The theme of Macbeth centers on how ambition and greed can overpower morality and overrun human nature.
The natural wish of all leaders to increase their power, such as Macbeth, transforms throughout the play from wish to ambition, to greed, to aberration.
This unnatural desire for power is the force that possesses the main characters consistently and with dire consequences.
Macbeth is a leader with good qualities. The audience can almost catch itself feeling sorry for his decline towards madness. This shows that ambition is stronger, more powerful and more consequential than Macbeth himself, hence ambition in itself could also be considered character on its own.
The major theme of the play concerns Macbeth, the play's protagonist and tragic hero. From Macbeth's rise, fall, and destruction, a clear idea develops concerning political ambition: The lust for power--unfettered ambition--leads to the destruction of self and of others. In other words, once Macbeth's ambition is aroused, his overwhelming desire for the throne of Scotland leads to his own destruction as well as to the destruction of many other characters in the play.
As a result of his desire to claim and then retain the crown, Macbeth turns into a liar first, then a murderer, and finally a tyrant under whom Scotland suffers. By the conclusion of the play, Macbeth's actions have resulted directly in the deaths of King Duncan; Banquo; Lady Macduff, her children and servants; young Siward; many soldiers; and finally his own death. Indirectly, Macbeth also plays an important role in his wife's suicide, having been her accomplice, especially in Duncan's murder.
There are many themes in Macbeth, but arguably the most important is the corrupting effects of ambition. In this context, corruption involves someone being subverted from their normal path in life and turned into a different person. That's precisely what happens to Macbeth once the seeds of ambition have been planted deep within his soul, and the consequences, both for himself and for Scotland, are truly catastrophic.
To see the damaging effects of ambition on the soul, we need look no further than Macbeth's soliloquy in act 1, scene 3. Here, Macbeth is reflecting on the fact that the witches have made two prophecies that have turned out to be true. One of those prophecies, that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor, is something that Macbeth acknowledges to be a good thing.
But if that's the case, then why is he thinking about murdering Duncan?
If good, why do I yield to that suggestion
Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair
And make my seated heart knock at my ribs.
Against the use of nature? (I, iii, 137–140)
What's clearly happening here is that Macbeth is being corrupted by ambition. He's been showered with honors by a grateful king, and yet it's still not enough. He wants more; he wants to be king. And he's prepared to murder Duncan to get what he wants. Such is the corrosive effect of ambition upon the human soul.
Further Reading
The primary theme of Macbeth by
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byWilliam Shakespeare is the deadly effects of selfish ambition. While Macbeth at first displays no evidence of this thirst for power, it soon becomes evident that he has an ambition that is going to be deadly for others and eventually himself.
In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is a loyal, faithful, and valorous soldier and kinsman of the king; he is, as far as we know, content in this role--until his encounter with the witches on the heath. They greet him with three titles, one of which he already has, and Macbeth is bewildered at the witches' prophetic words. When the second title is immediately conferred on him, Macbeth is clearly impressed and hopeful that their third prediction, that he will become king, will also come to pass; but he shows no inclination to make things happen out of their natural order. He says:
Come what come may,Time and the hour runs through the roughest day.
It is only one short scene later when we begin to see the effects of Macbeth's ambition. He is present as King Duncan of Scotland announces that the successor to the throne will be his oldest son, Malcolm. Clearly Macbeth has done some devious and evil thinking about becoming king; his hunger for power shows in this aside:
The Prince of Cumberland! that is a stepOn which I must fall down, or else o'erleap,For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires;Let not light see my black and deep desires:The eye wink at the hand; yet let that be,Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see.
Now he shows his impatience to be what the witches said he would be--and clearly something he has long wanted to be, despite the fact that Duncan has two sons and Macbeth is not in the line of succession. He wants to be king and these "black and deep desires" are beginning to show.
In the next scene, Macbeth goes home to his wife, who learned of the predictions through a letter he sent her, and she displays the same ugly ambition. Even more, she has already formulated a plan to usurp fate and make her husband king by a foul act. When Macbeth tells her that Duncan is coming to visit them tomorrow, Lady Macbeth immediately says:
O, neverShall sun that morrow see!Your face, my thane, is as a book where menMay read strange matters. To beguile the time,Look like the time; bear welcome in your eye,Your hand, your tongue: look like the innocent flower,But be the serpent under't. He that's comingMust be provided for: and you shall putThis night's great business into my dispatch;Which shall to all our nights and days to comeGive solely sovereign sway and masterdom.
