Macbeth's Ambition

The Duke’s jealousy and ego make for a deadly combination, shown in this quote which implies that it was he that caused the death of his last duchess. He could not control her the way he wished to in life, so in fact he made the decision to control her in death – that is, to make the decision, ‘give the command’, to end her life. If he could not be the only one to receive that smile of hers, he would make sure that no one else would ever be able to receive it either, nor her be able to give it. The Duke shows a very strict guideline that he expects his wife to follow; if she does not follow the guideline he sets, if she does not only have eyes for him (or at least, in his opinion anyways), then when he attempts to reel her back in through his own reign of control it may not end very well. The Duke is clearly a very dangerous man to be around should a person challenge the way he believes to be right, their fate will surely follow the same as his former wife.

He probably thinks it’s the Duchess own fault for her death because he was very annoyed with her attitude towards everything and couldn’t tell her. “Who’d stoop to blame this sort of trifling?” (Browning30) Even thought he is so bothered by her behavior he thinks he shouldn’t have to lower himself to talk to her about it. There was lack of communication in their marriage and he never expressed his feelings about his wives demeanor to her, due to his poor communication skills. As he stated: “Even had you skill In speech – (which I have not) – to make your will Quite clear to such an one, and say, "Just this Or that in you disgusts me; here you miss, Or there exceed the mark" – and if she let Herself be lessoned so, nor plainly set Her wits to yours, forsooth, and made excuse, E’en then would be some stooping; and I choose Never to stoop.” (Browning 40) In this the murderer arrogantly states what he wanted from her and how he had no “Skills in speech” in which to tell the Duchess but he clearly tells the envoy how he feels, so he is clearly lying to the

On the contrary, Lady Macbeth begins as a ruthless woman. She has a manipulative and controlling character, convincing Macbeth to kill King Duncan; she will do anything to gain power. When she says, “How tender ‘tis to love the babe…I would, while it was smiling in my face, have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums and dashed the brains out” (I.vii. 55-58), she shows her ruthlessness and her “bad” ambition. In her “role reversal” with Macbeth, she gains somewhat of a conscience and realizes her guilt. When she tells him, “You must leave this” (III. ii. 35), she wants Macbeth to forget about his plan to murder Banquo’s family. She is very hesitant about committing another murder and does not want Macbeth to follow through with his plan.

Macbeth is truly loved by the king, as the speaker reveals in act 1. Now one may ask, what is Macbeth's tragic mistake? He is an ambitious man who is willing to do what is best for the country. But almost right after hearing the witches' prophecy, he contemplates the king's end. There are instances where he is having a tug of war with his conscience. He wants be the emperor. But in order to do that, he has to kill the king; but his wife ends up killing the king. Later in the story Macbeth can be identified as a liar also to get his wife out of the blame of murder. But the tragic part plays into the story after Macbeth is crowned king. Many more actions from Macbeth show the negativity that has built up in the hero. He has the wisdom and restraint to stagger in his ambitious drives. But no, Evil waits patiently in the wings as good distorts. Perhaps Shakespeare wanted to show that man is in conflict with himself against the force of evil in his own heart and that evil has many faces. The monster identified here would be Macbeth’s guilt. This guilt ate up the person he was before and made him grow restless until his death.

Lady Macbeth is such a jealous, intelliagent and in particular manipulative individual she will persevere relentlessly to get what she wants, as she is completely fit for accomplishing it.

In The Tragedy of Macbeth, written by the playwright William Shakespeare, a Scottish nobleman betrays his conscience to gain power and eventually meets his downfall. Macbeth, the Scottish nobleman, blindly follows his ambitions to his rise to royalty, and ultimately, his dishonorable demise. His decisions affect the nature of his and other characters’ relationships with one another. The many relationships based on marriage, family, and loyalty are all tested by the decisions of the characters involved.

Macbeth and Lady Macbeth began with love and ended in love. Through all the bad endings and the terrible events that happened, they ended with Macbeth loving his wife after she passed away. Even though they had their falling out, he stilled held her and kissed her and loved her. She understand what happened to him and did not let go of him. Most people in her shoes would have walked out the door, or would have an affair.

