"Ambition is like a choler; which is an humor that maketh men active, earnest, full of alacrity, and stirring, if it be not stopped. But if it be stopped, and cannot have its way, it becometh adust, and thereby malign and venomous." Ambition is a dangerous thing, but no always a bad thing. Ones ambition can affect others by improving their lives.
An overview of Macbeth, written by William Shakespear, tells how Macbeth is told he will become king, so he kills Duncan, the king, and Macbeth becomes king. Due to this, Malcolm, Duncan's son, flees to England to gather an army to battle Macbeth. Macbeth becomes paranoid and has Banquo himself and Macduff's family killed. Malcolm returns with his army, which Macduff is apart of, and advaces on Macbeth. Macduff kills Macbeth and Malcolm becomes King Malcolm.
Ambition is malignant. In Act III, Scene VII Lady Macbeth's ambition for her husband would not allow Macbeth to wait things out and made Macbeth take charge. Lady Macbeth's ambition was malignant, ifectious, and it spread to Macbeth. If it were not for Lady Macbeth, this situation might not have gotten so out of hand. Macbeth's ambitious act in Act II, killing Duncan, cause Malcolm in Act III, Scene VI to flee to England in an attempt to rally an army to fight Macbeth. Macbeth's ambitious act of killing Duncan is ruining the life of Malcolm while helping Malcolm ascend to the throne quicker. This atrosiuos act also caused the ruin of the life of Donalbane, Duncan's other son, by making him flee his home and country. Furthermore in Act IV, Scene III Macbeth decides to have Lady Macduff and her son assassinated. Yet again, Macbeth's infectious ambition destroyed anothers life, Macduff. While it did devestate Macduff's life, it also gave Macduff the reason to fight Macbeth with all he had. Ones ambition does not stay with them. It spreads like the wealth of a kingdom through its country, or like the venom of a wicked vipor through an unfortunate victim.
People handle life's obsticles differently. In Act V, Scene I it shows that Lady Macbeth has gone crazy. Due to the death of Duncan and the guilt from participating in said act, Lady Macbeth has gone insane. However, Macbeth, after his initial shock, handles it quite well and does not go coo-coo. Additionally, in Act II, Scene II Macbeth looses his composure after killing Duncan. Faced with this situation, Macbeth looses it and can not handle what he just did. Unlike Lady Macbeth who, faced with the same situation, took charge, due to Macbeth being "inferm of purpose," by cleaning up after Macbeth. In addition to this, in Act I, Scene I Macbeth is told he will be king. Hearing this Macbeth thinks on it and decides to wait and see how things unfold. In contrast, Lady Macbeth decides it is best to take the bull by the horns and make it happen. Two people can be presented the same exact situation and decide to take two totally different paths.
Ones ambitious act can affect multiple people in multiple ways. In Act II and Act IV Macbeth kills Duncan, Malcolm's father, and Lady Macduff, Macduff's wife. Malcolm goes to England to get an army to fight Macbeth while Macduff only joins Malcolms army instead of getting his own force to battle Macbeth. These two are faced with the same situation, Macbeth killing their family, and they react in two different ways. Also, in Act III Fleance's dad, Banquo, is killed due to Macbeth's paranoia. When presented the same situation as Fleance, the death of ones father, Donalbane went and gathered an army to fight Macbeth while Fleance ran away. Another person, Macduff, was presented this same problem and decided to stay and fight Macbeth. In Act I, Scene I the witches tell Macbeth he will become king, and Banquo is told his sons will be king but not Banquo. Hearing this, Macbeth goes and plans to kill Duncan to gain the throne. In contrast, Banquo hears this and dismisses it as crazy talk. One ambitious act has more affect than just the initial one. It spreads and affects others.
The diverse reactions of said ambitious actions can cause yet another ambitious act that is just as, or more so, life altering. In Act I, Scene I the witches say the Banquo's kids, not Macbeths, will be king and in Act IV, Scene I the witches tell Macbeth to "beware Macduff." Due to the witches telling Macbeth this, when Macbeth becomes king he orders the death of Banquo and his son, Fleance. Also, due to the witches warning, Macbeth has Lady Macduff and her son killed. Also in Act IV, Scene I the witches tell Macbeth the no woman born man could harm him. This gave Macbeth confidence and made him fight Macduff, who was not woman born, without fear. This brough about Macbeth's destruction. In Act I, Scene VII Lady Macbeth's ambitious act made her ambition spread to, or infect, Macbeth.. Lady Macbeth's ambition could not allow Macbeth to sit back instead of taking charge. Her ambition spread to Macbeth making him act ambitiously. Ones ambitious act can affect others, making them act equally or even more ambitious.
In conclusion, these themes impacted the overall drama by creating ambitious characters that would spread their ambitious nature to other characters making them ambitious also. Therefore, we need to learn a lesson from this. That lesson is we need to be careful of our ambitions and keep them in check while stopping the ambitions of others that do go on a rampage.
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