This is a clear plan to kill the king while he is visiting their home, and Macbeth does virtually nothing to stop her because, of course, he wants the same thing she does.
The evil ambition the Macbeths demonstrate is costly for everyone in the country. Because he seized power by violence, Macbeth is forced to use violence to keep it. Innocent people are slaughtered and the entire country is in mourning for the loss of what they once had: a good and selfless king.
Both Macbeths suffer from their guilt. Though Macbeth suffers early on and then seems to harden himself to his conscience, the guilt is enough to kill Lady Macbeth. Macbeth loses his life and his soul because he allowed his thirst for power, his greedy ambition to overcome his reason. He commits heinous acts in the pursuit and maintenance of his desire to be king, acts which prove the evil nature of selfish ambition.
There are several themes in Shakespeare's Macbeth. It is left to interpretation by the reader. However, a few of the common themes are that of evil, blood, power, and sin. The ideas that can be fashioned into a theme for the play, center around Macbeth and the act of murder he commits. He commits murder even though he realizes that it is wrong to kill. He allows for the evil to enter into him and his kingdom. This act of evil begins to poison others such as Lady Macbeth. The evil soon haunts her in her sleep and does not leave her a sense of rest. While Banquo and Macduff are aware of the evil each is capable of, they do not allow the evil to take hold. They are able to do what Macbeth could not, and repel most of the evil.
Further Reading
Macbeth gives us the main theme when he says in Act 1, sc. 7, "I have no spur / To prick the sides of my intent, but only / Vaulting ambition...". The witches know that Macbeth is an ambitious man and they take advantage of that ambition by nurturing that seed. They tell him, in sc. 3 of the first act, that he will become Thane of Cawdor and King. When he, almost immediately after their prophecy, does become Thane of Cawdor, then that ambition is fertilized and allowed to grow and blossom into the full-fledged monster it becomes for Macbeth. Macbeth's ambition blinds him to all other things. He has his own friend, Banquo, killed because he fears that Banquo might suspect he killed Duncan. Macbeth's ambition makes Macbeth become so further paranoid that he goes back to the witches for more prophecies. When one of the prophecies says to beware of Macduff, Macbeth seals the fate of Macduff's family even though the next two prophecies seem to make Macbeth's reign secure. Nonetheless, Macbeth has Macduff's family slaughtered since Macduff himself, is out of the country. Even in Act 5, when his world is disintegrating around him as his wife dies, Malcolm along with Macduff and the English, are advancing on his castle and most of Macbeth's men leave him, he still fights to hang on to his throne. Blinding ambition is what the play is about and what happens when one allows his ambition to overrule all other senses.
What are the main themes of William Shakespeare's Macbeth?
There is also a suggestion that Shakespeare was illustrating the contemporary belief in the great chain of being and the divine right of kings. This belief indicated that kings were chosen by God alone, and that He decided the order of society. With Macbeth killing Duncan and taking the throne for himself, he was working against this natural order and was therefore destined for severe retribution.
Another theme requiring consideration is the simple battle between good and evil. The witches, and Macbeth's actions in response to their words, are evil. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth know they are working against the powers of good when they plot to kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth requests to be filled -
from the crown to the toe, top-full Of direst cruelty!
Both Macbeth and his wife know they are in league with evil. Both are punished for their deeds with suffering and death.
What are the main themes of William Shakespeare's Macbeth?
Perhaps the greatest of Shakespeare's tragedies, Macbeth focuses on three primary themes.
POWER &AMBITION. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth become enamored with the idea of power and each respond by committing terrible crimes. Although Macbeth desires the throne, it is his wife's ambitious prodding that prompts him to kill his king. One crime begets another until Macbeth falls prey to a more powerful foe.
GUILT & FEAR. Following each misdeed, Macbeth and his wife become overwhelmed with guilt, facing this consequence by committing even more crimes. But instead of a guilty conscience, Macbeth views his psychological reaction as fear instead. Lady Macbeth, meanwhile, understands the guilt that plagues her, but she attempts to deny it.
