Essay On Ambition Is Responsible For Macbeth's Downfall
777 Words4 Pages
What is the definition of ambition? Ambition is defined as the desire to achieve something, such as power, and the willingness to strive for its attainment. This is what happens to Macbeth, his own ambition to become king and the actions he takes to achieve this, lead to his downfall. In the play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, the central character, Macbeth, is a soldier who turns against his king, to achieve power and the throne leading to his isolation and insecurities. The play is considered tragic because of Macbeth’s fatal flaw, his own ambition, climaxing in Macbeth's death and the death of others around him. Macbeth is, to a significant extent, responsible for his own downfall.
I believe Macbeth is responsible for his own downfall…show more content… This is shown when he kills Banquo, his best friend, so his secret is secure. He isolates himself from his wife, Lady Macbeth and does not tell her about Banquo’s murder, proving how alone Macbeth has become. When Lady Macbeth commits suicide Macbeth doesn’t show emotion instead he says “she should’ve died hereafter; there would have been a time for such a word.” His downfall can be seen in his separation from his family and friends and his lack of emotion towards…show more content… Macbeth does not wait for the prophecies to come true naturally, instead he starts thinking about killing Duncan. Banquo believes the witches are "the instruments of darkness" and that they cannot be trusted. Yet Macbeth trusts the witches and continues to seek them out to hear their prophecies. The witches were the motivation for Macbeth to start thinking about killing Duncan as demonstrated in Act 1 Scene 3 when Macbeth says “Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair" suggesting he is thinking about killing Duncan. Hence Macbeth could have ignored the witches but chose to listen to them as their prophecies aligned with his true ambition to be