly recognizes this impossibility by
contradictive speech “Stands not within the prospect of belief” even with this in the
forefront of his mind, Macbeth still wants to know more which indicates his more
ambitious of thoughts. Later on (throughout lines 117-133), Macbeth moves his speech
sporadically from murmuring to himself and to others, after the delivery of the new title of
Thane of Cawdor Macbeth almost instantly comments “Glamis, and Thane of Cawdor. The
greatest is behind” Macbeth here is rather open to the idea of becoming king, he even said
himself “the greatest is behind'' translating directly into ‘the greatest is yet to come’. He
elaborates his enthusiasm for this news by asking Banquo “Do you not hope your children
shall be kings?” These little unassuming comments later become the foundations of a
bridge onto more tyrannical traits. To say Macbeth’s ambition has disappeared through
some portions of the play, I personally believe, would be incorrect, rather I think ambition
is either raised or lowered in contrast to Macbeth’s ability to collate his thoughts and
actions properly; we see clearly he slowly desires the title significantly more as time
passes, but is confronted with aspects of morality. For example, Macbeth speaks of “My
thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical” directly referring to how King Duncan’s death
sounds pleasent for his gain, but it is still a fantasy and yet he comments “nothing is but
what is not” invoking his inner thoughts (and foreshadowing of the dagger scene) of the
only thing that was real are the thoughts that pile in his head, which tells the audience that
Macbeth believes he will become king and he knows that the only way to get that position
would be through murder,though he knows how monstrous it sounds, Macbeth still
entertains the thought.
Utilisation or indications of ambition is not only shown in Macbeth or his wife but can also
be found in other characters that contribute to instigating the flame of desire to the highest
degree. King Duncan does nothing but amplify this, fueling his cousin’s attempt to the
throne and ambition through a series of praise such as “O worthiest cousin! The sin of my
ingratitude...” and “More is thy due than more than all can pay”. Duncan places Macbeth on
a pedestal and turns a blind eye to his scheming relative, simply-put the King does no
better than placing his own life on a silver platter and freely passing it over to Macbeth.
Shakespeare’s incorporation of the keyword 'worthiest' shows how highly Duncan thinks
of Macbeth and his capability to conquer anything in his way (which, to Duncan’s dismissal,
includes the throne). However, the word 'worthiest' is also used as a motive for Macbeth to
aim for the throne as excessive praise can lead to boosting Macbeth's ego and luring him
into the fulfillment of what was promised. The overall language and tone in the quote
highlights the disillusion that King Duncan harbours of a positive and healthy relationship
between him and Macbeth due to Duncan's respect towards him, ultimately Duncan just
adds onto his death by contributing to the naked ambition Macbeth stirs.
A subliminal area wherein ambition was used is the letter written from Macbeth to his wife
recounting the meeting with the witch and their prophecies. Many claim that the peak of
his ambition was in due to his wife and her manipulation, however, I would argue with the
element that Macbeth clearly knew what his intentions when he wrote that letter (with a
clear understanding of how his wife would respond, and how she would be all for the
murder of his cousin) this is because throughout the letter Shakespeare adds more
implicitly attached sentences such as “When I burned in the desire to question them
further,” or “While I stood rapt in the wonder of it” or even “This I have thought good to
deliver to thee, my dearest partner of greatness, that thou might’st not lose the dues of
rejoicing, by being ignorant of what greatness is promised thee” all this stipulates Macbeth
being in awe of the news he has received, that he is rather optimistic of what is to come.
We’ve covered his denaturing point of ambition when he had claimed to feel as though he
was burning with the need to question the witches further, however, as he writes ‘I stood
rapt in the wonder of it’ the audiences are then given a small glimpse of how Macbeth
recounts his emotional process of it, still referring to it with a positive connotation of
‘wonder’ as if it were something that brought him joy, the news of the possibility of
becoming king quite literally carried him away into stillness and the realm of royalty,
concluded with the phrases ‘This I have thought good to deliver to thee’ showing the
audience that Macbeth had only thought of the good in the prophecy for both his wife, that
it was a good idea to share it with his wife. Furthermore, there comes a reflection of his
praise to his wife to that of Duncan towards him, earlier in the play, in the lines ‘My dearest
partner of greatness’ and as we’ve covered, this sort of praise (by Shakespeare’s common
use) is only to indicate contribution of a more negatively associated trait, as Duncan had
done so, Macbeth puts his wife above him and so elevates her ambition alongside his. To
conclude this point Macbeth evidently mentions to his wife that “that thou might’st not lose
the dues of rejoicing,” elaborating that “by being ignorant of what greatness is promised
thee” the staple of this statement is a plain encouragement from Macbeth to his wife to
celebrate over this forthcoming news, that there will be joy over the throne that was
promised to him.
