Common Ambition in Macbeth

Throughout Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth,” the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth frequently change. Their characteristics carry them throughout the play and lead to their eventual ruin. The two characters have many similarities and differences. Their ambition is the key factor that fuels the plot. They share many other qualities such as deception, fear, guilt, and some humanity. However, they are opposites in other ways. Lady Macbeth is controlling, strong in the mind, and persuasive, while Macbeth is weak in some areas, but strong in other areas such as in action. He is powerful and brave but indecisive and gullible.
Their ambition is what gives the plot its story. When Macbeth hears the prophecies made by the witches, he begins to think about the possibilities. In act one, scene three, Macbeth says, “Two truths are told, as happy prologues in the swelling act of the imperial theme.” At first, he thinks that he does not need to do anything to gain the throne. However, when he tells Lady Macbeth of these things, she takes control and insists on murdering the king. They share a desire for power and do what it takes to gain such supremacy. Both of them have doubts at certain points. When Macbeth fights over whether to murder Duncan or not (1.7, 2.1), he shows some humanity. Likewise, Lady Macbeth shows her womanly, human side when she forces Macbeth to do the killing because Duncan looked like her father in his sleep (2.2). As they strive to hide what they have done, they become deceptive. They fear what would happen were the truth revealed. Later in the play, their guilt begins to push this fear further, even to the point that Macbeth hallucinates (3.4). He becomes unsure of the promised happiness, and becomes greedy for more predictions because of his fear of the future. He is forced to go back to the witches to ask for more information (4.1).
Early in the play, Lady Macbeth is in charge of everything. We find that although Macbeth is brave in battle, he is not so brave when he has to murder the king. Thus, Lady Macbeth is the strong one who organizes and plans everything. She wants control; her ambition leads her mind, and she throws away her womanly side to have the courage to do what is necessary to become queen. In Act one, scene five she says, “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!” She persuades her husband to leave everything up to her; she poisons the guard’s drinks in order to make room for Macbeth to do the evil deed. Macbeth performs the deed only under her decisive and precise direction.
Macbeth seems weak in the beginning. He is the honest one who is indecisive and unsure of what to do. His strong point may be his bravery, but he is also smart. His conscience gets a hold of him throughout the play. He is not sure whether killing Duncan would be right. In Act one, scene seven, he argues with Lady Macbeth and says, “He hath honoured me of late, and I have bought golden opinions from all sorts of people, which would be worn now in their newsest gloss, not cast aside so soon.” She wants to gain the throne through Macbeth, while the prophecies are all that spur him on. He does not know what to do because he wishes to gain power, please his wife, and enjoy the moment. Once they become queen and king, he had more of a desire for power and actually began to think about what else he needed to do in order to sustain his power and guarantee such power for his offspring. The prophesies also gave Lady Macbeth reason to encourage Macbeth’s ambition. He is gullible, and goes along with his wife’s lead when she calls him a coward and says he is not a man. In act one, scene seven she says, “Was the hope drunk wherein you dressed yourself?” Once the deed is done, things turn around and begin to change. Lady Macbeth’s ambition lessens, and Macbeth’s desire for ultimate, immortal power becomes greater. Lady Macbeth is shocked when she finds out that Macbeth has killed the two guards on his own without consulting her (2.3). This is when she starts to realize the reality of the situation. He becomes king, and becomes a natural at deceiving people. His guilt grows, but he takes control of the situation. His desire to control the situation without Lady Macbeth's help shows when he hires a murderer to kill Banquo and does not even tell Lady Macbeth (3.1). He becomes the strong, decisive one, and she becomes the stay-at-home wife who covers for her husband.
The characteristics of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are not too hard to distinguish. Obviously, Macbeth is manlier than his wife is. He is the strong husband who lets his ambition overpower him. She is strong too, however. Although her ambition lightens and his ambition gains weight throughout the plot, this is one thing they seem to have in common. She also has some womanly aspects, as evidenced by her fainting when Macbeth announces he has killed the guards. These qualities grow throughout the play. Their love for each other seems to weaken as they grow apart bit by bit. Their differences, and the way their characteristic go opposite ways, contribute to this. The one thing that keeps them connected is their ambition, which leads to their eventual ruin.