NATURALVS. SUPERNATURAL. Macbeth encompasses the supernatural world, beginning with the three witches who prophesy both "foul and fair." Reality is often confused with prophecy, and an aura of evil follows the two main characters. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth fall victim to the madness that follows their many unnatural acts.
What are the main themes to focus on in Macbeth?
In "Macbeth" there are two themes that are central to the play and another motif that is also prevalent: (1) Ambition and its psychological burdens , (2) Unnatural world vs. reality, and (3) Love
"Ambition should be made of stronger stuff" Marc Antony remarks in his funeral oration of Caesar, and this proves to be a problem for Macbeth as well as Lady Macbeth, who in their ambitious desires commit evil deeds and embrace evil in order to attain power. Accepting the prophecy of the witches unconditionally, Macbeth murders Duncan. But, as Frost writes, "way leads unto way," and Macbeth commences his guilt-ridden pathology of evil, which generates more evil deeds, and eventually madness. So, he murders Banquo and fearing the prophecies of the witches, he steeps himself in cruelty and evil as he murders the family of MacDuff.
The unnatural world whose prophecies dictate Macbeth's evil doings clearly overturns reality for him as well as for Lady Macbeth who, in her ambitions for her husband, transforms herslef into an unnatural, desexualized evil spirit. However, Lady Macbeth is no match for the witches and she enters a realm of insomnia and madness from which some critics say she only returns when she becomes rehumanized by her suicide.
This unnatural world of evil which causes Lady Macbeth's madness also leads to the illusions of Macbeth--is this a dagger I see?"-- and his paranoid delusions-Banquo's ghost, the tricks of the witchcraft--he cannot be harmed by anyone "born of woman"-- which lead him to believe MacDuff's family must be killed.
Yet, ironically, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have a strong love relationship. One of Lady Macbeth's final thoughts is solicitous of her husband; upon her death, he grieves greatly and ponders the brevity of llife and his weariness with life now that his wife is dead in the famous passage "Out! Out! brief candle."
What is the most important theme in the play Macbeth?
Much of Macbeth's and Lady Macbeth's struggles in the play have to do with how they deal with the guilt of their sins. That guilt which, for both characters, turns into anxiety and fear, and back into guilt again, is brought on by their sins. So, there are a number of themes here: guilt, anxiety, and sin. But since those are all the result of ambition, one could argue that ambition is one of the most important themes in the play; maybe it is the most important.
When the witches (weird sisters) give Macbeth the first prophecies, Macbeth is skeptical until Ross informs him that he's been given the title, "Thane of Cawdor," thus confirming the witches' prophecy. Macbeth is still reluctant to take part in going after the crown, but he warms up to the idea slowly. Lady Macbeth is perhaps more ambitious than Macbeth. When Macbeth is reluctant to kill Duncan, she encourages him. But like Macbeth, she must also psyche herself into becoming less conscious of any guilt or sin she might experience. In her famous soliloquy, she asks to be "unsexed" so that she might be less feminine, less human and more inclined to remorseless action:
Come, you spirits
That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,
And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full
Of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood,
Stop up th'access and passage to remorse, (I.v.38-42)
Lady Macbeth relies on her own ambition to overcome any guilt or remorse she might feel, having committed sin. Macbeth is consumed with guilt but he continues killing in order to remove any threats to his crown and thereby remove any possibilities of his sins being discovered. Here, Macbeth relies on ambition (of keeping the throne) in order to eradicate his fears (which stem from his guilt). For Macbeth, ambition is not just the guiding motivation during his murderous reign; ambition is also the tool he and Lady Macbeth use to justify their actions and they also use it to overcome the guilt that is the effect of that ambition. In the end, the guilt and/or fear never goes away.
What is the main theme in Macbeth?
The main theme that dominates Macbeth is a complex study of man's nature, particularly Macbeth when he is given a piece of information that presents a tremendous temptation. Shakespeare was a student of humanity, he observed human interactions and in his day it could be very brutal. Lots of plots, murders and vicious battles. So when Macbeth is given the prophecy by the witches, his secret desire to be king is brought to the surface. The question is what is he going to do about it.
