Macbeths_Ruin

Macbeth’s Ruin Macbeth is a tragic play about a noble warrior who lets his ambition ultimately control his life. Macbeth’s ambition for personal gain causes him to lose sight of reality. This is evidenced by the fact that, Macbeth begins to only accept ideas that will benefit himself on the way to the throne. Near the end he ultimately becomes self-centered and loses all feelings towards others as a need for power and fulfillment. Thus, Macbeth’s tragic flaw, ambition, causes his downfall into despair and madness. Macbeth’s ambition causes his reality to seemingly be twisted. In the beginning, when the witches present the three prophesies to Macbeth, they do it in a way that he would misinterpret them. Although this was done intentionally as the witches wanted to create evil, if Macbeth’s ambition was kept under control, he might possibly have been able to properly interpret the message. The first apparition was an armed head telling him to beware of Macduff. Even though Macbeth took this as a warning, it was really Macbeth whose head had been severed by Macduff. The second apparition that came to Macbeth was a bloody child that claimed; “none born of a woman shall harm Macbeth” (4.1.79-80). This made Macbeth feel invincible in that nobody could possibly harm him. Unfortunately for Macbeth, Macduff “was from his mother’s womb untimely ripped” (3.8.16-17) meaning he was born from a c-section. Macbeth was ignorant and did not consider this an appropriate option as in the end, Macduff kills Macbeth. The third apparition was a child crowned with a tree: “Macbeth shall never be vanquished until Great Birnam wood to Dunsaine hill shall come against him (4.1.92-92). Macbeth believed it was impossible for the forest growth to reach his home during his lifetime. Unfortunately, Malcolm’s infantry arrived at Macbeth’s home with branches to make it appear as if in fact the forest had encroached upon the castle. Macbeth’s inability to distinguish reality from fantasy resulted in his ultimate demise as Macbeth only saw what benefited him. This distorted sense of ambition changed Macbeth’s perception as he only accepted ideas that would benefit him becoming king. Along with Macbeth’s reality, his judgment was also twisted as he never quite knew when to stop. When Macbeth first meets with the witches they tell him he is to be Thane of Cawdor and King as well. He quickly becomes eager to learn more; this is shown when he says “stay you imperfect speakers, tell me more” (4.1.79-80). When Macbeth is presented with the title of Thane of Cawdor and realizes it’s all true, his need to be king is even greater. He sees only murder as a way of obtaining this title: “why do I yield that suggestion, whose horrid image doth unfix my hair and make my seated heart knock at my ribs” (1.3.134-136). This quote shows murder is not intentional but uncontrollable. He cannot be happy with the fact that he is Thane of Cawdor, but now needs to become King. In order to attain this, he murders Duncan. Once king, he realizes he has no son to continue his line of reign, but Banquo does. This results in feelings of insecurity and seen as a threat. He initiates both the murders of Banquo and his son, so that their line will never become king. Banquo was once a close friend to Macbeth, but the power and ambition were overpowering and he wouldn’t let anything stop him. Even when Macbeth was the slightest bit suspicious of Macduff, he decides action must be taken. He murders Macduff’s whole family to show his power over them. In the end, revenge is taken on Macbeth’s actions, and Malcolm falls into his rightful place as king. If Macbeth hadn’t let his ambition to obtain the title of King then perhaps he would still be Thane of Cawdor, and wouldn’t be left with nothing at all. Towards the end of the play Macbeth’s ambition causes his self involvement as he only thinks of his personal gain. As example, Macbeth becomes cruel and insensitive as evidenced through his relationships with others, especially that of Lady Macbeth. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth sent Lady Macbeth a letter asking for her opinion: “Lay it to the heart: (1.5.11) said Macbeth. This shows how much her opinion means to him. But when it comes time to murder Duncan, Lady Macbeth puts her husband’s doubts to rest. She does not believe he is brave enough to be king, so she insults his manhood to build up his courage. Essentially, Lady Macbeth was the master mind of the murder, given her powerful personality. As the play continues on, Macbeth isolates himself, and Lady Macbeth asks, “How now my lord' Why do you keep alone'” (3.2.9). Towards the end, when Lady Macbeth dies, he is extremely insensitive, and doesn’t care much at all. He even insinuated that her death was not convenient, because now was not a suitable time for him. This is shown when he says; “There would have been time for such a word” (act5.sc5.In18). Banquos death was also due to loss of emotion. His insensitivity towards others caused his self involvement. He loses the ones he loves, because he was so focused on his own success. Since Macbeth was so determined to obtain the title of King, his ambition got in the way of his relationships and caused a loss of all emotions towards others which ultimately left him with no one to care for him. Macbeths tragic flaw was the cause for his downfall into despair and madness. Macbeths reality was seemingly distorted as he saw things that only favoured himself. His judgement causes him to make bad decisions because he never quite knew when to stop. The need to fulfill his ambition took over his life, causing him to be very self involved. Personal gain is the only thing on his mind an dnothing could stop him. All these traits that Macbeth acquired were due to his uncontrollable ambition that grew to the point of death. Bibliography Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. New York: Washington Press, 1992