However, Contradictory to my point, Lady Macbeth claims that “Thy nature is too full of the
milk of human kindness”, arguably if it were the case that Lady Macbeth was this closely
aware of her husband’s traits, wouldn’t it be correct to assume Macbeth also knows of his
wife’s more manipulative elements? As he has no surprise within his speech or motives
when his wife comes to him and orders to murder the king, aside from moral objections
Macbeth doesn’t seem taken aback from such a declaration- and given the historical context
the play was placed in, it would be a death wish for a wife (let alone a female counterpart)
to approach her husband and divulge his mind with such ideas, especially towards not only
a relative of his but directed at the King himself. And so Lady Macbeth’s actions do not
come as a surprise to him as he’s fully aware of her more ‘masculine’ traits which would
then lead to the point of Macbeth acknowledging his own faults that would divert his
ambition and so to tackle this loophole he had intentionally asked his wife to play the
pivotal role of the ‘manipulator,’ the play on how ambition had accumulated is a web on top
of one another, the complexity spirals down in layers and layers. Lady Macbeth speaks of
this with the lines “thou wouldst be great, Art not without ambition, but without the illness
should attend it” even Lady Macbeth identifies the evident ambition Macbeth musters, but
she also knows of his lacking ‘evil’ nature, and as the plan opens up for Lady Macbeth to
play this role, thus providing a wonderfully crafted segue (by Shakespeare) into covering
the initially consistent ambitious nature of Lady Macbeth.
Elaborating further on Lady Macbeth’s ambition, we can sum it up to be one of an
ambiguous nature (similar to that of Macbeth). The way Lady Macbeth thinks and the way
her ambition stays consistent, which contrasts the instability of Macbeth’s instability, is the
statement “Thou must do, if thou have it” which is directed at one of Macbeth’s earlier
comment to combat his ambition of “If chance will have me King, why chance will crown
me. Without my stir” these two statements refer to one another and yet contradict what
one another stands for. In Macbeth’s case, he entertains the idea of becoming king (but due
to his nature which lacks illness of thought and action, he waters down his ambition
causing it to fluctuate and serve as doubt), however, in light of this fantasy he still
comments that he will leave it up to the natural course of life. Whereas, Lady Macbeth
proclaims that the only way to get what is headed in fate is to act upon what you know is
prophesied for you, she states that if her husband truly desires a life he dreams about then
he must muster the wicked courage and be determined to act in the foulest manner if it is
in the utmost desire to achieve it.
The peak of Lady Macbeth’s ambition is in her famous soliloquy.
Shakespeare had given great distinction between his female lead and placed direct contrast
to the ‘regular’ female population during the Jacobean era, he adds on to her own-self
determination and power to accumulate as benefactors to the theme of ambition. As we
delve into the text (for the soliloquy) we see hints of symbolism and ambitious significance
stemmed from its roots, in the lines ‘The raven himself is hoarse, That croaks the fatal
entrance of Duncan’ there is a vital metaphor that treads on its ground as often ravens
represent ill omens alongside prophecies and as agents of psychopomps, so this
foreshadows future scenes later in the act in relation to King Duncan and gives an additive
element to her ambition as she would conclude that even the spirits lay on her side. These
lines are followed by her ‘ritual’ to the otherworldly, calling upon ‘spirits that tend on
mortal thoughts’ to ‘unsex me here’ and fill her from ‘crown to top toe full of direst cruelty,’
this ensues the notion that she wishes to be made less of a woman and more of a man,
again going against her ‘natural’ form of character and therefore concluding as an element
of ambition.