Macbeth chooses, along with his wife to align himself with evil. Part of the theme centers on the forces of good and evil in nature. Both the physical world and the interactions between human beings.
Macbeth, through his choices to pursue his goal, to be king, through unchecked ambition that acts outside the order of nature, outside of laws, ethics and morality, unleashes into the physical world a power evil that disrupts everything.
Macbeth makes a choice to harness the power of evil, both by acting on the witches prophecy and by killing everyone in his way to the throne. Therefore, the lesson of Macbeth that Shakespeare leaves us with is simple: be mindful of the gifts that evil bestows, the joy will quickly turn to sorrow when the forces of darkness collect their fee. Don't make deals with the devil, the price is too high, most likely your humanity, your sanity, your soul. Its not worth it!
What do you think are the most important underlying themes in Macbeth?
I'm with #2. I am responsible for what I do. Period. Lots of things may influence me, just as they did Macbeth. My loved ones may try to influence me, but I still choose for myself. My friends may try to influence me, but my choices are still mine. Outside forces may compel me to act or not to act in a certain way; I am still in control of my decisions. My own mind may cause me conflict and indecision, but in the end I must choose. And, once I choose, I am responsible but I can change my path. Macbeth, too, could have changed course and been a different kind of king; instead, he allowed forces to assume control and in doing so sealed his own dreadful fate.
What do you think are the most important underlying themes in Macbeth?
"Yet knowing how way leads onto way," Frost's line from "The Road Not Taken," comes to mind in considering Macbeth. For, the underlying theme can be found in its foundation in Macbeth's having chosen to give in to his vice of ambition. Whenever one entertains one's vice(s), the initial choice always leads one down the path to destruction, as it did for Macbeth. "Vaulting ambition," not just ambition, is the tragic flaw that leads to Macbeth's tragedy as he goes out of control.
What do you think are the most important underlying themes in Macbeth?
Here are the major themes of Macbeth:
- Ambition can subvertreason:
“From this moment,the very firstlings of my shall be the firstlings of my hand.” –Act IV, Scene 1
AND
“Thou wouldst be great; art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it.” –Act I, Scene 5
- When supernatural powers represent evil, they should be ignored.
“But ‘tis strange! And oftentimes, to win us to our harm, the instruments of darkness tell us truths, win us with honest trifles, to betray’s in deepest consequence.” –Act I, Scene 3
AND
“Accursed be the tongue that tells me so, for it hath cowed my better part of man! And be these juggling fiends no more believed.” –Act V, Scene 8
- The natural order is disrupted by any upset in the proper order of human society.
“By the clock ‘tis day, and yet dark night strangles the traveling lamp. Is’t night’s predominance, or day’s shame, that darkness does the face of earth entomb when living light should kiss it?” –Act II, Scene 4
AND
“The obscure bird clamored the livelong night. Some say the earth was feverous and did shake.” –Act II, Scene 3
- Appearances do not always reflect reality.
“There’s no art to find the mind’s construction in the face. He was a gentleman on whom I built an absolute trust.” –Act I, Scene 4
AND
“Our separated fortune shall keep us both the safer. Where we are, there’s in men’s smiles; the near in blood, the nearer bloody.” –Act II, Scene 3
- Despite prophecies of the future, people are responsible for their own actions.
“If you can look into the seeds of time and say which grain will grow and which will not, speak then to me, who neither beg nor fear your favors nor your hate.” –Act I, Scene 3
What do you think are the most important underlying themes in Macbeth?
Look at the link listed below for the best information on themes in "Macbeth". I will give you a brief idea of the themes though. The danger in unchecked ambition is certainly the most prevalent theme. Macbeth allows his inner desire to be king to overrule his common sense and his conscience. He knows he has no good reason to kill Duncan other than his desire for power, but he does it anyway (Act 1, sc. 7, ll. 26-29). Another theme is that guilt will drive a person to either madness or to even greater evils. Lady Macbeth succumbs to her guilt by going insane. Macbeth kills more and more people to cover up his guilt as he kills Banquo and then Macduff's family because he fears the two suspect he killed Duncan. The theme of deceptive appearances is throughout the play as well. The line, uttered by Macbeth at the close of Act 1, "False face must hide what the false heart doth know", displays this idea. The most graphic example though occurs when, in Act 4, sc. 1, the witches show Macbeth the apparitions that give Macbeth partial or veiled truths in order to give him false hope a false sense of security. There are other, minor themes in the play, but these are the more prevalent ones.
