He is so deeply affected by killing his best friend that he is seeing his ghost, when it really is not there. He says: “Thou canst not say I did it: never shake/ Thy gory locks at me. He voices his feeling of guilt while he is being asked to sit down, but refuses as he sees the ghost of Banquo in his chair. Macbeth’s feeling of guilt can also be seen during his dinner party when he sees the ghost of Banquo. If he did not kill Duncan, there would be no substance to his nightmares, and thus, he would not experience them. 16-19) He is having trouble sleeping because he is having nightmares of the murders. His sleeplessness is shown when after killing Duncan, he says: “But let the frame of this disjoint, both the worlds suffer, / Ere we will eat out meal in fear, and sleep / In the affliction of these terrible dreams / that shake us nightly. His guilt is first seen when he experiences sleepless nights. The second effect of Macbeth’s ambition is his and Lady Macbeth’s relentless feelings of guilt. To summarize, the first effect of Macbeth’s ambition is the murder of multiple people. Macbeth’s main reasoning behind killing numerous people was his need for control over Scotland.

This point showed Macbeth’s poor judgement in that murdering Macduff’s family only made him more revengeful.

Murdering Macduff’s family seemed like the only way to make Macduff silence his suspicions. Macbeth’s role in the murder of Macduff’s family can be seen when he states to himself: “The castle of Macduff I will surprise / Seize upon Fife give to the edge of the sword / His wife, and babes, and all the unfortunate souls / That trace him in his line. Macbeth fears that Macduff grew too suspicious of him, and thus he ordered the murderers to kill his family. The final people who are killed as a result of Macbeth’s ambition are the members of Macduff’s family. Macbeth felt the need to murder his best friend because he feared the safety of his reign. Macbeth’s role in the murder of Banquo can be seen when he says to himself after conversing with the murderers: “It is concluded: Banquo, thy soul’s flight, / If it find heaven, must find it out to-night. The next person who is murdered as an effect of Macbeth’s ambition is Banquo.īanquo voiced his suspicion over Macbeth’s contribution to Duncan’s murder, therefore, Macbeth felt Banquo was a threat to his reign as King, and had him assassinated. Macbeth felt so strongly that he would become King that he decided to kill the current King of Scotland himself. Hear it not, Duncan for it is a knell / That summons thee to heaven, or to hell. The result of his actions can be seen when he says: “I go, and it is done the bell invites me. Therefore, under the forceful direction of Lady Macbeth, he murders Duncan for his own gain, even though he currently realizes that what he is doing is wrong.

Lady Macbeth convinces Macbeth that he will prosper if he kills Duncan. The first person that is killed as an effect of Macbeth’s ambition is King Duncan. The first most prominent effect of Macbeth’s ambition is the murder of multiple people. The effects of Macbeth’s ambition are: multiple deaths, his and Lady Macbeth’s relentless feeling of guilt, and the change of Kingdom leaders. Later in the play, his prerequisite knowledge allowed him to fear nothing, which essentially caused him to lose his reign as King. His ambitions caused him to take part in many regretful acts, resulting in havoc throughout Scotland. When he feared his reign was at risk, he again did whatever he thought was necessary to ensure his role. Throughout the play, Macbeth did anything necessary to become King. This preceding quote effectively describes Macbeth’s fight to gain and maintain his role as King of Scotland. “He who blinded by ambition, raises himself to a position whence he cannot mount higher, must thereafter fall with the greatest loss.

Macbeth ambition quotes