Ambition Flashcards
Analyse quote “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent but only vaulting ambition” (act 1 scene 7)
Macbeth acknowledges that he lacks a justifiable reason to kill Duncan. Unlike others who may commit acts for revenge or necessity, Macbeth has no external provocation—only his internal ambition drives him. This metaphor presents ambition as something that must be controlled and directed, suggesting that unchecked ambition can be dangerous and self-destructive. This imagery foreshadows later events: Macbeth’s ambition drives him to seize power unlawfully, but rather than securing his rule, his paranoia and tyranny cause him to spiral into destruction. His inability to moderate his ambition ensures that he, too, will fall, much like a rider thrown from his horse. The concept of ambition was particularly relevant in the Jacobean era, as Shakespeare wrote Macbeth at a time when the idea of the Divine Right of Kings was firmly established. According to this belief, monarchs were appointed by God, and any act against the king was considered sacrilegious. By portraying Macbeth as someone whose ambition causes him to disrupt the natural order, Shakespeare reinforces a warning against political overreach—a message that would have resonated strongly with King James I, who had survived the Gunpowder Plot just a year before Macbeth was written.
