Ambition as a Hamartia

Ambition is a human characteristic that motivates individuals to pursue and achieve their goals. Often, ambition is perceived by society as a positive human trait, and ambitious individuals will often succeed in their life. In the tragic play, Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth is driven by his ambition to become the King of Scotland. However, Macbeth's ambition drives him into insanity, leading him to commit unjustifiable acts. Macbeth willingly murders the King of Scotland, Duncan, in order to take his crown. Furthermore, in order to secure his position as the king, he plans the assassination his best friend, Banquo, in fear that his children will take his throne. Finally, Macbeth kills MacDuff's entire family, in fear that Macduff is a threat to his position as king. Macbeth's blind ambition is his ultimate hamartia, motivating him to commit the murders of Duncan, Banquo and MacDuff's family.

When obstacles are in the way of achieving one's goals, one will take the necessary actions to overcome the problem. After Macbeth is told by the Weird Sisters he is to be the King of Scotland, he begins questions what steps he needs to take, "The Prince of Cumberland! That is a step/On which I must fall down or else o'erleap,/ For in my way it lies." (I.IV.55-58) Macbeth determines that in order to be king, he needs to step down from the throne, or discover a way to get past this problem. Macbeth decides that he must kill Duncan to become the king. His decision is motivated by his ambition to become king, blinding him from morals and potential consequences. After Macbeth commits the murder, others begin to strongly suspect that he is guilty. This leads to the revolution against Macbeth, and ultimately his death. In addition to the murder of Duncan, Macbeth's uncontrollable ambition motivates him into killing his best friend.