MACBETH - AMBITION

bullet pointed version of ambition, original cn be found in misc

“That no compunctious visitings of nature shake my fell purpose nor keep peace between Th’effect and it.”

• Lady Macbeth here is talking about her purpose of killing the king

• relates to ambition as she keeps chasing the purpose, even at the detriment of human kindness

• so power drives her to evil.

“When we have marked with blood those sleepy two Of his own chamber, and used their very daggers, That they have done’t?”

• Macbeth referring to the murder plot

• the most obvious example of ambition driving someone towards evil since he is planning to kill the king and blame the guards.

• would be seen as especially horrible back then, since it's the king

• so Shakespeare is setting Macbeth up to be hated, and showing how his relentless ambition has led him to evil.

“but only Vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself And falls on th’other” / “that is a step On which I must fall down, or else o’erleap, For in my way it lies”

• word ‘o’erleap’ can refer to two things.

• to leap over and across, like the quote says

• can also refer to defeating oneself by going too far, foreshadowing for what is to come

• he is going too far in his ambition and defeating himself

“And fill me from the crown to toe topfull Of direst cruelty”

• In Lady Macbeth’s pursuit of ambition, she isn’t just shunning kindness she is literally asking to be filled from head to toe with cruelty.

• also, her referencing the crown keeps in mind what she’s doing everything for: to be the queen, showing how her ambition is leading to this

“Too full o’th’milk of human kindness”

• Lady Macbeth was talking about Macbeth’s ambition, she admits he is ambitious however he is too kind.

• milk is usually associated with kindness and wholesomeness, and ambition is being diluted by this milk

• he is too kind so cannot be properly ambitious

“Art not without ambition, but without The illness should attend it.”

• Macbeth has ambition however to Lady Macbeth he doesn’t have the evil that should go along with it

• this shows how ambition by itself is not going to be enough for Macbeth, but it’s the only thing he has

• Lady Macbeth has a genuine evil behind what she does, Macbeth just wants power, and that isn’t enough because he may not want to do evil acts to fulfil it

“I have no spur To prick the sides of my intent, but only Vaulting ambition” / “strong both against the deed”

• Lady Macbeth has evil, but Macbeth doesn’t choose evil on its own, he chooses just ambition that leads to evil.

• He doesn’t want to kill the king for any political reasons, or because he’s bloodthirsty, or for religious reasons or any other motive, he just wants power.

• This ambition has to be strong, as it leads him to kill the king all on its own.

• He says multiple times that he doesn’t want to kill the king so the only thing driving him through layers of religious, personal and familial loyalty and guilt is that strong ambition

“Bring forth men-children only, For thy undaunted mettle shall bring forth nothing but males”

• ‘Undaunted mettle’, could be another way to refer to ambition, as she isn’t daunted or phased.

• This is associated with boys, as men are often associated with bravery and ambition. Ambition could be tied to gender

“When you durst do it, then you were a man”

• When Macbeth carried through with his ambition to kill the king, he was considered a man, but if he didn’t he wasn't manly.

• This shows how his ambition could be connected to him proving himself as a man.