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Essay / Ambition and Guilt in Shakespeare's Macbeth
This essay will talk about how William Shakespeare's “Macbeth”, written in 1606, is still valued today in the forms of ambition and guilt. Three hundred years later, “Macbeth” is still loved because everyone feels ambitious and guilty at some point in their life and Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” has beautifully captivated audiences past, present and future. Audiences respond so well to plays like "Macbeth" because they have felt what the characters feel in simpler forms, and they feel like it's okay if they identify with fictional characters . Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayAmbition is an essential part of Macbeth and everyday life, as everyone has a strong desire to achieve and do important things in life. The role of ambition is mainly played by Macbeth when he wants to become king after hearing the witches' prophecies. In Act 1, Scene 3, he states that "two truths are spoken as happy prologues to the act of swelling", meaning that Macbeth is realizing that the witches' prophecies are true and he begins to wonder if he will become king it is evident in life when things start coming true after you dreamed or thought about them. In Act 1, Scene 7, Macbeth says the lines "I have no goad to prick the sides of my intention, but only one ambition that overlaps and falls upon the other." He uses this to describe his inability to motivate himself. take action by comparing yourself to a rider who cannot use his spurs to motivate his horse to go faster. In Act 3, Scene 1, after becoming king, Macbeth begins to feel restless and uncertain and he states that "to be so is nothing, but to be safe is so", this means that he has afraid of losing his position and he is afraid when he has no children to take care of when he dies, this quote also reveals that Duncan's murder brought him no coins. Shakespeare also made guilt play a major role in Macbeth, this is one of the main reasons why the play is still considered to make people feel guilty at some point in their lives. Shakespeare also teaches his audience that doing something wrong and having a guilty conscience leads to bad consequences. After Macbeth kills King Duncan, he returns to Lady Macbeth and says to her in Act 2, Scene 2: "Shall all the ocean of great Neptune wash this blood from my hand?" this implies that even though he has murdered people before, he feels bad, it's like when someone does something bad and he can't change what happened. Macbeth also feels guilty after committing the murders to kill Banquo, this is seen when he sees Banquo's ghost at the banquet in Act 3, Scene 4, and says "your bones are without marrow, your blood is cold" , he says these words as he tries to convince himself that Banquo is not really dead and that he did not have a vision. One of the most famous guilt lines from this play is when Lady Macbeth has gone mad in Act 5, Scene 5, she says that "what has been done cannot be undone", meaning that the act of violence and death cannot be undone. It reinforces that guilt and everything you do can't be undone..