Ambition Flashcards
Ambition
TS1 – the witches prediction that Macbeth will be king touches upon his hamartia : his ambition
TS2 – Lady Macbeth knows her husband is ambitious but too kind a man to act upon his desires
TS3 – Banquo is ambition for his sons to be kings, but unlike Macbeth, he leaves it to fate
TS4 – Achieving his ambition does not bring Macbeth contentment, and he dies knowing he’ll be forgotten
[ Macbeth ]
‘why do I yield to that suggestion whose horrid image does unfix my hair’
L - adjective, verb
Macbeth’s first thought is one of murder.
The ‘horrid’ suggests that Macbeth knows murdering Duncan to achieve his ambition is morally wrong.
The ‘unfix’ suggests that the strength of his ambition terrifies him.
[ Lady Macbeth ]
‘too full o’th milk of human kindness’
L - Metaphor
Feminizing Macbeth
Lady Macbeth knows he is ambitious but too kind to act upon achieving his ambitions off the battlefields. She realises that she will need to manipulate him into murdering king Duncan.
[ Macbeth ]
‘I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition’
C - Divine right of king
Macbeth knows killing a king is an act against
God. The play was performed after the Gunpower plot – Shakespeare sends a warning to those who might seek to murder a morally good king, like James I
L Metaphor
Macbeth’s ambition battles with his conscience
He knows he has no motive for killing a morally good king.
[ Macbeth ]
‘stars hide your fires, let not light see my black and deep desires’
L - Adjectives : ‘black’ and ‘deep’
Suggests Macbeth knows his murderous ambition is morally wrong but also very strong.
L - ‘stars’ symbolise the light of heaven Macbeth does not want God to see what he is planning to do, but he is going to commit the murder anyway
[ Banquo ]
‘it was said… that myself should be the root and father of many kings’
L - Metaphor : creates an image of a family tree with Banquo as its root
Banquo hopes that his descendants will become kings of Scotland.
[ Macbeth ]
‘a strong poor that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more’
L - Extended metaphor : people as actors, life as a stage
Macbeth realises that, in the wider scheme of things, he is just a ‘poor player’ with a limited amount of time on Earth and once he is dead, he will be forgotten. All his ambition has been for nothing and he has damned his soul to hell.
