Lady Macbeth's Ambition

Ambition is the strong desire to achieve a goal. It is often the driving force in one's life. However, individuals can be blinded by great ambition. This idea of the impact of ambition is often explored in literature. In the play, Macbeth, the playwright William Shakespeare suggests that one's ambitions can hinder one's life as well as the individuals around him or her.

Lady Macbeth's ambitions lead to her demise as well as to the people around her. For instance, her strong desire and ambition to be the queen makes her corrupt with evil that hinders her life. This is evident when she recognizes immediately that murdering Duncan is the only way of attaining her goal. Lady Macbeth calls on the evil spirits, saying, "Come, you spirits That tend …show more content…
Lady Macbeth's wish establishes what ambition can do to an individual. After murdering Duncan, Lady Macbeth succumbs to her guilty conscience and not only does she hinder her life, she ends it. Furthermore, Lady Macbeth loses her sanity and health due to her ruthless ambitions. This is evident when she begins to sleepwalk and speak to herself, saying, "Out, damn'd spot! out, I say!—One; two: why, then 'tis time to do't." Lady Macbeth begins hallucinating about Duncan's blood on her hands and attempts to remove the blood and the guilt of her evil deeds. Her ambition to become the Crown allows her to act in such ways that hinder her life, causing her to plunge into insanity. Moreover, Lady Macbeth's ambition to become the queen impacts her husband, Macbeth, significantly. She cannot become the queen without her husband becoming the king. Therefore, she urges her husband mercilessly to kill Duncan even when he does not want to. This is proven when she tells Macbeth, "Wouldst thou have that Which thou esteem’st the ornament of life, And live a …show more content…
For instance, his ambition for power causes him to lose his moral constraints and humanity. Macbeth begins to believe that he can maintain his power through murdering anyone that stands in his path. He has no morality governing his actions. This is evident when Macbeth decides to assassinate Banquo and his child, Fleance, because he does not want them to take his throne. Murdering a child and a friend that did not harm him displays how Macbeth loses his humanity and moral values because of his ambitions. He becomes power hungry and paranoid, which then leads him to his ultimate demise. Similarly, Macbeth's strong desire to stay in power allows him to believe the witches' prophecies and as a consequence, become over confident and fearless. Macbeth becomes under the impression that it is physically impossible to defeat him. This is evident when Hecate tells the witches, "He shall spurn fate, scorn death, and bear His hopes 'bove wisdom, grace, and fear. And you all know, securityIs mortals' chiefest enemy." They recognize that their prophecies will make Macbeth overconfident. They also say that overconfidence is a man's greatest enemy which foreshadows that Macbeth will destroy himself. This is indicated when Macduff beheads him after Macbeth blinded with overconfidence, says, "I bear a charmed life, which must not yield to one of woman born." His ruthless ambition to keep the Crown blinds him of the