A Tragedy of Ambition — A Philosophical Exploration of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”
Macbeth explores the destructive power of ambition and the descent into immorality. The play follows the titular character Macbeth, a valiant Scottish general, who is manipulated by witches and his own ruthless wife, Lady Macbeth, into murdering King Duncan in the effort to seize the throne. Both Macbeth and his wife formulate a plan in going through with this act and they succeed. However this is not the only crime that Macbeth committs. He actually turns into a serial killer, murdering countless others in cold-blood. The play explores the corrputive influences of power. Once crowned king, Macbeth becomes increasingly paranoid and ruthless. He orders the murders of Banquo and Macduff’s family, desperate to cling to his ill-gotten throne. These actions highlight the play’s central theme: the devastating consequences of unchecked ambition.
Initially, Macbeth is riddled with doubt and internal conflict. He struggles with coming to terms with both ambition and morality. However, Lady Macbeth’s unwavering ambition and manipulative tactics ultimately push him towards regicide.
The witches, or Weird Sisters, play a crucial role in the tragedy. Their prophecies plant the seed of ambition in Macbeth’s mind, setting the stage for his downfall. However, the play suggests that the witches merely present possibilities, not predetermined fates. This means that overall it is Macbeth’s own choices that drive him towards his tragic end.
Shakespeare portrays Macbeth’s transformation from a loyal warrior to a tyrannical king. When Angus says:
“Constant rebellions remind of his betrayal: Those he orders come at his orders. [But] not out of faithfulness.”
It is a change of how people have come to percieve their king. He went from being trusted to instead being hated and feared.
In conclusion, Macbeth presents a battle of swordplay with good versus evil. It’s thrilling story and narrative not only portrays the beauty of storytelling, it also comes with the reminder that all human beings are flawed and ultimately, it is our own choices that determine our future. We can be influenced by both people and circumstances alike, but it is, at the end of the day, our choices that determine the outcomes of our actions.
There is the comment within the prose that human beings can easily fall into the allure of ambition and through that commit crimes that they might not have seen themselves commit. There is this very thought-provocative quote from Malcolm where he says, in the last act;
“The tyrant was once considered to be honorable… Even the noblest may give way […] Angels are white, though the best among them fell, [Lucifer]. Even if evil looks like good, what is good remains the same.”
It is essentially a reminder that metaphorically points out the fact that human beings are flawed. Anyone can become a criminal, anyone can become power-hungry if we fail to consider how our actions impact other people. Criminals can walk among us and get away with things for far too long before they are eventually captured and even the kindest among us is not protected against what we might perceive as “immoral acts”. Through Macbeth, Shakespeare might be asking us to look deep into ourselves to really ask the question “What motivates someone to commit a crime and why?” Perhaps he even wants us to sympathize with people who are driven my their own ambition to do something “bad” and this aspect of humanity is one I think we can spend a lot of time pondering on.
I obviously don’t have the answer to this complex question, but through Macbeth we can see how ambition can drive a man towards murder and so, setting high expectations and goals for ourselves may not always be positive. Maybe it could be helpful for us to ask these deeper questions of “Why?” and “How does my actions impact the people around me?”
In conclusion, this is just food for thought.
