How does Shakespeare explore the corrupting power of ambition in Macbeth?
- the vaulting ambition is but empty, a desire, a greed that is harmful.
- supernatural can manipulate your ambition. they cause trouble.
- contrasts Macbeth before and after his ambition, revealing the corruption that has occurred over the play, and the dichotomy between what Macbeth is and used to be.
Contention - Shakespeare explores the corrupting power of ambition through asserting that ambition results in greed, that the supernatural will manipulate to lead you to corruption.
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Shakespeare argues that ambition is a greedy desire that will make you feel guilt and remorse.
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Shakespeare alludes that the supernatural world is evil and will use one’s ambition to manipulate them.
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Shakespeare uses the dichotomy between Macbeth before and after his ambition to demonstrate that the corrupting power of ambition leads to moral decline.
One - Shakespeare argues that ambition is a greedy desire that will make you feel guilt and remorse.
Two - Shakespeare alludes that the supernatural world is evil and will use one’s ambition to manipulate them. The supernatural world is manifested through the witches. These who “look not like the inhabitants of the earth” speak in rhymes and live on a lifeless heath, symbolising their evil nature. Shakespeare portrays the witches this way because the context of the Jacobean era motivates him to portray them this way,
Three - Shakespeare uses the dichotomy between Macbeth before and after his ambition to demonstrate that the corrupting power of ambition leas to moral decline. In the beginning, Macbeth was a brave and loyal soldier to King Duncan, a “worthy gentleman” who serves the king valiantly. An exploration of his inner thoughts shows that “to be king stands not within the prospect of belief,” which represents that he was a character of conscience. By depicting the characterisation of Macbeth before his ambition, Shakespeare makes Macbeth’s betrayal even more surprising. In contrast, Macbeth became a tyrant, one that “[hanged] those that talk of fear.” Shakespeare portrays Macbeth as a cold-blooded, heartless ruler who was a “disease” for the country, which is very different from who he was at the beginning. Through this metaphor, Shakespeare signifies that ambition can also be thought of as a disease, something that will ultimately corrupt one’s moral values. In context, Shakespeare used the story of Macbeth to warn the Jacobean audience that ambition, especially that of regicide, will lead to disastrous results.