Sin and Ambition | Macbeth Essay

Rae Lee

Ms. Murray

ENG2D-D

25 November 2014

Sin and Ambition

Isolation is self-induced; people create their own isolation based on how they act in the world. Hitler decided use his power abusively, which forced him into isolation because he had to hide away from his mistakes and the people after him. William Shakespeare’s, The Tragedy of Macbeth entails the story of a greed consumed man, who was taken down by his own ambitions to become king of Scotland. The main character, Macbeth, in the beginning of the play is a bold, courageous, brave, and justice providing man who is adored by all, including King Duncan. It is when he meets the three weird sisters, that he find out his potential, and his inner lust for power springs to the forefront. Macbeth damns himself to isolation by submitting to his greed and hunger for prestige.

Macbeth in act one is seen as a level-headed person of authority. Slowly we see this persona deteriorate into instability in which he makes unclear and radical decisions. Macbeth describes “[the] dagger of [his] mind” that “marshall’st [him] the way [he] was going”, (Shakespeare II.i.38- 42) which indicates the inception of his madness. Here, one can see that Macbeth is hallucinating and imagining the instrument of murder that he will use against Duncan. It’s symbolic that his imagination creates a dagger before him because it shows how deeply Macbeth is affected by murdering innocent people. Macbeth in act one is a valiant man who delivers justice to evil and sinners, however when he goes to break this identity, it is shown that his character development is emotional and he is left distraught. After the murder of Duncan, when he reconvenes with Lady Macbeth, he tells her the horrible deed is done and “Macbeth does murder sleep.” (II.ii.47) Here, Macbeth notices that he has destroyed his reputation as an honorable man and along with it his peace and sanity. He will no longer be able to rest easy. This will be his undoing because without sleep, the seed of insanity grows fruitfully. It also signifies that he clearly understands his deed, and only has achieved this clarity after the murder is carried out. (which happens periodically after the death of Banquo and Lady Macbeth) He later states “I’ll go no more” (II.ii. 63) which shows that he feels ashamed and disgusted by his actions and that he cannot go on further without shaming himself. He begins to feel isolation from God because “[he] could not pronounce amen.” and that “[It is] stuck in [his] throat.” (II.ii.41-3) Macbeth is aware that he has put himself above God and he feels out casted and distant from the man he was. Later into the play, he exclaims to Lady Macbeth; “Oh, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!” (III.ii.36) Macbeth starts to develop a fear of all of the things that could poison his kingship, such as Malcolm and Donalbain, the king’s sons, Macduff, the rebel, and Banquo the honest friend. The final piece that can affirm Macbeth’s insanity is when he can no longer identify what insanity is, asking to doctor why he cannot simply cut out the poisoned part in Lady Macbeth’s brain in act five. He starts making poor, unstable decisions based off of what the weird sisters prophecies, when in fact the second time they meet, he “damn’d all those that trust [the witches]” (IV.i.139) His fear of losing his position as king, spurs on his insanity, and further leads him down a path of loneliness and isolation that was on started by his greed.

Macbeth slowly destroys his connections to the good people in the play such as benevolent Duncan, honest Banquo, and all of the noblemen, whom in the end, turn against him. He initially breaks loyalty to Duncan when he kills him to gain his kingship, riches, and the people of Scotland. After this, when he feels threatened by Banquo’s honest nature, he plots to have him killed, knowing that he could undo all of Macbeth’s dark and greedy work. He also fears Banquo’s prediction that “[he] will get kings, though [he’ll] be none.” (I.iii.69) He fears that he will be replaced by Banquo’s children, and that “upon [his] head [the witches] placed a fruitless crown.” (III.i.64) He fears that all of his sinister work will have nothing to show for it. Macbeth’s greed shows clearly through this passage and the rest of his Banquo-fearing soliloquy. He even throws his dear wife away, because “she would have died hereafter[,]” (V.v.17) when in the beginning of the play, he loves his wife. He sends her a letter describing what has happened to him, and where their future may lead. Even when faced with the option of killing Duncan, he accepts the plans, to keep this image of being manly and strong for his wife. He fully trusts that she is doing the best for him. When she dies, he brushes off her suicide, as if it she meant nothing to him because “ [life signifies] nothing” (V.v.28) when you are dead. Clearly Macbeth’s greed has destroyed his loyalty and severed his relationships with the people he knows, which ultimately sets him up to end the play alone.

Macbeth loses his sense of self and morals throughout the play. Macbeth starts exhibiting his loss of morality when he decides to kill his best friend Banquo. Macbeth feels “[his] fears in Banquo stick deep.” (III.i.52-3) because he threatens his crown twice-over. Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth that “[he is] in blood/ Stepp’d so far, that, should [he] wade no more,/ Returning were as tedious as go o’er,” (III. iv. 136-9) meaning that he might as well continue his bloody rampage in order for him to rest easy in his stolen kingship. Macbeth shows his lack of empathy and emotion when he hears that Macduff has fled to England to meet with Malcolm. He shows this by ordering Lennox to “seize upon Fife; give to the edge of the sword/ His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls/ That trace in his line.” (IV.i.51-3) He sets this order out when he hears the first apparition’s prediction during the meeting with Hecate and the weird sisters. The apparition claimed “beware Macduff[,]” (IV.i.71) which was enough for Macbeth to enact a sinful murder of a family to ensure that his position is safe. Macbeth displays a loss of morals and instills fear in all who come close to threatening his kingship. He becomes alone at the end of the play because he feels his power, the thing he craves, will be taken away from him.

Macbeth, a kind, loving and adored thane, is destroyed by his greed and left isolated from the people he loves, his right mind, and his morals, and is now just a malevolent bloodied head of a king. Macbeth has destroyed all of the good in his life, whether it be his friends and family, his morals, or his sanity. Macbeth actively, throughout the play, strips away his good name in hopes to maintain his stolen status of king, because he needs the power. He is greedy and cannot settle for just thane-ship. Powerful men like Hitler, popular people like Ray Rice and Jian Ghomeshi, have also neglected the simple truth of the world: isolation can ruin you, but ruining yourself is the reason for isolation.

Works Cited

Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. New York: A Washington Square Press. (1992)