Macbeth: How Ambition Can Destroy A Man Essay, Research Paper

Macbeth is presented as a mature man enjoying an enviable reputation.

throughout this Shakespearean play, however, Macbeth s emotions change

drastically. His abilities in battle are stupendous, yet his abilities as a husband and

King are on the contrary. His overvaulting ambitions overcome his morality, and

lead him to do the evil deeds that he commits during his reign.

Macbeth s prophecies begin with his encounter with the three evil women,

the witches. They put the thought into his mind that if he were to kill Duncan, he

himself may become king. When Lady Macbeth found out about this, she liked the

idea of becoming a queen. She uses many techniques throughout the first act to

convince him to execute the King, including questioning his manhood. He appears

to be a very strong individual before all of this occurred, being very stable mentally

and being a hero in the eyes of his countrymen on the battlefield. All of this changes

as the play progresses.

The angel on one of his shoulders is telling him how kind this male ruler

has been to him and the country of Scotland. The little greedy devil on his other

shoulder that wants to be King finally overcomes the angel. His mind finally

warrants him the justification to kill King Duncan. He has deep regret for what he

has done shortly thereafter. The murder of the King is the first to slowly break down

his now fragile emotional state. He feels that after murdering the King, he has given

his mind and soul to those evil and demonic forces which are the enemy of mankind.

It seems as though he is addicted to a drug; he must kill those who oppose

him or those who (he feels) will do him harm in the future, yet he does not enjoy

this. He is hooked on this drug and he knows it; however, he cannot stop until he

is happy. He gains no satisfying peace because his conscience still obliges him to

recognize the negative qualities of evil and the negative results of evil action. The

individual who once prized mutable goods in the form of respect and admiration

from those about him has now lost his sensitivity towards good and evil. His

conscience is numbed, and he has almost reached a peace with himself, being

morally obsolescent from what is really going on. The environment that he is subject

to is continually being intensified, until his final encounter with Macduff ends

everything.

Macbeth is a man who I believe could have been a great King if he had

waited until Duncan s natural death. He had strong morals and character before his

evil side suddenly took over. Lady Macbeth couldn t handle what was going on –

what she helped start – and she took her own life. Malcom became King, and as I

imagine, did a pretty good job at it. Macbeth, by the time of his death, was so

psychologically temperamental, he was capable of doing any conceivable evil. This

is what makes Macbeth one of Shakespeare’s most mysterious tragedies.