How does Macbeth's ambition lead him to his tragic demise?.
How seriously detrimental would be the actions of a single person need to be, to have had all those around him turn against, conspire and despise him? What ambition or motivation must be possessed to carry out such heinous acts with such obvious catastrophic consequences? Macbeth was one who had written the chapters of his own life with the weight of growing ambition upon his shoulders and his crumbling morality at his feet, this being what led him to his tragic demise.
"All hail Macbeth! Hail to thee Thane of Cawdor!" "All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!" Would it be inaccurate to assume that if prophesised that you were to be king and have an entire country at your disposal, that you would not crave and develop an insatiable desire and ambition to be so? This weakness in human nature and flaw of character had slowly begun its consumption of Macbeth, which had ultimately already begun to drive his ambition to unimaginable peaks. Once the "three weird sisters" had prophesised that Macbeth were to not only to be the Thane of Cawdor, but to also be the ruler of his own country, it were to Macbeth an unrealistic dream. However, after the first prophecy was fulfilled as reality, it was only human that Macbeth hoped and willed that he too should become king as it were prophesised. This seed of hope and ambition that lay planted within Macbeth's mind by the three sisters began to flourish and grow. This small hope led to greater ambitions, this seed of ambition was the beginning of Macbeth's tragic end.
"If chance will have me king, then chance may crown me, without my stir" This stated by Macbeth himself, clearly illustrates that the level of his ambition to be king, was far from being sufficiently elevated to claim the life of King Duncan for his title. Yet, Macbeth having shared the news of the prophecies with his wife, it then became her vaulting ambition to crown her husband king, so it was then she who held the sovereignty and title of queen.