Cody Roof Mrs.

Dellinger English 11 May 16, 2011 Macbeth Theme Shakespeare's Macbeth is a story of the power of ambition and the corruption it can cause if left unchecked. This theme is shown by the way Macbeth changes through the way Macbeth changes throughout the play. Macbeth goes from being a loyal general fighting for his country, to a scheming murder who wanted nothing but power. The theme of corruption through unbridled ambition is first shown when Lady Macbeth pressures Macbeth into killing Duncan in order to achieve his goal of becoming king. He was willing to let fate take its course and see if he would become king as the witches predicted, however Lady Macbeth would not allow that to happen. She was even more ambitious than Macbeth was and she demanded that he take fate into his own hands and make himself king, by any means necessary. Lady Macbeth says, "Thou wouldst be great; Art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it."( Macbeth 189 ) She is telling Macbeth that he has ambition, but not the wickedness to fulfill that ambition, but once he puts reaching his goals above his morality he has been corrupted by ambition. The actual murder of Duncan, the king of Scotland, is the next piece of evidence that shows the theme of ambition being able to corrupt a person. Before the witches put the idea of being king into his head, he would have never even considered killing his king. He was a loyal

general that fought for his country, not his own personal gain, but once he realized he could become king, and Lady Macbeth made sure he was willing to kill for it, he was willing to do whatever it would take. The murder of Duncan was the point of no return for Macbeth and once he let his ambition take control it caused him to do things he knew was morally wrong, all to achieve his own goals. After the murder of Duncan, the third thing that shows the theme is that Macbeth continued the killing after he became king. He had achieved his goal and usurped the throne, however because of his ambition to have even more power he had to kill anyone he perceived as a threat. He knew that Banquo was suspicious of how he had become king and Macbeth was furious that Banquo's sons were destined to kings, so he decided to have them killed. His ambition and desire for even more power caused him to become a tyrant. He says, " And even now, to crown my thoughts with acts, be it thought and done. The castle of Macduff I will surprise, seize upon Fife, give to the edge o' the sword his wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls that trace him in his line."( Macbeth 229 ). In that statement Macbeth says that he is going to take action and kill Macduff's entire family just to keep himself in control. As king he eliminated anyone who disagreed or questioned him. Under his rule Scotland was in a state of decay and poverty and many people had very little food, but Macbeth had what he wanted, complete control. Even though it was written hundreds of years ago, Shakespeare's Macbeth still has a theme that is relevant today. Macbeth's ambition and how it changed him have counterparts in today's era. People will always have ambitions and there will always be those people willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals.

Works Cited
Macbeth. Adventures in English Literature. Austin, [Tex.: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1996. Print.