Ambition

In order to anlayse what the play says about ambition, consider the following questions:

What is ambition? Give a general definition.

- A strong desire to do or to achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work.

- Desire and determination to achieve success

In Macbeth, Who is ambitious?

- Macbeth and Lady Macbeth

How do they put their ambition into action?

- By being deceitful and going against natural order

What are the consequences of their ambition?

Macbeth:

• -       -Originally awarded with power and status
• -       -Initially they get the reward of achieving high status but are then punished by intense feelings of guilt.
•      Feelings of suspicion, paranoia, ultimately punished by death
•       More and more people turn away from him
•       Noble and brave to tyrant to butcher- peoples impressions change
•       Becomes extremely isolated

Lady Macbeth

•          punished by death, yet it is self inflicted

What does this say to us about ambition? Consider its relation to the important ideas, attitudes and values in the play.

• -       It is not seen as a positive trait to have
•      Ambition is actually to destroy the natural order- they are aware of this
•     Order is more important than ambition
•     Macbeth should ave lived up to his role and responsibilities, knows that he should honour his king, not kill him
•      Nothing stops ambition

Natural Order in Macbeth

Think about the start of the play. What is Macbeth rewarded for? What is the first Thane of Cawdor punished for? 

- Macbeth is rewarded for the honour he displays towards the King
- His bravery in battle as he fights for his King and country.

When Macbeth kills Duncan what is his immediate response? What does his intense feeling do guilt tell us?  
- Macbeth's response to murdering Duncan, is that he is totally distraught. He is aware that he has gone against that order, which is naturalised in the play- he never recovers from this. 

Chaos ensues for Scotland. What does this tell us about what Macbeth has done? 

- This chaos tells us the Macbeth has gone against nature and killed Duncan, who was the king my divine right
 What occurs in the natural world when Duncan is murdered? Why? What does this tell us? 
- The chaos that comes to scotland, shows the audience what natural order is. Duncan's horses eat each other, when an owl is able to kill a falcon, this emphasises the fact that there is chaos in the human world When Macbeth is killed and Malcolm regains the throne what happens to Scotland?  
- Order returns to Scotland as Malcolm, the rightful King, regains the throne.

Fair is foul, foul is fair..

We are first introduced to the "Fair is foul and foul is fair" paradox in Act 1 Scene 1. It is said by all three witches in unison as they plan to meet with Macbeth. The scene is set in a desolate place and the battle Scotland has fought has been won. We are then brought to the scene at King Duncans camp near Forres where King Duncan, Malcolm, Donaldbain, Lennox, Attendants and Captain all talk about the battle and the contributions that Macbeth has made to this battle. This is the first time we are introduced to Macbeth as a character. He is described by characters such as Captain as "brave Macbeth" (1.2.Line16) and King Duncan who describes him as being "O valiant cousin, worthy gentleman." (1.2. Line 24.)

To me this paradox, "Fair is foul and foul is fair", means that things that may appear good, will become bad and things that are bad will soon enough become good. In relation to characters, i can clearly relate this quote back to Macbeth. This is because Macbeth may appear to be fair (being described as brave and nobel by Captain and Duncan), but there may be a part of him that is foul. This is discovered later in the play as soon as Macbeth meets with the witches. He hears from them and their predictions ("All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter." 1.2. Line 48) and it leads to him committing evil actions such as murdering  a good and innocent King and all the lies and deception that follow. 

This change of character that we see in Macbeth is an obvious depiction of the paradox, "Fair is foul and foul is fair."

What do I think of Holden?

My feelings toward Holden are quite negative to an extent. Although negative, I like the way that Holden speaks his mind and is quite honest in his thoughts and when he speaks to other characters. I also like the way in which Holden is an observer and takes in everything around him. Although I do have positive feelings towards the character of Holden, there are quite a few negative qualities that disadvantages me in making a strong connection towards the character of Holden. The first is that he is quite narrow minded in his opinions and doesn’t accept the ideas of others. The second being that sometimes he tends to ramble on in his thoughts and when he speaks, where he tends to jump from one idea to another. The third being that he is quite judgemental of people, and is critical of people who he sees as boring, “phoney” and insecure. For example Holden states that Ackley behaves the way he does because he is unpopular and insecure. Holden makes Ackley appear to be disgusting by describing in detail about Ackley’s toenails and pimple squeezing. Therefore my feelings toward Holden are quite negative to a certain extent.