Jealousy took over the Duke. He never openly accused the Duchess nb of cheating but, in a way, insinuated it. He was under the impression that many man were impressed by her: "The bough of cherries some officious fool/ Broke in the orchard for her" (27-28). This sounded as if men often gave her gifts and it made the Duke furious because he thought that men were attracted to her. I interpreted this as meaning that he thought she was a little to flirtatious: "All and each would draw from her alike the approving speech,/ or blush at least" (29-31). Duke found these faults in her to be too hard to bare so it seems he arranged her death: "Oh sir, she smiled no doubt,/ when're I passed her, but who passed without,/ much the same smile?...all smiles stopped (43-46). These lines definitely show his jealousy and rage and give us the idea that he arranged her death.

Lady Macbeth is unlike the women of her time. Her dominant personality and commanding tone differ from the culture of the Renaissance period where a common theme for women was to be seen but not heard. Men thought women were inferior in society, and a multitude of ladies were expected to take on humble occupations with no hope of furthering their education or job position. Leadership and the ability to make decisions concerning life and welfare were left up to the men (Cloud 1). Lady Macbeth challenges this belief in her ambition to be queen and her manipulative tactics to make sure such a goal is accomplished.

Indeed, it quickly becomes clear that the Duke disliked many things about his dead wife. The Duke dislikes how the Duchess liked everything that she saw, believing that she was “too easily impressed; she liked whate’er she looked on”. It disappoints him because he wanted to impress her with his marriage to her and also with his money and lifestyle. What annoyed the Duke most was that:

Lady Macbeth can be said to be one of Shakespeare's most famous and frightening female characters. She fulfills her role among the nobility and is well respected, like Macbeth. She is loving, yet very determined that her husband will be king. At the beginning of the play, when she is first seen, she is already plotting the murder of Duncan, showing more strength, ruthlessness, and ambition than Macbeth. She lusts after power and position and then pressures her husband into killing Duncan. Upon receiving the letter with the witches' prophecies from her husband, she begins to think and knowing that Macbeth lacks the courage for something like this, she calls upon the forces of evil to help her do what must be

Shakespeare’s characterization of Macbeth and his consequences reveals his warning about ambitions and its downfalls. Macbeth begins as a noble man who’s ambition ruins him and his true self, leading to his inevitable death. In Act I, Shakespeare presents Macbeth as an accomplished man whose lust for more is fueled by his wife’s ambitions. At this point in the play, Lady Macbeth commonly challenges his masculinity to drive his ambition to kill King Duncan and acclaim the throne of Scotland: “Art thou afeard to be the same in thine own act and valour as thou art desire?” (P. 29). Conversely, by Act III, Macbeth’s ambition is self-driven because of the prophecy making him loses his sense of morality, and become corrupt. One such action is the murder of Banquo, Macbeth’s “noble partner” (P. 17): “Who wear our health but sickly in his life, which his death were prefect” (P. 56). Banquo’s murder serves as the beginning of Macbeth’s crumbling edifice, as for each murder he commits, he falls deeper into the world of deception.

The monologue-styled poem “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning, consisted of the Duke of Ferrara explaining to the representative of his next potential wife’s father of what happened to his “Last Duchess”. Apparently, his recent Duchess was a very happy person who was kind to all she came into contact with. The Duke, an extremely jealous and controlling man, did not approve of his wife’s kindness so put an end to it --permanently. Prior to his Duchess’ untimely death, the Duke had Fra Pandolf paint a magnificent portrait of his Duchess; then hides the portrait behind a curtain so he could always control who she smiled at for the rest of time. The underlining theme of “My Last Duchess” was Domestic Violence and proved a prime example of how

In the dramatic monologue, “My Last Duchess” Robert Browning tells of a Duke that murdered his wife because she was easily pleased by the advances of other men. In the poem, the Duke is the speaker and is guiding a guest through his home until they come across a portrait of the Duchess. Through the Duke’s speech, it is obviously that he is a very prideful person and cares a lot for his wealth. Due to his wealth and status, he has become arrogant and demanding. When he desires are not fulfilled he will go to the extreme and kill someone.

The dramatic monologue “My Last Duchess” was penned down by Robert Browning. In this poem, the narrator is the Duke of Ferrara, and the listener is the count’s agent, through whom the Duke is arranging the proposed marriage to a second duchess. The poem is ironical and reveals its rhetorical sense, gradually. In the later part of the poem, the Duke claims that he does not have a skill in speech, but his monologue is a masterpiece of subtle rhetoric. While supposedly entertaining the listener by showing his wife’s portrait, he clearly reveals his character. Through his formalized tone of rhyme, he reveals his egoistic and jealous attitude.