ambition

Question 1

1.7 “Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself and falls on the other”

Answer 1

-verb “vaulting” describes MB’s mammoth ego - his ambition is his hamartia
-personification makes his ambition appear like a human-like force, controlling + plaguing his innocent mind
-metaphor likens MB to a jockey riding his ambition - his ambition is akin to a barbaric animal
-makes ambition seem self-destructive as it “o’erleaps itself”

Question 2

2.1 “With Tarquin’s ravishing strides, towards his design”

Answer 2

-classical reference: MB ambitiously wants to emulate Tarquin, a Roman tyrant whom raped his wife, so he will be a barbaric tyrant who feels no pity
-his ambition + hubris obstructs his moral compass
-he sees power synonymous with brutality + being a tyrant

Question 3

2.2 “A little water clears us of this deed”

Answer 3

-LMB’s overpowering ambition obstructs her from seeing the genuine distress of her husband
-she uses litotes to downplay the murder
-her tone is nonchalant - seems dismissive / apathetic
-it is laced with irony as LMB shifts to a melodramatic state of insanity + begins speaking in hyperboles as the guilt takes over
-euphemism hints at this, by referring to the murder as a “deed”

Question 4

3.1 “royalty of nature”

Answer 4

-BQ is depicted as having an exemplary balance of ambition + respectability
-his noble + majestic nature is not overpowered by his ambition
-“royalty” connotes “power” + “status” - MB recognises BQ has maintained his power as an ambitious stoic hero whilst maintaining his status as a rational + intelligent being
-suggests MB is jealous of BQ or maybe fears him

Question 5

3.1 “He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valour”

Answer 5

-BQ is a foil to MB - MB embodies reckless power whereas BQ has self-constraint + control
-MB is envious (7 deadly sins) of BQ’s ability to restrain his ambition + refrain from over-indulgence into “deep desires”
-BQ is more shrewd than MB

Question 6

4.3 “Bleed, bleed, poor country!”

Answer 6

-MD’s lamenting of Scotland shows that fuels his ambition to restore order - also suggests Scotland is dying under MB’s reign
-this captivates MB’s misanthropic nature, a quality which juxtaposes the role of a king

Question 7

5.8 “Here may you see the tyrant”

Answer 7

-MD is the first character to explicitly brand MB as a tyrant - due to his motivated + ignited ambition to extinguish MB
-last thing MB hears before dying
-poignancy of MD’s words shine through - signifies an end to MB’s destruction + beginning of restoration of order