Students strive for prolific greatness, which stems from dreams. While the desire encourages one to reach the stars, in the 1606 play The Tragedy of Macbeth, William Shakespeare demonstrates, through Lady Macbeth’s manipulation, the murder of King Duncan, and the massacre of Macduff’s family, how excessive, unchecked ambition leads to the moral corruption of an individual.
Lady Macbeth sparks Macbeth’s ambition, exploiting his fascination with the witches’ prophecy to provoke his violent pursuit of the Scottish throne. First, she begins by questioning his masculinity. Upon learning the three witches’ initial prophecy, impatient Lady Macbeth seizes the opportunity to attack the vulnerable, confused Macbeth by questioning if “the hope [was] drunk / Wherein you dressed yourself?” And further calling him “a coward in thine own esteem, / Letting ‘I dare not’ wait upon ‘I would,’ / Like the poor cat i’ the adage” (Shakespeare 16-17). Along with personification, the positive connotation of ‘hope’ cleverly covers the covetous, morbid (but alluring) fantasy to slaughter the humble King of Cawdor, Duncan. As Lady Macbeth insults Macbeth’s masculinity by calling him a ‘coward,’ the contrast between the simple-structure statements ‘I dare not’ and ‘I would’ amplifies Macbeth’s sense of inadequacy, manipulating him to prove his worth by acting on his fantasy, regardless of the cost.
Next, Lady Macbeth utilizes violent language to attack Macbeth. As Lady Macbeth continues persuading Macbeth to murder King Duncan, she starts to become impatient and threatens Macbeth, using an innocent baby, that “while it was smiling in my face, / Have pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums, / And dash’d the brains out” (17). The juxtaposition of the innocent baby contrasts grotesquely with the brutal act of infanticide, illustrates Lady Macbeth’s use of violent imagery to attack the vulnerable Macbeth. Lady Macbeth’s sibilance evokes a sinister, serpentine quality, biblically associating her with the devil and tempting Macbeth like Jesus Christ. From this threat, Macbeth starts to seriously consider murdering Duncan, marking the beginning development of Macbeth’s unchecked ambition, and eventual moral corruption.
Furthermore, Macbeth’s moral corruption solidifies in his murder of King Duncan, a violent rupture of loyalty driven by unchecked ambition. As King Duncan dies, nature starts to become out of control. In the old tales, the health of the king is typically connected with the surrounding nature. Therefore, moments after the murder, “[Lady Macbeth] heard the owl scream and the crickets cry” (22). The owl’s scream—a traditional omen of death—symbolizes the unnatural violence enacted upon Duncan, illustrating the consequences of his unchecked ambition. Shakespeare employs pathetic fallacy here, weaponizing nature’s chaos to mirror Macbeth’s fractured psyche and the destabilization of the kingdom.
Moreover, Macbeth’s guilt manifests in his obsessive fixation on the blood staining his hands. After murdering Duncan, Macbeth stares at his hands and cries, “What hands are here? ha! they pluck out mine eyes! / Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand?” (23). The visceral imagery of blood, a recurring symbol of guilt, reflects Macbeth’s psychological unfolding. The hyperbolic reference to Neptune’s ocean, the Roman god of sea, illustrates the futility of cleansing his conscience, and the graveness of his corrupted deed. The utilization of rhetorical questions emphasizes Macbeth’s spiraling desperation, as he confronts the permanence of his moral corruption. This moment marks Macbeth’s transition from doubt to complicity, as his obsession with ‘washing’ his bloody hands becomes a futile attempt to escape the consequences of his ambition.
Consumed by moral decay, Macbeth’s unchecked fantasy becomes excessive as he slaughters Macduff’s family. Now a tyrannical ruler, Macbeth clings to his throne through senseless brutality. When assassins storm Macduff’s castle, his young son—a symbol of pure vulnerability—gasps his final words: “He has killed me, mother. / Run away, I pray you!” (59). The child’s fragmented, panicked dialogue reflects the chaos of Macbeth’s moral corruption. The address to ‘mother’ underscores the destruction of familial bonds, illustrating the graveness of his morality.
Finally, Macbeth’s tyrannical mindset hardens as he dismisses loyalty and embraces tyranny. After ordering the massacre of Macduff’s family, Macbeth confronts the fleeing thanes with an audacious declaration: “Then fly, false thanes, And mingle with the English epicures. / The mind I sway by and the heart I bear Shall never sag with doubt nor shake with fear” (73). His scornful reference to ‘English epicures’—a classic insult associating English with greedy indulgence—highlights his contempt for political opposition. The alliteration in ‘sway’ and ‘sag’ evokes a serpentine hiss, mirroring Lady Macbeth’s evil manipulation. His rejection of fear and doubt—once humanization traits—signals the completion of his moral decay, as he weaponizes ambition to justify his corrupted deeds.
In Macbeth, Shakespeare illustrates how unbridled ambition, once unleashed from the bounds of morality, devours the soul. Through Lady Macbeth’s venomous manipulation, the betrayal of King Duncan, and the merciless slaughter of Macduff’s kin, Macbeth’s tragic arc illustrates the devastating consequences of greedy ambition. While the idea of ‘ambition’ or rather, in modern times, the American Dream, may appear glorious and worth striving for, it is worth realizing that taking care of oneself is far more important. Not only through Shakespeare’s Macbeth support this principle, but F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic novella The Great Gatsby exemplifies the consequences of unchecked American Dream. Therefore, before striving to a conceptual goal, build a strong, healthy foundation first.