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Ambition in Macbeth
of one man opened the flood gates for a litany of other murders he felt he needed to commit. He orders the killing of Banquo and Fleance, both of whom were once dear to him. It is as if his ambition is blinding him of his wrong-doings. One can look at Macbeth’s actions after his murder of Duncan and see that he is clearly headed on a path towards disaster, derived from one source: his ambition.
It is fair to say that Macbeth’s actions in the latter parts of the play stem from a sort of madness that has consumed him. It is a madness that has derived from guilt of killing Duncan, paranoia of getting caught, and, most shockingly, a need to protect what he has wrongfully acquired: the throne. His actions are clearly driven by the fact that he wants to keep his place on the throne. Instead of being remorseful of his actions, he is much more worried that he himself will be murdered because of his dastardly deed. This is obviously not the thought process of a noble main, which clearly indicates that Macbeth has lost, to some extent, his sanity.
Through all these things, one can clearly see that Macbeth is headed on a path for disaster; a path started, and forcefully driven, by his ambition. His ambition drove him to kill Duncan so he could acquire the throne. His ambition then drove him to order the murders of Banquo and Fleance. Through that process alone, one could say that Macbeth’s ambition did lead to his downfall. However, even more disastrous than the external consequences of his ambition were his internal consequences. Macbeth’s ambition was constantly putting him in a struggle between right and wrong. Macbeth finally lost this battle, and succumbed to the evil side of his ambition. Being the successful, proud, and noble warrior that he was, maybe this loss of what was good inside of him was the root of Macbeth’s insanity. One will never know, but it can be said that Macbeth’s ambition, whether through his actions or through his own internal degradation, did ultimately lead to his demise.