Themes - Ambition Flashcards
what is ambition today seen as
- a virtue
- a good quality that betters yourself and improves your station in life
what were the attitudes towards ambition in the jacobean era
- people had a negative perspective towards it
- as trying to rise above your status was not encouraged
how would the king usually reward hard work
- by making a soldier a thane
- you could not become a thane without the king’s approval
- so it was a highly favoured title
who was king james the first
- the king of england in the jacobean era
- and shakespeares patron
what did james I strongly believe in
- the Divine Right of Kings
- that it was God’s will that kings ruled
if the divine right of kings states that it is Gods will that kings rule, what would someone that is trying to usurp the king and take his place doing
- going against God’s will
- because of this, regicide, the murder of a royal leader
- was considered on of the highest crimes of all
- as the king was seen as God’s representative on earth
how does macbeth feel after he kills duncan considering they believed in the divine right of kings at the time
- as a christian
- he knows that he has condemned his soul
what doe macbeth show to the elizabethan people regarding ambition (the overhanging message)
- ambition on its own isnt a bad thing as it drives a person to achieve what they want
- but macbeth shows what happens when ambition is allowed to go unchecked
what was lady macbeths evil role within the play
the one who fully persuaded macbeth to kill the king
what is lady macbeth like as a character at the beginning but what is a sort of justification for her character for not being heartless
- she is ruthlessly ambitious and extreme
- but it seems to be directed at her husband’s success
- so she still has the heart to care about others
- yet she is still a rotten person
what quote shows lady macbeth playing upon the idea of macbeths masculinity in order to encourage him to do the deed
“screw your courage to the sticking-place and we’ll not fail.”
what do macbeth and laddy macbeth both suffer from in the end and how
- their own ambition
- it takes a toll on their sanity and happiness
what is the irony in lady macbeths suicide
- she was the most ambitious character in the whole play
- yet she was the only one who was unable to cope with her grief and ended up killing herself
what are some examples of lady macbeth going insane and being unable to cope
- she begins sleepwalking
- washing her hands clean of blood when there isnt any
- always walks around with a candle
what does the play show as a whole regarding power
it shows what happens when you pursue power at all costs
why is there a chain of murders after duncan is killed and becomes king
- because there is no end to the potential threats to macbeths new position as king
- so he ends up trying to just kill everyone that could be in his way
- this causes him to become sleepless and paranoid
what quote shows that macbeth knows that he will have to carry out more murders in order to remain king
“i am in blood
stepped in so far that, should i wade no more,
returning were as tedious as go o’er”
what is hubris defined as
excessive pride or self confidence
where does hubris always come in the tragic genre and in macebeth
- before the fall of the character
what is macbeths hubris
- macbeths hubris is dominant feature
- he is fuelled by the prophecies given to him by the witches
- he thinks he is unstoppable until the very end when he encounters macduff
what is my personal interpretation of how macbeths hubris leads to his demise
- it reminds the jacobean audience that humans should remain as humans
- and the power of God and the king are above ours
- too much pride in ones self to the point where you think that you can by-pass the imperfections of ones humanity is the road to their downfall
- basically, ignorance of your arrogance
