Ambition

Ambition

In William Shakespeare's Macbeth, Macbeth's greatest and worst attribute, also known as his tragic flaw, is ambition. It leads him to a high position of power, but also in the end leads to his guilty downfall and destruction.

From the beginning of the play, ambition is shown as a positive quality. For instance, when King Duncan's army, led by Macbeth and Banquo, defeat the rebels. Macbeth reveals his flaw when fighting fearlessly, risking his own life to save his country. He is seen as a strong soldier who is loyal and courageous, a true hero. Duncan refers Macbeth as the "worthiest cousin." King Duncan then praises Macbeth and cannot reward him enough for all he has done. For example, "More is thy due than more than all can pay." (I, IV, 21) Through Macbeth's ambition as a soldier, he earns a ranked position with high power, as shown when made Thane Of Cawdor. Sadly though, his reign of power and ambition will corrupt his morals. With power comes responsibility and too much power crushes his responsibility and his morals became foggy with the help of Lady Macbeth.

In addition to ambition in the beginning of the play as a positive, there's also a negative to it. Three witches on a heath promised Macbeth three things. He would be Than of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor and eventually the King of Scotland. His ambition and greed began to show as he orders the witches, "Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more." This exemplifies how he's interested in what they had to tell him. Since his prophecies came true, he started to fantasize in a world of make believe. If he wasn't so ambitious to strive for more power, he would of blown off the witches, knowing they were demons. Instead, he chose a route that would surely lead to his downfall.

Furthermore, ambition trails Macbeth throughout the whole play. This is revealed in a metaphor he uses in his soliloquy"