Explain The Importance Of Ambition In One Other Part Of The Play.

Ambition is an important theme throughout the play of 'Macbeth'. Not only is Macbeth ambitious but also his wife, Lady Macbeth, is very ambitious too. The banquet scene shows how his ambition has completely taken over. Macbeth goes too far and decides to have his best friend Banquo killed: "Tis' better thee without than he within. Is he dispatched?" Macbeth asks the first murderer this question; he wants to know that Banquo has been taken care of. To Macbeth, Banquo stands in the way of his ambitions and must be eliminated. The theme of ambition is portrayed very negatively in this scene, it isn't good ambition that Macbeth has. He is power hungry and greedy. His ambition is shown once more when he finds out that Macbeth's son Fleance has escaped the murderers: "Then comes my fit again". Fleance represents a threat to Macbeth's position on the throne. He is a threat to his position because the witches predicted that Banquo's heirs would be king. Macbeth is saying that as a result of Fleance escaping he now feels like his position is once again under threat. Negative effects of ambition are shown in the banquet scene. Macbeth's ambition has made him insane and is also making him hallucinate: "Which of you have done this?" Macbeth is offered a seat at the table and when he goes to take the seat he sees Banquo's ghost. He believes that everyone is against him and that someone is playing a trick on him. The truth is that Macbeth has been so ambitious he has been blind to what he was doing and is now starting to feel the real guilt and consequences of his actions. Macbeth is still influenced by the witches who caused him to be ambitious in the first place: "I will - to the weird sisters." Macbeth is still very ambitious and wants to know what will happen to him. He is putting his trust in the witches and wants them to tell him the good and bad things that are still to come for him. He continues to say that he has done so much that he cannot go back and must continue with his ambitions: "I am in blood stepped in so far that." Macbeth feels like he is a condemned man and no matter what he does he cannot get out of what he has done. He therefore decides to continue removing any obstacles in his way.