The Drive Behind “Macbeth Want to be King”: an Analysis of Ambition and Power

Macbeth’s Transformation and Drive for Power

Macbeth and Richard III are both protagonists. They are villains driven by power and their lust for ambition. They are both villains driven by different forces that lead them to be evil and commit heinous deeds. In order to get the power they long for, they are willing to resort to murder. Macbeth and Richard’s minds become so clouded by their need to rule and become King that they lose sight of right and wrong.

Through examining each character, they both reveal that they are villains that become so in different ways. The theme of power is seen in both Macbeth and Richard III; power is the evil that drives them to become more and more corrupt.

Macbeth was never a villain from the beginning. He would have never been able to become a villain alone. However, with the badgering of Lady Macbeth and the witches, he is fueled by the greed for power. Stephen Greenblatt states, “Macbeth is tormented by an awareness of the wickedness of what he is doing. Endowed with a clear-eyed grasp of the difference between good and evil, he chooses evil, even though the choice mystifies and sickens him” . Macbeth knows right from wrong, and every wrongdoing he commits sickens him. However, once the evil deed is done, he becomes numb and willing to do so again to get the power he longs for.

Act 1 Scene 7 is a perfect example of Lady Macbeth pushing Macbeth to commit murder, “From this time Such I account thy love. Art thou afeared To be the same in thine own act and valor As thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have that Which thou esteem the ornament of life, And live a coward in thine own esteem, Letting “I dare not” wait upon “I would,” Like the poor cat the adage?” (1.7.39-44).

Lady Macbeth fuels Macbeth’s desire more by stating that this is how she will see their love from now on. She continues by asking if this is what he wants and if he doesn’t, he can live like a coward. Macbeth goes back and forth about committing the murder, but after a while of convincing, he decides, “I am settled, and bend up/ Each corporal agent to this terrible feat” (1.7.79-80). The lust for power and taking Duncan’s royalty finally made Macbeth commit his first murder. After committing his first murder, he becomes more obsessed with the idea of becoming King, and that evil leads to more evil, and slowly, that becomes easier for Macbeth to do.

The Inherent Villainy of Richard III

Richard III was a villain from the very beginning. In Act 1 Scene 1, Richard states that he has dangerous plans and lies in motion to make Clarence and King Edward go against each other. Stephen Greenblatt states, “..he spares Richard little else in the way of both deformity and villainy: his king is a twisted, devious, ruthless murderer”. Richard is known for being deformed, devious, and a murderer. From the very beginning, Richard says, “Deformed, unfinished, sent before my time/ Into this breathing world scarce half made up, And that so lamely and unfashionable That dogs bark at me as I halt by them; Why, I, in this weak piping time of peace, Have no delight to pass away the time, Unless to spy my shadow in the sun And descant on mine own deformity.

Moreover, since I cannot prove a lover To entertain these fair, well-spoken days, I am determined to prove a villain” (1.1.20-30). Richard states that because of his deformities, he has nothing and is weak. He uses his deformities as a way to justify his behavior. He cannot amuse himself as a lover, so he has decided to become a villain. Richard had planned on doing whatever it took for him to become King. He uses his deformity as a tool to gain sympathy from others. He is manipulative and a liar and will not stop by any means to get what he wants.

Richard, without even thinking twice, starts murdering to get the throne. “But, sirs, be sudden in the execution— Withal obdurate. Do not hear him plead, For Clarence is well-spoken, and perhaps May move your hearts to pity if you mark him” (1.3.342-345). He first executes his older brother Clarence to guilt King Edward into accelerating his death to become the person in charge. Richard shows no remorse for killing those who stand in his way of the throne.

Comparative Analysis of the Two Protagonists

Macbeth and Richard are both villains, but their process of becoming a villain is very different. It took time and encouragement for Macbeth to slowly accept the idea of becoming evil and committing heinous acts to get what he wanted. Richard, on the other hand, was born to be a villain. The fact that he was born “Deformed, unfinished, sent before my time” (1.1.20) makes it seem as though he is angry that he was born deformed, so he gets to be evil. His whole life’s purpose was to be evil and prove he was a great villain. He had a plan for the evil acts he would commit to get what he wanted in life. With his deformities, he used that to his advantage to make others feel sympathy for him and used it to manipulate others as well.

One main difference between Macbeth and Richard is guilt. Guilt is seen frequently in Macbeth. In Act 1 Scene 7, you can see that Macbeth knows right from wrong. He did not want to commit evil acts. Macbeth says, “We will proceed no further in this business. He hath honored me of late, and I have bought Golden opinions from all sorts of people, Which would be worn now in their newest gloss, Not cast aside so soon” (1.7.30-34). He was content with the honor that King Duncan had given him. He had earned all sorts of good opinions from people.

However, Lady Macbeth kept pushing him not to be a coward. He knew he should not kill Duncan, but his lust for power and the throne was so great that he could not help it. After the murder, Macbeth states, “I am in blood Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o’er” (3.4.138-140). Macbeth feels guilt after the murder, but he knows there is no going back, and this is the start of him committing crimes more efficiently to get what he wants. As for Richard, you never see any guilt from him. He knows what he wants, and in order for him to get what he wants, he must commit all the heinous crimes.

The Lessons from Macbeth’s Journey

Macbeth was an honorable man initially, but his lust for power has ultimately destroyed him over time. Macbeth teaches us that we are all capable of becoming evil. Humans all want “things.” Whether it be money, power, or love, we could all fall into the shoes of Macbeth. If we let our lust for something become unhealthy, we, too, could commit evil deeds to get what we want. It is essential to know right from wrong and not to let our lust for something get to the point where it is unhealthy. We should strive to be like Macbeth in the beginning. We should also not let outside forces (friends, strangers, etc.) stray us from what is right.

The Downfall and Finality of Their Reigns

In the end, villains ultimately always end up alone. After all the heinous crimes they had to commit, they finally both became kings. Lady Macbeth has committed suicide; therefore, that leaves Macbeth by himself. In the end, Macbeth is beheaded by Macduff. Richard got everything he had planned for himself. However, in the end, he was haunted by the ghosts of all the people he had killed. Richard was also killed in battle the next day after encountering the ghosts. All in all, they both got what they needed by force and the evil they committed and in the end, they were punished by death.

References

1. Shakespeare, W. (1623). Macbeth. In Mr. William Shakespeares comedies, histories, & tragedies. Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed. Blount.
2. Shakespeare, W. (1623). Richard III. In Mr. William Shakespeares comedies, histories, & tragedies. Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed. Blount.
3. Greenblatt, S. (2011). Will in the world: How Shakespeare became Shakespeare. W.W. Norton & Company.

Did you like this example?

241

13