In William Shakespeare's Macbeth, Macbeth's path to greatness leads to the deterioration of his character and his ultimate demise. First, he listens to the witches' prophecies, developing his ambition and unleashing his evil thoughts to disrupt the great chain of being by killing Duncan the King of Scotland. Second, he incorporates his wife's advice ("partners in greatness") to provoke and "stimulate" him into achieving his dreams, which gives him and his wife too much to handle. Finally, his paranoia about his position on the throne pushes him to betray his comrades and best friends, leading to a revolution within his army. In Shakespeare's Macbeth, Macbeth allows his great ambition to become king of Scotland to lead him to the betrayal of kingship, the death of his wife, and his brutal disappearance. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why violent video games should not be banned"? Get the original essay The prophecies of the three witches inspire Macbeth to imagine the power he will have on the throne. The three witches hailed him as the "Thane of Cawdor", making him wonder if the other prophecies about him are true. First, Macbeth and Banquo have just returned from speaking to the witches and listening to the prophecies given to them. Macbeth has an important "two truths are spoken" aside in which he has terrible thoughts about killing the king "no matter what", claiming that what happens between him and his prophecies is destined to happen. He cannot control destiny and the supernatural remains beyond his reach. He urges the stars to hide his "deep, dark desires" (making him appear deceptive). The witches had already predicted that Macbeth would ultimately become Thane of Cawdor and King. And now Macbeth is nothing more than the Thane of Glamis. Macbeth is so confused and at the same time afraid for his future. He doesn't know how such things can happen. He knows that he has no right to climb the social ladder to achieve greatness. “Being king is not in the perspective of a belief. » It is not possible for a nobleman like Macbeth to suddenly find himself without a certain chain of events. Macbeth knows that for this to happen, the king would have to be deposed. Macbeth then reflects on the possibility of the murder of the king “my thought, whose murder is nevertheless fantastic”. He moved from loyalty to the king to the will of his crown. Ross later tells him that he is the Thane of Cawdor after the ex-thane's betrayal. This means that the first part of the prophecy has come true, which makes Macbeth feel that his ambition is not just in his head, but physically possible. His skyrocketing ambition begins to unravel and he begins to think that he might actually achieve this goal. However, Macbeth still has his moral conscience and brushes aside these thoughts, showing what a good person he still is. Second, when Duncan talks about Cawdor's ex-thane, Macbeth enters the scene. Duncan mentions that Malcolm will be his heir. Macbeth has an aside saying that he knows Duncan and Malcolm are in his way. He feels like he must take destiny into his own hands to fulfill the prophecy by keeping them out of his way. Realizing that the witches are telling the truth, Macbeth feels as if his progress is his responsibility. This attitude can and will impact his behavior in the future. Macbeth feels like the prophecy is slipping away and realizes the steps he must take to overthrow Duncan. It is at this moment that the public reconsiders its ambition. Macbeth is shocked! He thought he was going to wear the crown on his head. He knows that his destiny must be to become king,for it was prophesied that he would become the "Thane of Cawdor" and he would later become so. His ambition now faces two obstacles; he must overcome them to be king. “On which I must fall, or else jump, for it lies in my path.” Either he will fail in this attempt or he will succeed. Thanks to his ambitious nature, he is willing to take a chance. He is aware of this and knows that if he wants to become king, he must kill Duncan and then kill Malcolm. Macbeth becomes so ambitious that instead of letting nature take its course and claiming the throne through natural means, he takes it upon himself to fulfill the prophecy with his might. He simply cannot pass up the opportunity and must disrupt the great chain of being. He wants to climb the ladder and violate the social boundaries accepted and put forward by God. He wants to be the best and the greatest, so much so that he considers doing the wrong thing and betraying his master. This whole scene is very ironic because Duncan describes Macbeth as a righteous man and trusts him. Indeed, Duncan cannot “find the construction of the spirit in the face.” Duncan makes the audience pathetic because he is seen as a nice person caught in a bad situation. He completes Macbeth's ambition, forcing him to take the next steps. Macbeth will use this confidence to his advantage later in the play to attempt to kill Duncan. Finally, Macbeth has a hallucination of a dagger that summons him to kill the king. Macbeth's mind is full of bloody affairs. Macbeth wants to take matters into his own hands and not leave it to fate. In the dagger monologue, the ambition he possesses leads him to hallucinate a dagger in his hand. The dagger is the result of his guilt and the “bloody business” he is about to do. His vision is blurry and it is this vision that leads him to Duncan's