What do you think are the most important underlying themes in Macbeth?
Shakespeare was interested in the concept of fate vs. freewill. As in Romeo and Juliet, characters in Macbeth are fated to accomplish certain things and meet certain ends. At the beginning of the play, it is foretold that Macbeth will "be King hereafter." HOW this occurs is NOT foretold; he could have simply been passive (though Lady Macbeth is a force unto herself) and achieved the same goal of kinghood. Thematically, man may be fated to arrive at a certain conclusion, but how he gets there is still entirely up to him.
What are the themes of Macbeth?
Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare. It follows the life of Macbeth, who becomes king of Scotland.
There are a number of themes in this play—for example, ambition, good and evil, guilt, and the supernatural. I will help you by explaining the two most important themes of the play in more detail.
The key theme of this play is without doubt the theme of ambition. Macbeth receives a prophecy from three witches, who tell him that he is to become the king of Scotland. Following this revelation, Macbeth becomes more and more ambitious in order to ensure that the prophecy comes true. Lady Macbeth, his wife, is portrayed as even more ambitious than Macbeth himself, as she constantly pushes him and encourages him to claim the throne. This theme can be seen as a warning: looking at Macbeth and his wife, the audience can clearly see that being too ambitious can be very dangerous, possibly even lethal.
The theme of ambition also links to another important theme of the play: the theme of good and evil. It is because of his ambition that Macbeth acts the way he does, which ultimately results in evil deeds. This can be seen, for example, in the murder of King Duncan, which is clearly the result of Macbeth’s desire to become the king of Scotland himself. The good is portrayed in the play through characters such as Macduff, who clearly is a very morally righteous man. This provides a clear contrast to Macbeth himself, which helps the playwright to highlight the difference between good and evil.
What are the themes of Macbeth?
Ambition, power, greed, guilt are all themes of Macbeth. But I think the one theme that stands out above the others and the one idea that separates Macbeth from many other works that share this same theme is the way Shakespeare shows us the repercussions of guilt and the ways in which it can deteriorate our psychological wellness and make us "go mad." We see this in many of the characters throughout the play, but we see it most clearly in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Macbeth's reaction to the death of Banquo and the effects of Lady Macbeth "un-sexing" herself into an embodiment of evil only to come away from it being nothing more than the hollow shell of a human being are among the greatest expressions of this idea in all of literature.
What are the themes of Macbeth?
Another theme is the idea of guilt, often of course brought on by the other themes of ambition and drive for power, particularly in the case of Macbeth himself.
There is also the recurring theme of the supernatural. The combination of the witches with their ability to influence events and the way that fate seems to twist around to come back and get those who try to change it is an important part of the play.
What are the themes of Macbeth?
There are many, but I would say that the two most important are ambition and fate or destiny.
The theme of ambition plays out through more or less the whole play. It is Macbeth's ambitions (added to those of his wife) that (you can argue) make him do all the things that he does in this play.
The second theme is brought up by the witches. This theme explores how much people's lives are defined by fate and how much is within people's own control. Do the witches' prophecies cause Macbeth to do what he does or does he choose to do these things on his own?
Explain the theme of Macbeth.
There are many themes in Macbeth but one of the main ones is greed and ambition and how they can destroy someone. Macbeth has what has been termed a 'tragic flaw' in that his greed for the throne spurs him into murder; a murder which later causes immense guilt. This guilts also affects Lady Macbeth, who has encouraged him, and eventually causes her suicide. Macbeth has been weak in being persuaded and he pays a terrible price. The murder of Duncan the King sets in motion a chain of events that cannot be stopped.
Shakespeare also looks at the idea of superstition as Macbeth is convinced that he wiill have the throne because of the witches' prophecy. However, he has misinterpreted what they said, as he discovers later. Macbeth is only too willing to accrept his version and use it as an excuse for murder.