Indeed, through her progressive nature, we see more hidden meanings, such as asking to
make her veins ‘thick with blood’ so she would not feel the ‘compunctious visitings of
nature’ meaning as though Lady Macbeth would like to deflect away from the ‘nature of
being’ and of ‘compassion’ and that would not prevent her from following through with her
plans and later on with the murder (which is ironic because she is the one who persuades
her husband to ‘clog’ Duncan’s blood in sense of murder but she is not the one who had
done it). Lady Macbeth then asks for spirits to come to her ‘woman breasts’ and take her
‘milk for gall’ and as I have mentioned prior, this gives significance to more female built
inclinations as well as rectifies the fact that women were seen as birth givers and as
nourishment or growth to one that poisons or taints, however she desires to be stripped
from this string of innocence and to be made crafted anew. Her desire to become more
‘masculine’ stems from the aspect of needing it to for-go her plans and is orchestrated by
Shakespeare to display how streams and indicative elements of ambition is infact a variable
aspect depending on the character and position, for Macbeth it is the tyrannical and
morally conflictive element and for Lady Macbeth it is the manifestation of supernatural
elements. Shakespeare shows relations between the hierarchy of masculinity and how it
has been reflected and desired by Lady Macbeth which I find to be a very indicative for
ambition in respect to Lady Macbeth’s characterisation.
In the play, Shakespeare also utilizes ambition as a direct combatting trait to that of
morality and consciencitive elements. A more major sign of this can be seen with Macbeth’s
soliloquy In Act 2 Scene 2 where he hallucinates a dagger in Front of him, such an event
lucidly portrays the evident war between ethics and ambitious greed on murdering the
King for his title.
The theme plays a vital progression for Macbeth’s treason (or heinous acts) plays a great
role in how the audience comes to understand the internal conflict of Macbeth (between
ambition and his ‘human kindness’) and conveys the start of his emotional dissipation. This
scene uses guilt and the overpowering sense of ambition to build up the peak of the play
and the rising tension between the night (background) and character (Macbeth) with his
thoughts. The slow build of events cements audiences to the edge of their seats eludes their
interest on whether Macbeth’s guilt will be overthrown by his ambition and whether this
shall force him to face the consequences sure to come. He continues his speech by
muttering ‘Art thou but a dagger of the mind’ which he concludes to ask, ‘created by a heatoppressed brain?’ which suggests to the audience of Macbeth’s mental state, he
acknowledges that the dagger he sees is only visible in sight and not to touch and remarks
that it is just a hallucination created by his conflicted mind, the underlying notion here is
the battle between predestined faith (dictated by the prophecies of the witches) and the act
of one own will, directly syndicating how unmaintained ambition causes not only false
illusions, but paints a horrid sight for what is to come. However, by my own analysis I feel
that Shakespeare uses this monologue/soliloquy to foreshadow the slow removal of
conscience from Macbeth’s character and that soon enough Macbeth’s greed (later in the
act) will take form of his most powerful trait and shall overtake his mind and soul until he
no larger than a fragment of being that is power hungry with only his aspirations guiding
him.
Conclusively, the use of naked and unchecked ambition (whether explicitly or implicitly)
has ultimately driven Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into the madness. Due to the unnatural
flow of events in their power-hungry attempts they had to sacrifice fundamental values and
morals each to their own to achieve the ‘royal title’ and influence that comes with it. As I’ve
mentioned before, ambition is seen in various forms and so it should not only be seen
through more negative connotations but positive ones too/ Shakespeare contrasts his main
characters with other (less significant in comparison but impactful nonetheless) characters
such as King Duncan or even Macbeth’s closest friend, Banquo, who had also expressed the
desire to attain greater power and climb the social ladder but have chosen to keep it in
check and let their ambition flow past them. Finally, I believe Shakespeare had wonderful
use of his adaptations for ambition (crafting it according to his characters and in different
ways) and has shown us through the utilisation that ambition plays an integral role in such
a progression of the play and if left to foster it would become a factor that would prove to
reign destruction unto the person that wishes to harbour it, causing the character to be
unchained from any sort of morally inflicted thoughts and therefore eventually causing an
inescapable downfall, like that of the tragedy of Macbeth.