room. “You will show me the way.” The ambition he has clouds his vision, he changes his character and is fully prepared to take Duncan's crown. This act would finally give him peace of mind. “Sleep under the curtain”. By his ambition he would fulfill this prophecy; make the witches happy with what he is about to do. He is aware that this ambition will get him into trouble and that his life is about to change for better or worse. “I go there and it's done: the bell invites me. Don't listen to Duncan, for it is the death knell that calls you to heaven and hell. Therefore, his desire for the throne was always in his head; it was enough for someone to provoke for it to become reality. Lady Macbeth uses her strong and ambitious nature to "unsex" herself in order to give Macbeth the confidence to fulfill his prophecy. This prophecy added to their ambitious nature has harmful consequences on the character of Lady Macbeth. First, Lady Macbeth greets her husband almost like the witches, granting him the same trust. By reading the letter from her “partner in greatness”, she unleashes her motivated and strong character to help her husband conquer the throne. She is determined that he will be king. To do this, however, she says that he wouldn't cheat to win, but that he wouldn't mind winning by cheating. She appeals to evil spirits to “unsex” her because she needs to be more aggressive. She knows that this same supernatural force presents the prospect of Macbeth becoming king and can help him become powerful enough to convince her husband. She knows that deep down, Macbeth wants to carry out this act, all he needs is to be pushed in the right direction; just like the witches planted that persuasive seed in his head. However, his job makes Macbeth so angry and ruthless that he takes measures to protect his throne as much as he can. So much so that healienates his wife, resulting in a complete contrast in his character. In her soliloquy, she sent evil spirits towards Duncan to cause him misfortune. This is ironic because she is the one living in fear and Duncan is the one enjoying eternal peace. Second, she realizes her "hamartia" and quickly communicates her intention to remove anything that prevents her from acting on her temptations. He wants to progress in a non-mean way. She knows that her husband is too good to do evil (kill the king). However, she identifies her husband's tragic flaw (very ambitious), demonstrating that she knows her husband extremely well.Good. She says his face is like a book because he looks like he's about to do something unpleasant. Macbeth “looks like an innocent flower, but be the serpent beneath.” This is an allusion to the biblical story of Adam and Eve. She is seen as a courageous character, who will do anything in her power to win. This shows how hard she is willing to work to become queen. At this point, she's so ambitious; it seems she wants the prophecy to come true more than Macbeth. She reassures to remove all the doubt and fear in her head; thoughts that keep him from not getting the crown. Macbeth takes this advice and uses it to defeat all aspects of opposition to his throne. It is at this point that his moral values ​​that have made him so strong turn against him. That night, Duncan is supposed to be in their castle but he will never leave. Towards the end of the play, Lady Macbeth does not seem so happy to be queen. It becomes clear that Lady Macbeth is ultimately responsible for his disappearance. She thinks she will be completely ruthless but ultimately cannot hide her guilt. Throughout the play she mentions that being queen is not what she thought it would be. “Nothing has been done, everything is spent, where our desire is obtained without content: it is safer to be that which we destroy than to live in doubtful joy through destruction. She would rather die than feel the guilt of her actions, foreshadowing the end of the story. » Finally, Lady Macbeth questions his manhood and his desire to the point that Macbeth feels the need to prove himself for her. Macbeth has a soliloquy describing five reasons why he should not kill the king. In this soliloquy, Macbeth admits his "hamartia", that is, he is too ambitious. At the end of the soliloquy, Macbeth declares that he has no “stings.” It is ironic then that Lady Macbeth enters the scene since she will be his “goad” to commit murder. Macbeth tells his wife that “we will go no further in this matter.” Lady Macbeth knows that he must rally Macbeth to gain power. She exposes her strong nature to make him feel guilty. Lady Macbeth calls her husband a coward and tries to persuade him to kill King Duncan. She said: “Would you have what you esteem as the ornament of life, and live cowardly in your own esteem, letting “I dare not” wait for “I would,” like the poor cat in that saying. She questions his ambition and loyalty to him. When Macbeth still has doubts, she tries to move on. She begins to sketch out an enterprising detailed plan to achieve her goal. Lady Macbeth is so ambitious that she does not see how she could fail; Macbeth sees his wife's confidence and conviction. Since they are "partners in greatness", Macbeth agrees with the plan and says "I am settled", Macbeth knows he has the confidence to kill the king and carry out "the deed". However, Lady Macbeth does not have that same confidence/manliness at the end. She looks destroyed and broken. The public does not fear her but feels.