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When Did Macbeth's Ambition To Become A Good Man

Decent Essays

In the play Macbeth by Shakespeare, Macbeth in the beginning of the play is a well-respected, honorable soldier on battles, and off battles. With his highly praised reputation, Macbeth also has high ambitions, ambitions to become a king by replacing Duncan. However, his ambitions negatively influences him throughout the play and dramatically changes him. Although Macbeth is a good man initially, his ambitions to become a king leads him to become an inhumane tyrant at the end of the play, suggesting to the readers that ambitions can lead to a disaster. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is illustrated as a brave soldier with kindness. When King Duncan talks to an injured captain about the battles in the beginning, the captain describes …show more content…

About the murder of Duncan, Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth that he is “his kinsman and his subject” and Duncan “hath been / So clear in his great office, that his virtues / Will plead like angels” (1,7,13; 17-19). Thus, not wanting to kill Duncan for his own good. However, Lady Macbeth provokes Macbeth, as well his ambitions, to stand up like a man and take the chance. She tells him “Was the hope drunk...When you durst do it, then you were a man” (1,7,39; 56). Lady Macbeth’s criticism causes Macbeth to kill Duncan, and become the king of Scotland. Macbeth’s murder of Duncan clearly demonstrates his change in that, now, he is being selfish in that he killed Duncan to become a king, which would give him higher honors. Then, after killing Duncan, Macbeth forgets the feeling of sympathy and kills more people to secure his position as the king. He kills Banquo, who was his dearest friend, for Banquo figuring out Macbeth is the murderer, and also kills Macduff’s family since Macduff, who was also Macbeth’s fellow nobleman, has gone to England to fight against Macbeth. Furthermore, he does not feel any kind of sorrowness when he hears about Lady Macbeth’s death, only saying “She should have died hereafter” (5.5.20).” That is very cold of him since he does not even sympathize about his own wife’s death. Therefore, it is noticeable that Macbeth has completely changed from he was in the beginning, but the exact opposite. Macbeth, at the end, has become an cruel, senseless murderer that only cares about himself due to his ambitions to become a king taking over his

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