In the play Macbeth there is no single central theme that dominates over others throughout the play. There is however some very important themes that stand out and continue throughout the play to develop the story. Namely there are the important themes of Good and Evil, Greed and Power, Guilt, Fear and Ambition. These particular themes stand out from the many other themes portrayed in Shakespeare's play, Macbeth and can be looked at closely to help understand the meanings behind the play.
The theme of ambition is very important in this play, and it is obvious that Macbeth is the most ambitious of all the characters, although Lady Macbeth is also very ambitious. The witches and their prophecies, combined with the influence of Lady Macbeth, all play a big part on Macbeth's ambition until he finally gives in and kills Duncan. At first Macbeth was a very loyal character and would never have even thought of murdering his king. But Macbeths ambition is what let him down as he gave in to the influences of his wife and the witches. If it weren't for his ambition Macbeth would have lived out his happy life under the control of his king, but it was his ambition that lead to his sadness and death.
Good and evil is the driving force behind the play and are both present throughout but one dominates as the play develops. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth both have good and evil within them but it is evil that usually conquered over good. When Lady Macbeth pushed Macbeth to murder Duncan, her "evil" side was conquering his "good" side. In this way evil triumphed over good. Throughout the play, we see Macbeth and his wife in a constant struggle between the "good" and "evil" within themselves. Macbeth started out as good but soon became filled with evil which dominated his character and then made him obsessed with greed and power.
Because of greed, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth want more power. Throughout the play their greed for power quickly engulfed their minds to the point where they could not settle for anything less than complete power over Scotland.
