Characters of conscience have one fatal weakness: ambition. To what extent do you agree?
- Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have conscience. But their ambition is evil because it drives them towards evil.
- The supernatural uses their ambition to manipulate and deceive them.
- Ambition is a fatal weakness for conscience.
- Shakespeare shows the conscience through guilt, but how greed can cause bad things.
Contention: Shakespeare portrays ambition as a fatal weakness for characters of conscience, and reveals the greed and guilt that result from excess ambition.
- Abstract - Even one with conscience can be influenced by ambition. It is their greatest weakness because it can be manipulated to drive them towards evil. However, they have another weakness: deception. Its nature causes the truth to be concealed, paving the path for evil and darkness.
One: Shakespeare reveals that even a character of conscience can be easily influenced by ambition. Throughout the play, Macbeth is one such character whose ambition has led them to commit evil deeds and ultimately cause their downfall. Initially, Macbeth is portrayed as a loyal soldier for King Duncan, a “valiant cousin” who not only was a bright and courageous man, but also loyal to his king. For him, “to be king stands not within the prospect of belief,” which represents his loyalty towards the king, and signifies that his conscience prevented him from doing evil. Macbeth’s original characteristics are portrayed this way to demonstrate how his morality decayed progressively, making his act of regicide even more shocking. These characteristics are short-lived,